Mixed signals for job seekers

Mixed signals for job seekers

When it comes to the job market, timing may be important, but it's not everything.
And that may be good news for the Class of 2008. With rosy employment predictions from fall meeting recent speculation of a recession, career directors at universities everywhere are getting mixed signals.
If their worst fears are realized, it could mean that students who received offers in the fall might find themselves jobless on graduation day.
"What I suspect will happen is that opportunities will be offered -- this is a little scary to say, because I would hate for our students to think about this. But offers will be made, and offers will be accepted and, by and large, all of those will be honored," said Donna Cassell Ratcliffe, director of career services at Virginia Tech. "But it's not unusual around April, May, June for those companies, some of those companies, get back to their students ... and move start dates back from May to July to September."
And some job offers may be simply pulled off the table, she said. Cassell Ratcliffe has worked in career services at universities for 26 years and has seen her share of recessions and their effects on the job market. She advises students to save business cards and stay in touch with employers, even if they've already accepted a job.
But that doesn't mean students shouldn't still honor their words.
"One of the things that we always stress to students is that your commitment should be sound," she said. "You shouldn't be looking for a better offer and then go back to them and say, 'Oh, I found a better offer.' "
Despite her words of caution, Cassell Ratcliffe said that even if a recession does hit, students shouldn't panic.
"People still need to hire," she said. "It just may not be their first, ideal job."
Cassell Ratcliffe's office is busy this time of year working with students anxious to get those job offers, recession or no recession. February is filled with job fairs that will bring hundreds of employers to campus, and career development staff meet regularly with students to polish their resumes.
At a resume workshop in late January, organizers passed along tips for students seeking jobs, such as following up with companies and keeping pages of social-networking Web sites free of embarrassing information.
And listing an e-mail address on your resume is a good idea.

Job Seekers Information

MPS Group

MPS Group is successful bidder for Chimes’ assets

Beeline, the workforce solutions business unit of MPS Group, Inc. announced Thursday that it was the successful bidder for the assets of Chimes, a competing vendor management solution. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain contingencies, but it is anticipated the transaction will close by the end of the month.


Chimes was founded in 1998 and is a leading provider of vendor management software and onsite services. In February 2007, Chimes was purchased by Axium International, which filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Jan. 9. Wednesday, the assets of Chimes — including software platforms and related intellectual property — were auctioned through bankruptcy proceedings in the United States District Court in Los Angeles

Managing a Contingent Workforce in the Retail sector

Recruitment is now the primary problem for more than half of all UK companies, ahead of business strategy or management, according to a study from accountancy consultancy KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. Annual turnover of the industry in Europe exceeded €90 billion in 2006, accounting for an impressive 45% of the industry’s worldwide turnover.Overall recruitment industry turnover in the UK exceeded £25 billion for the first time and now stands at £26,673 million, an increase of 7.4% on the previous survey of 2006. The temporary/contract sector spends in excess of £23.4 million a year in the UK through more than 17,000 recruitment agencies, making the temporary agency labour market a highly fragmented industry. With the resource frequently sourced at point of use and the difficulties associated with implementing centrally controlled purchasing systems, it is easy to see why the £25 billion contingent workforce spend is often poorly leveraged and badly managed. Companies who operate with a large contingent workforce must keep control of pay rates and costs as well as ensuring they are 100% compliant with the law so they can protect their company from a host of legal issues.However, temporary labour is an extremely useful business resource in terms of offering employers reduced wage and benefit costs, increased workforce flexibility, accommodating seasonal trading patterns, providing assistance with special projects and staff replacement. Companies who operate with a large contingent workforce are now addressing the complications of operating within temporary labour industry.Co-operative Retail Logistics (CRL), who are part of the Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd, the largest consumer co-operative in the UK leaders and operate with a contingent workforce, identified nationwide variations in staff quality, pay and charge rates and service agreements supplied by temporary agencies. They sought an opportunity to reduce their overall temporary agency labour expenditure and improve service delivery from agencies and turned to de Poel Consulting to help make these changes.de Poel Consulting is an independent consultancy that specialises in helping major blue chip companies reduce costs and other issues associated with temporary labour. By engaging with over 750 recruitment agencies on a weekly basis and as one of the UK’s top purchasers of temporary labour their negotiating ability is powerful. Their expertise and knowledge of the industry is backed up with a web-based invoicing and timesheet processing system.Importantly, this type of outsourcing does not cost any money. de Poel’s solutions require no capital expenditure and fees are based on a percentage of the direct savings achieved. John Simmonds, Managing Director explains “we visited all of the CRL sites using temporary labour to determine existing supply arrangements and local requirements and to identify current service levels and pay and charge rates. Our objective was to create a level playing field of agency supply by setting rules for pay and charge rates and putting in place accurate quality and service measurements.” A new pricing structure was proposed along with a new standardised service agreement and a series of KPI’s to measure supplier service delivery. An examination of CRL’s IT operation ensured that de Poel’s groundbreaking e-tips™ time sheet and invoice processing software could easily be integrated into their systemsThe introduction of a new national pricing matrix with regional variations has provided CRL with substantial cost savings whilst the standardised service agreement has protected their company’s interests. CRL is now receiving precise information on agency performance and as a result, have been able to increase their suppliers’ commitment and improve service delivery.With e-tips™ in operation, back office costs have been dramatically reduced and agency invoices have been consolidated to just a single, electronic invoice each week. CRL have also been given access to accurate management information, providing complete visibility and control of agency costs. With their recruitment process now streamlined CRL is able to focus on their strategic business objectives.de Poel is playing an integral part in “raising the bar” in terms of service quality within the recruitment industry, as well as helping to grow and modernise the industry as a whole.

http://www.onrec.com/newsstories/20013.asp

Tomax Workforce Management Solution

Tomax is the leading provider of real-time merchandising and store execution applications and services. The Tomax Retail.net suite helps retailers connect the dots across the demand-driven retail continuum, integrating people and processes, and providing timely, relevant, actionable information to improve retail results. Tomax has served retailers exclusively for more than 20 years, delivering Merchandise Planning, In-Season Merchandising, Merchandise Management, Workforce Management, Store Operations and Customer Management solutions, andimplementation and application hosting services. The Tomax customer base includes over 100 branded retailers including Air Terminal Gifts, The Andersons, ALCO Stores, Coach House Gifts, EZ Lube, Kelly-Moore Paints, Pamida, Party City, Raley's Supermarkets, ShopRite, Snyders Drug Stores, Sportsman's Warehouse, Trader Joe's, Travel Traders, Winn Dixie, and 24 Hour Fitness.

Workforce Management

Tomax Corporation is pleased to announce the expansion of its current relationship with Save Mart Supermarkets. Earlier last year, Save Mart chose to implement Tomax’ Workforce Management solution, including labor forecasting and scheduling in 127 stores that were acquired from Alberstons LLC. In December, the business decided to purchase additional licenses to implement Tomax Workforce Management in their remaining 125 Save Mart and Food Maxx bannered stores.
The Workforce Management solution, a component of the Tomax solution suite called Demand- Driven Retail Continuum, is used to control labor costs and boost customer satisfaction by creating accurate schedules to support all retail processes at the stores, including customer service. In the United States, the Tomax Workforce Management solution supports labor forecasting, scheduling and time and attendance processes for more than 7,800 stores and 1.5 million employees.
Steve Gaines, Sr. Director of Retail Efficiencies at Save Mart, said, “Save Mart has had a very successful relationship with Tomax over the years and is looking forward to completing our enterprise-wide implementation of Workforce Manager. Workforce Manager is a key strategic step towards optimizing our planning, execution, and measurement of labor efficiency and labor effectiveness.
“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Save Mart. As a result of twenty years of experience in retail labor management, Tomax offers a robust, easy to use workforce management solution that manages payroll costs while improving customer service, as well as connecting the dots across people and processes to maximize operational effectiveness,” commented Tomax CEO Eric

Five High-Paying Careers in Two Years or Less

Forensic Science Technician
You've seen the TV shows -- these professionals collect and analyze physical evidence and document laboratory methods and findings. Computer skills and attention to detail are crucial as collection and processing of materials must be spot-on to safeguard evidence.

Forensic science technicians should develop a strong base in math and science as preparation for their associate degree, typically earned in applied science or science-related technology. Coursework will include laboratory work and hands-on learning. Once in the field, technicians can choose to specialize in a certain type of analysis or examination.

Median annual earnings: $44,010

Five High-Paying Careers in Two Years or Less

Diagnostic Medical Sonographer

Also known as ultrasonographers, diagnostic medical sonographers can specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, abdominal or breast sonography, or neurosonography.
A strong background in math and science is recommended, as associate degree coursework will include anatomy, physics, and physiology. A good bedside manner enables the to explain complex procedures to patients and reassure those who fear the health matters the testing may reveal.

Median annual earnings: $52,490.