Tag Archives: Human resources

UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS JUMP AGAIN

Posted on April 4, 2013 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

The first signs of government spending may have just reared its ugly head on the United States unemployment market. According to an article published today by the Denver Post, the number of Americans seeking unemployment aid jumped by 28,000 last week, the third such spike in three weeks. Weekly applications rose to 385,000, the highest number since last November.

Early reports are pointing to the indication that companies are beginning to slow hiring after four months of strong job growth in the United States. From the article:

“We suspect the surge in the last two weeks reflects seasonal adjustment problems more than any fundamental change in the trend, but of course that remains to be seen,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, in a note to clients. 

With the March jobs report set to be released tomorrow, economists are expecting nearly 200,000 jobs to be added to the report. These economists may have to check their numbers however, as more and more Americans continue to seek government aid. Growth is not unexpected, however it is expected to be at a much calmer level than that of which we have seen in recent months as companies begin to slow down.

“Two reports Wednesday, however, suggested companies may have grown more cautious last month. Services companies grew in March but at a slower pace than in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group. Service firms, which include retailers, hotels, restaurants and financial companies, cut back on hiring and a measure of new orders fell.”

Several economists have already begun revising their expected numbers for the released March jobs report.

The recovery of the United States job market continues to be a roller coaster ride for many Americans seeking work. At moments it looks like it is ready to boom at any second, but then takes an unexpected fall-off.

While economists are expecting a positive jobs report, it will be at a slower pace than what we have been seeing the past few months. Any growth is certainly a positive, but in order to get the country moving forward again, the pace needs to quicken.

Unfortunately, with government spending cuts looming on the horizon, the trend beginning in March of slow growth is set to continue.

As always, we like to assure our readers that the jobs are out there! Come on over to the Crossroads Consulting website and browse our job openings from across the nation that we are looking to fill TODAY! If you’ve been in the job market for a while, but aren’t getting the responses you’re looking for and feel your resume is to blame? We can help you there too with our recommended resume service.

Remember, at Crossroads Consulting we’re here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

About these ads

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TIME FOR TOUGH LOVE

Posted on March 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

resumewritingtipsBY: Adam Gavriel

It’s time to set the record straight here, America.

A bit of tough love here, but it has to be said. You are NOT going to find work if you give up looking for work. A job is not going to fall straight on your doorstep if you’re patient enough; you have to be willing to go out and fight for it.

Some economists will have you believe that America’s economy is on the upswing when presented with a chart showing the unemployment rate decreasing steadily. What is not visible on that chart however is how many American’s have just plain exited the work force.

A report published earlier this month by Forbes.com reports:

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment fell to 7.7% from 7.9%, but the drop was at least partially attributable to a decline in labor force participation, Baker says. The employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) was unchanged at 58.6 percent, exactly the same as the rate in February of 2012 and just 0.4 percentage points above the low hit in the summer of 2011. This compares with an EPOP of 63.0 percent in 2007, pre-crisis.”

The only thing more discouraging about this statistic are the Americans who are looking for work, but essentially not even trying anymore.

Recently here at Crossroads Consulting a resume was submitted to us that really hit home in a very depressing way. To avoid any conflicts of interest, and to protect the identity of this applicant who we are trying to work with, we will just post a few snips from their resume so you can avoid these mistakes in the future.

In addition, please, if you are not comfortable with your resume contact us immediately. We have a highly recommended resume service that can help you most effectively optimize your resume for the eyes of employers.

The resume we received went as follows:

“Objective: To find a job in a sea of joblessness.”

The ‘Objective’ of your resume will be the first thing any recruiter or HR manager reads. This applicant did everyone in that business a favor. The average HR Manager spends six seconds looking at a resume. This applicant brought the average down to whatever time it takes to hit the delete key.

But it gets worse.

Instead of listing their internship experience under work history, the applicant listed it as a part of their education section. As was the case with all other job history written on the resume by the applicant, there was no description of what the duties of the jobs entailed.  Not to mention under job history, the applicant included “currently unemployed.”

This resume was just an absolute train wreck. What makes it TRULY sad was that it was avoidable. There are unlimited resources available with a simple Google search about putting together a strong resume. You do not have to have a listing of accomplishments a mile long to have a good resume to get yourself under serious consideration for a position.

As we look back and monitor the number of Americans who have just given up altogether, what about those still in the job market not really even trying anymore. We have hit a serious inflection point in America’s history at the moment, and we can go one of two ways. Everyone works together to get the economy going again, or we continue down a mediocre path where nothing happens.

It pains us here at Crossroads Consulting that we even had to mention this kind of resume in a blog post. If you have been following along here at OutOfOurMind.net you know how many times we have posted resources about how to bring your resume to an optimal level. We want to make sure nobody is sending horrific resumes like this one to any recruiter or HR manager, not just us. It does not help and helping people is the central tenant of our mission statement. It is why we are in this business.

Our main goal here is to get Americans working again. Whether it is through a position that we place the person in or not, if our system helped your resume or interview preparation skills, then we have done our job.

Even if all this article did was get you thinking, that is something for us to be proud of.

Please visit our website and feel free to send your resume our way for critique and helpful tips. And while you’re there, feel free to take a look at our job openings from across the nation that we are looking to fill TODAY.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS…REPORT

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

The February Jobs Report is set to be released tomorrow morning, and economists are expecting good news. Last week, the number of Americans seeking unemployment fell to 340,000 according to a story on ABCNews.com. The past four week average for jobless claims has now hit a five year low, showing a positive slide into a favorable number for the economy.

The article states that weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs, when they fall, it suggests that companies are shedding fewer jobs.

Analysts are predicting that companies added 152,000 jobs, which should see the unemployment rate fall from 7.9% to 7.8% in February.

It is important to note that these movements are still very small, but it is encouraging seeing the movements going in the right direction for Americans.

“The improvement is still gradual, but at least things are moving in the right direction,” Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.

It is being reported that services firms, such as retailers and construction companies added jobs at a very substantial rate this past month. Factories also added workers in February, albeit at a smaller rate than the aforementioned retailers and construction.

The number of Americans receiving unemployment aid fell to 5.4 million, a drop of 362,000 from the week preceding.

Auto sales and home sales have also seen major increases in the last few months. New-home sales rose 16% in January to the highest levels in over four years. Home prices are also beginning to rise steadily again.

It is not all good news in America however, as the numbers may regress to their new mean in the coming months. After $85 billion in government spending cuts were put into effect after March 1st, many analysts believe this could cost the country 700,000 jobs, and even reduce unemployment checks for those who have been out of work for more than six months. The number also does not take into account those long-term unemployed who have dropped out of searching for a job.

Benefits currently average about $320 per week nationwide.

At Crossroads Consulting, we are doing what we can to get Americans working again, and trying to do our part in making sure that unemployment rate stays as low as it can. With over 50 job postings across the nation (and even some internationally!) we want to get you the job you’ve been waiting for. If you’re not confident in our resume, we can help you there as well with our recommended resume service.

If you’ve been out of work, or are getting frustrated with the hiring process, please contact us today and we will do whatever we can to help.

Remember, at Crossroads Consulting we’re putting the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ECONOMY – SLOW, SLOWER, SLOWEST

Posted on January 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

Reports from Bloomberg.com today suggest that the United States economy may be on a slow path to recovery. The article reports that claims for jobless benefits in the US have hit a five-year low, decreasing 5,000 to 33,000 in the week ended January 19th. This is the fewest jobless claims since the same week in 2008.

Although some economists do not believe in an optimistic view here, just chalking it up to the times.

“The swings are attributable to the calendar,” said Brian Jones, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York, who projected a drop to 328,000. He said the numbers probably will rise at the end of the month as the calendar returns to normal. “We’re going to pay for this,” he said.

Mr. Jones is backed up by the fact that the new payroll tax at the start of the year will shake household confidence, causing consumer confidence to also falter. As part of a budget agreement, Congress has agreed to raise social security from its 4.2% rate back to 6.2% This in turn is causing some layoffs around the countries, as employers have to match all taxes from their employees.

American Express Co. has announced that they will be cutting 5400 jobs, or about 8.5% of their workforce. They are not alone as Morgan Stanley has also announced 1600 job cuts forthcoming.

“We’re being aggressive with our cost base,” Morgan Stanley Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James P. Gorman said on a Jan. 18 earnings call. “We live in a world of continued regulatory uncertainty.”

(If you are one of the employees affected by this story, please comment below and tell us how we can help! Or just vent!)

The number of Americans who continue to collect jobless benefits fell by 71,000 to 3.16 million, the fewest since July 2008.

While the numbers appear positive at first glance, all things seem to balance themselves out in the economic venue. Booms are often accompanied by busts, and vice versa.

It is extremely discouraging to hear that in a time of such uncertainty, big name players like American Express and Morgan Stanley will have to resort to layoffs, while the country tries to remedy the recession that has hit it throughout most of this past decade.

As the economy tip-toes between the line of boom and bust, remaining in purgatory, at Crossroads Consulting we are trying to get American’s working again.

With over 50 job openings that we are updating daily across the nation, we want to see your resume today!

If you’re not confident in your resume, we can take care of that for you as well with our recommended resume optimization service.

Remember, “We’re putting the ‘Human’ back into ‘Human Resources.’” Do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything, we can do to make your job hunting experience easier.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume, Social Media

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MILLENNIAL HOUSING

Posted on December 29, 2012 | 1 Comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

When sitting down to think about what truly drives the economy, you can easily come up with a few answers. There are the obvious, job-creation, employment, and consumer spending numbers that seem to be the popular answers. But what about the not so obvious factors? Important factors like small-business hiring and strength, as well as inflation are often overlooked. Of course, the topics that are overlooked are not limited to these two components.

On December 24th, theatlantic.com posted a very interesting article concerning automobile and home sales as a driving force in the future of the economy. Continue reading →

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume

Tagged , , , , , , ,

TWELVE TIPS FOR 12-12-12

Posted on December 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

Whether you follow the American DD/MM/YY model, or the European MM/DD/YY model of the date, today’s date is 12/12/12, the last repeating date of this century. To me, this is just another one of those menial things that people tend to make a big deal about for a little bit, and then forget soon after. However this date could bring more in significance due to Madison Square Garden’s 12/12/12 concert to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy tonight, which is sure to be a fantastic event. But I digress…

In honor of the day, here are 12 tips to hopefully get you hired faster!

  1. Make sure your resume is right. Nothing turns off HR professionals quicker than a poorly written resume. Make sure your spelling is correct, and your grammar is top notch.
  2. Include a cover letter. The cover letter seems to be a lost art these days. I know when I get cover letters; I read them word for word. It’s another area to talk about your skills a little more in-depth than your resume to make sure the hiring professional has the most information necessary to gauge your skills.
  3. Connect. Connect. Connect. You never know when your neighbor, acquaintance, friend of a friend, friend, old boss, old co-worker, etc… etc… can come in handy in letting you know about that opportunity you’ve been waiting for.
  4. Take care of your “online persona.” This goes double for recent grads. One of the first thing potential employers is going to do is Google your name. Make sure your Facebook profile is clean, or the privacy settings are set to the max.
  5. LinkedIn. More people need to utilize LinkedIn. I myself have a Facebook profile, a LinkedIn profile, a few online blogs, and a couple of Twitter accounts. When I Google my name the first hit that comes up, aside from a few windsurfing videos of an Israeli man who shares my name (lucky for me), is my LinkedIn profile.
  6. References and recommendations, get them and use them. Another area where LinkedIn comes in handy as friends or employers are able to easily write recommendations for you.
  7. Utilize all available outlets. There are plenty of job boards on the web, not to mention job postings on company websites. The jobs are out there people, find them! (we can help you there….)
  8. Stay productive. As we’ve preached here before, time unemployed is not vacation time. Learn a new skill to put on your resume to set yourself apart from the millions of others out there looking for work. Learn a new language; make sure you utilize all outlets to help you get that position.
  9. If an application allows you to submit samples of your work, DO IT. Self-explanatory here. If you’re applying online and the website allows you to add a sample of work, do it. Writing samples, a work sample, any sample you can think of, upload it. You would be automatically ahead of everyone in the process who skipped that step.
  10. Phone interviews are not phony. If you’re lucky enough to get to this step, make it count. The phone interview is the screening process between those the company is willing to bring in in-person, and those who they will not be “wasting” their time on anymore.
  11. Don’t get down, and keep at it. We know the job-searching process is frustrating and can be, at times, downright devastating. More and more Americans each day are giving up their search to find employment. We implore you to stay at it, and help us get the countries unemployment levels back to a reasonable number!

And of course, last but not least…

  1. USE US HERE AT CROSSROADS CONSULTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are here to help, no way around it. With over 50 current job openings across the nation, and resume optimization services, there is no reason NOT to be checking us out and asking us to assist you in your search for employment.

It is our belief that the job-hunting process should be relatively stress free, and we try to accommodate that mentality into our everyday work ethic. Remember, we’re here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

Contact us today!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THE C-R-C OF JOB SEEKING

Posted on November 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

As you may or may not know there are three key pieces to getting hired in today’s market. Well, really everything you do is an important part of the hiring process, but most employers are going to be looking for the key three. These being, of course, the cover letter, resume, and what cannot be measured tangibly, connections. I know we have posted here many times resume tips and cover letter tips, but it never hurts to refresh the memories. And as the unemployment rate remains higher than anyone would like it to be, we feel as if a fresh reminder can’t hurt.

However instead of just going for pure tips here in this post, we are going to remind you why all three elements are necessary, and very important.

First off, the cover letter.

I find it hard to believe that the cover letter has become a lost art, one in which is rarely used anymore. I can count on one hand the amount of resumes I get per day with a cover letter. Trust me, I do read them. That’s not to say I don’t give equal consideration to a resume without a cover letter, I do. But what if the job includes a necessity for writing skills? You better believe that a cover letter can help in your consideration there. Just like your college essays (remember those?) a cover letter can help differentiate between two very similar candidates. Make sure you write your cover letters. Make sure they are personalized to the hiring manager (researching and finding their name can go a long way in your consideration for the position) who is easy enough to find on most companies websites. Make sure they get the employer to flip the page, or scroll through the e-mail to your resume.

Now everyone’s favorite, the resume.

Resumes are simple in concept but tough to master. It’s hard to make a great resume. So many factors go into the creation of a resume, personalizing it to your liking, getting your objective and work experience in there all while trying to limit it to one page. Remember, most hiring managers use only 6 seconds of their time to peruse a resume. You have to make an impact, and fast. Mix up your verbs. Nobody wants to read a resume that shows how you “managed” 100 times over. Make sure your relevant experience to the position you are applying for is readily accessible. And try to keep it to one page!

Finally, what most people don’t consider but ALWAYS should, connections.

Everyone you have met and you will ever meet is a potential connection. Old boss? Connection. Old Co-worker? Connection. Try not to burn any bridges in life, because you never know who can come in handy in the future. And that’s not saying that you should be “using” people, but if the opportunity presents itself where an old acquaintance can get your foot in the door, you better jam your foot right in there.

There are many professionals out there who will tell you that they have not even had to use a resume or cover letter to obtain a position solely due to connections, and they aren’t lying.

At Crossroads Consulting we strive to be the ultimate connection. With job openings to over 50 positions nationwide we’re here to help you get your foot in the door to that position. Of course, we’ll need to see a resume (and preferably a cover letter as well) we’re here to get Americans back to work. As true patriots we are horrified at the current unemployment rate and are striving to return it to a normal percentage. We understand that times are tough, that you may have even given up on seeking employment these days, but we implore you to get us your resume TODAY so we can start helping.

If you’re not confident in your resume or interviewing skills, we have the ability to help you there as well. Our staff wants to be there from point A to Z in securing you the position as we are here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News

Tagged , , , , , , ,

5 R’s

Posted on November 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

In business when the bottom-line is the be-all end-all of the company (which let’s just admit here, most of the time it is) companies need to focus on retaining their talent. It’s no secret that the more money a company makes, the more personnel it can hire. And of course, with all the focus on the unemployment rate, with the 2012 Presidential Election tomorrow, isn’t that what the big-picture is all about these days? Companies need to be able to bring in talent, but more important than that is retaining their human capital.

Most business models will tell you that it is cheaper to promote from within, to keep employees around rather than make a new-hire. These may be  discouraging words for some of you who may find yourself out of work these days, but they’re true words that need to be heard. This particular entry on our  blog will be a little more targeted to the companies rather than the individual.

David K. Williams, a contributor to Forbes.com, wrote an article entitled “The 5 R’s For Building Lifelong Relationships With Employees.” For those of you familiar with the NBC comedy, “The Office,” my mind also shot right away to Michael Scott whose goal in the office was to not only keep the medium-sized paper company afloat in tough times, but to make his employees part of his life. And of course who could ignore the scene from “Rookie of the Year” where pitching coach Brickma (played by the movie’s director, Daniel Stern) teaches 12 year old Chicago Cubs rookie pitcher Henry Rowengartner the “three R’s” to being a big league pitcher: readiness, recuperation, and conditioning. Luckily for Forbes.com, Mr. Williams actually stuck to the letter ‘R.’

Here are Mr. Williams’ 5 R’s…

Responsibility

This is a great one. It’s important to show your employees that you trust them. Not only that however, is the delegating of projects that utilize skills that an opening position within the company might require. By this the company could be operating a somewhat “extended period of training” on employees that they have already hired.

Respect

Just a little bit.

I think respect speaks for itself in this aspect. Positive reinforcement is never a bad idea from a boss to an employee. Show your employees they’re not only appreciated, but necessary in the work team. If an employee feels as if they belong, they will be less likely to search for work elsewhere.

Revenue-Sharing

A bit of a tough one here to include in the list. It would be nearly impossible to tie revenue-sharing to all employees wages. While performance bonuses are quite common in the workplace these days, it would be quite difficult to tie an exact number to employees’ wages. Just ask the National Hockey League how difficult revenue sharing can be.

Reward

Of course very similar to revenue-sharing, rewards can be so much more than money. Plaques, company related property (a leather bound folder with a logo, or clothing) or even just a team dinner can go a long way in showing the respect (back to that ‘R’) that a boss has for his or her employees.

Relaxation Time

This is a new trend entering the work-place. As my generation (Gen-Y) enters the workforce, many of my peers expect to have significant time to spend away from work; with their families or future families that they plan on having. A very contrasting change from the previous Gen-X and Baby-Boomer generation who might have just expected work-time to be work time, and any family interaction after that was simply a gift. Gen-Y’ers might also expect work-time to not always be so stressful, and not only be about work. It’s an interesting concept, but it is a trend that seems to be rapidly changing within the workforce as more and more Generation-Y babies enter their professional lives.

And there are Mr. Williams’ “5 R’s” with a bit of commentary to boot.

Remember though, if you are a job hopeful looking to enter a company that believes in these standards, here at Crossroads Consulting we work with great companies all across the nation to get American’s working. At Crossroads Consulting we believe fully in these 5 R’s and we express that belief from our employees to the clients we work with. Everybody deserves that chance at respect, and we will be sure to read your resume from top to bottom. We also have services to help you out including resume optimization and interview preparation. We’re not only trying to get you working, but we’re here to put the ‘human’ back into ‘human resources.’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

RESUME TIPS

Posted on August 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

In times of uncertain employment, we cannot preach enough here on the blog how important a resume is in your potential successes of landing a job. Unfortunately what we see some times are resumes that are not nearly complete enough in order to grab and keep the attention of the HR manager or recruiter you’re sending your credentials to. Remember, on average these employees who separate the resume pile from “call backs” to “trash” spend an average of 6 seconds looking at your resume. Now, at Crossroads Consulting we take the time to look at the resume from top to bottom, but most HR managers do not practice this system. Continue reading →

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume

Tagged , , , , , , ,

EMPLOYMENT TIPS FOR A GRADUATING CLASS

Posted on May 25, 2012 | 1 Comment

BY: Adam Gavriel

A few weeks ago Mike Myatt, a contributor at Forbes.com, wrote an article on 10 tips for the Graduating Class of 2012. As one of the many graduates from that 2012 class who now founds himself entering what people like to call the “real-world” (which looks oddly like my parent’s house) I took to reading Mr. Myatt’s article.

Of his 10 tips I’m going to talk about one I love, one I hate, and one that was fairly obvious.

Continue reading →

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Crossroads Consulting, LLC, Hiring Company News, Interviewing, Job Seeker News, Resume, Social Media

Tagged , , , , , , ,