According to the latest Bloomberg report, the job growth in the US is at its weakest pace since 2003.
In the U.S., hiring slowed more than forecast in December. Unemployment jumped to a two-year high. The key question on most people's mind is whether this indicates a forthcoming recession in the US.
Payrolls rose by 18,000, capping the worst year for job creation since 2003. The jobless rate increased to 5 percent from 4.7 percent in November, while the Institute for Supply Management said growth in U.S. service industries cooled last month.
For the full report, click below:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anAEcNUtyKAU&refer=home
PHR
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PHR International Executive Search provide our clients with a smooth and seamless executive search service around the world. We are a member of the NPA Worldwide Recruiting Network. Our executive search expertise and coverage include the world.
We have experience in countries around the world like Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Middle East, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Europe and Vietnam.
PHR International Executive Search is an international executive search corporation with offices in the Asia Pacific region and around the globe. The PHR International Executive Search Practice is broad-based in nature due to many years of extensive search experience accumulated across diverse industry sectors over the past ten (10) years.
Our Group operate with the highest integrity and display the highest ethical business behavior when interacting with our clients, candidates, suppliers, employees and governments.
PHR take pride in delivering a positive, consistent and unique experience to all stakeholders.
Our Group has a strong track record and in-depth knowledge of the regional markets.
PHR International Executive Search's clients include both Asian and Western multi-national corporations, as well as government-linked corporations (GLCs). Over the years, the Group has established an extensive regional network of leading executive search operations in Asia and around the globe.
We offer unrivalled comprehensive experience and expertise to our clients in a broad range of industries, functions and geography. We understand our clients' competitive landscapes, business strategies and operations.
More importantly, our comprehensive network provides us the access to exceptionally qualified executives around the globe.
No search is completed until the very best candidates have been identified, interviewed and presented. This is generally the result of a painstaking custom search activity.
Often, the best people are comfortably employed and their resumes are not in circulation. We identify these high caliber people in the region and present them to you, our clients, for your consideration.
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To discover more about our extensive executive search service, please feel free to contact us:
Stanley Tan,
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M: 65-9430-9168 W:
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PHR International Executive Search
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65-65-334-331; “ (opp Clarke Quay MRT)
T:
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Saturday, January 05, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
Always Let Your Boss Have The First Say?
Always Let Your Boss Have The First Say?
A salesman, an administration assistant and their manager were walking to lunch when they chanced upon an antique oil lamp. They rubbed it and a Genie came out in a puff of smoke.
The Genie said, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you just one."
"Me first! Me first!" said the administration assistant. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She was gone.
"Me next! Me next!" said the salesman. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He was gone.
"OK, you're up," the Genie said to the manager.
The manager said, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."
Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.
A salesman, an administration assistant and their manager were walking to lunch when they chanced upon an antique oil lamp. They rubbed it and a Genie came out in a puff of smoke.
The Genie said, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you just one."
"Me first! Me first!" said the administration assistant. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She was gone.
"Me next! Me next!" said the salesman. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He was gone.
"OK, you're up," the Genie said to the manager.
The manager said, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."
Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Your Worst Interview Experience
I found this article about "Worst Interview Experience" by this guy quite interesting and would like to share it with you, our readers. Do you have your own "Worst Interview Experience"? Would you like to share with us?
"too qualified...
1. A while back, I applied for a role as CIO of a large $500M/yr turnover company. The response from the recruiter interview... "The client is looking for someone to "develop into the role". Which was a less than polite way of saying. "Over qualified".
2. I interviewed for a senior technical role. as an enterprise architect. Big govt project, lots of inter agency stuff. I asked the incumbent what "architectural methodology" used. Blank Stares. I then asked if they were aligning with a similar effort within a major US Federal Government Agency - they weren't aware of it...(If you "googled" the name of their project, you would actually get it, not their project...)
A month or two later, they were advertising again. This time, they were asking for people with skills in the architectural methodology that I had recommended.
I now have a consulting firm, that is looking to place me, in there... They will charge 3 times, what the client would have paid for me, and I will get more, but such is life........."
What do you think? Do you have any comments?
"too qualified...
1. A while back, I applied for a role as CIO of a large $500M/yr turnover company. The response from the recruiter interview... "The client is looking for someone to "develop into the role". Which was a less than polite way of saying. "Over qualified".
2. I interviewed for a senior technical role. as an enterprise architect. Big govt project, lots of inter agency stuff. I asked the incumbent what "architectural methodology" used. Blank Stares. I then asked if they were aligning with a similar effort within a major US Federal Government Agency - they weren't aware of it...(If you "googled" the name of their project, you would actually get it, not their project...)
A month or two later, they were advertising again. This time, they were asking for people with skills in the architectural methodology that I had recommended.
I now have a consulting firm, that is looking to place me, in there... They will charge 3 times, what the client would have paid for me, and I will get more, but such is life........."
What do you think? Do you have any comments?
How To Interview Potential Employees
Interviewing Potential Employees
The job interview is a powerful factor in the employee selection process in most organizations. Hiring the ‘right’ employee will help your organization grow and succeed. Hiring the ‘wrong’ one will do the reverse. That's one reason it's so important that you're very thorough in your interview. Another reason is that your decision is an indication of your ability to manage. A good or bad choice will reflect on you. Your new hire will interact not only with you, but with your boss, your colleagues, your staff, and your customers.
Other background checking and work history references provide much less personalized and more factual information. You should have these checks added to your hiring decisions, too. But the job interview is the key to assessing the candidate's cultural fit. The job interview remains the tool you can use to get to know your candidate on a more personal basis.
While human resource professionals receive training in hiring practices, the department/line managers generally do not. These managers are often required to interview job candidates who will potentially become their subordinates. Many articles about job interviewing provide advice and tips for potential employees. Here, we will address the needs of those who must interview potential employees.
Is The Interview Important?
Typically, the HR department is responsible for screening candidates to verify the information on their resumes. Once that is done, qualified candidates are generally passed along to the department/line manager of the department in which they'll work. This department/line manager is likely to be working very closely with the job candidate hired. This is why it is so important that you're very thorough in your interview. Another reason is that your decision is an indication of your ability to manage, as mentioned above.
You'll be responsible for making sure the candidate:
• Can do the job well;
• Fits in well with other members of your department; and
• Will be able to work well with you.
How to Select Candidates to Interview
Before scheduling a job interview with a candidate, review each candidate's cover letter and resume. When faced with a large number of candidates, it's important to use tools (if available) that help to separate the good candidates from the average. These will help you select the candidates for the job interview. They will also help you prepare your list of questions to use to telephone screen candidates and ask during the job interviews.
You may also like to do the following:
• Form an interview team;
• Hold a recruiting planning meeting; and
• Devise a list of qualities, skills, and experience to use to screen resumes and job interview candidates,
One useful approach is to do a telephone screening of candidates. This will help to save your time as well as the candidate’s time (coming to your company).
Telephone Interview / Screen Candidates Prior to an Interview
The telephone interview or candidate screen allows the employer to determine if the candidate's qualifications, experience, workplace preferences and salary needs are congruent with the position and organization. The telephone job interview saves managerial and candidate time and eliminates unlikely candidates.
Your Should Prepare For The Interview
The interview team was selected at your earlier recruiting planning meeting, so the interviewers have had time to prepare. You should also prepare some general questions before interviewing any candidates. You will need to take some time to review each job candidate's cover letter and resume. This will give you the opportunity to prepare questions that are relevant to the candidate's work history.
You will want to use the list of qualities, skills, knowledge, and experience you developed for the resume screening process. Use this list to make sure each interviewer understands their role in the candidate assessment. Review each interviewer’s questions, too, to make sure the interview questions selected will obtain the needed information.
Ask open-ended interview questions that reveal the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses to determine job fit.
During the job interview, help the candidate demonstrate his or her best knowledge, skills, and experience. Start with small talk and ask several easy questions until the candidate seems relaxed. Then, hold a behavioral interview.
Behavioral interviews are the best tools you have to identify candidates who have the behavioral traits and characteristics that you have selected as necessary for success in a particular job. Additionally, behavioral interviews ask the candidate to pinpoint specific instances in which a particular behavior was exhibited in the past. In the best behaviorally-based interviews, the candidate is unaware of the behavior the interviewer is verifying.
In addition to the candidate's verbal responses during the job interview, observe all of the nonverbal interaction, too, as this is part of the non-verbal communication.
Assess Candidates Following the Job Interview
After the interview, you need to do a post-interview assessment of the candidates. Have a standard format for each interviewer to use to assess each candidate following the job interview. After the assessment, you should have several candidates who you'll want to ask back for a second or even third job interview.
Conduct Yourself Well During The Interview
You should conduct yourself well during the interview as the candidate will be assessing you as much as you are assessing the candidate. You represent the image of your organisation.
You should try to put the interviewee at ease since that will help insure that you get more honest answers. However, you shouldn't give the impression that you are relaxed type of manager if you aren't one. It's as much about the potential employee deciding if this place is right for him or her as it is about you deciding if the candidate is right for the job. If this isn't a good match, from either party's perspective, it's best to find out during the interview.
Be polite and considerate. Making the candidate waiting, or taking phone calls in the middle of an interview reflects poorly on you and your company. This person you are interviewing may some day work for you, or, in this fast moving world, you may someday work for him or her.
The job interview is a powerful factor in the employee selection process in most organizations. Hiring the ‘right’ employee will help your organization grow and succeed. Hiring the ‘wrong’ one will do the reverse. That's one reason it's so important that you're very thorough in your interview. Another reason is that your decision is an indication of your ability to manage. A good or bad choice will reflect on you. Your new hire will interact not only with you, but with your boss, your colleagues, your staff, and your customers.
Other background checking and work history references provide much less personalized and more factual information. You should have these checks added to your hiring decisions, too. But the job interview is the key to assessing the candidate's cultural fit. The job interview remains the tool you can use to get to know your candidate on a more personal basis.
While human resource professionals receive training in hiring practices, the department/line managers generally do not. These managers are often required to interview job candidates who will potentially become their subordinates. Many articles about job interviewing provide advice and tips for potential employees. Here, we will address the needs of those who must interview potential employees.
Is The Interview Important?
Typically, the HR department is responsible for screening candidates to verify the information on their resumes. Once that is done, qualified candidates are generally passed along to the department/line manager of the department in which they'll work. This department/line manager is likely to be working very closely with the job candidate hired. This is why it is so important that you're very thorough in your interview. Another reason is that your decision is an indication of your ability to manage, as mentioned above.
You'll be responsible for making sure the candidate:
• Can do the job well;
• Fits in well with other members of your department; and
• Will be able to work well with you.
How to Select Candidates to Interview
Before scheduling a job interview with a candidate, review each candidate's cover letter and resume. When faced with a large number of candidates, it's important to use tools (if available) that help to separate the good candidates from the average. These will help you select the candidates for the job interview. They will also help you prepare your list of questions to use to telephone screen candidates and ask during the job interviews.
You may also like to do the following:
• Form an interview team;
• Hold a recruiting planning meeting; and
• Devise a list of qualities, skills, and experience to use to screen resumes and job interview candidates,
One useful approach is to do a telephone screening of candidates. This will help to save your time as well as the candidate’s time (coming to your company).
Telephone Interview / Screen Candidates Prior to an Interview
The telephone interview or candidate screen allows the employer to determine if the candidate's qualifications, experience, workplace preferences and salary needs are congruent with the position and organization. The telephone job interview saves managerial and candidate time and eliminates unlikely candidates.
Your Should Prepare For The Interview
The interview team was selected at your earlier recruiting planning meeting, so the interviewers have had time to prepare. You should also prepare some general questions before interviewing any candidates. You will need to take some time to review each job candidate's cover letter and resume. This will give you the opportunity to prepare questions that are relevant to the candidate's work history.
You will want to use the list of qualities, skills, knowledge, and experience you developed for the resume screening process. Use this list to make sure each interviewer understands their role in the candidate assessment. Review each interviewer’s questions, too, to make sure the interview questions selected will obtain the needed information.
Ask open-ended interview questions that reveal the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses to determine job fit.
During the job interview, help the candidate demonstrate his or her best knowledge, skills, and experience. Start with small talk and ask several easy questions until the candidate seems relaxed. Then, hold a behavioral interview.
Behavioral interviews are the best tools you have to identify candidates who have the behavioral traits and characteristics that you have selected as necessary for success in a particular job. Additionally, behavioral interviews ask the candidate to pinpoint specific instances in which a particular behavior was exhibited in the past. In the best behaviorally-based interviews, the candidate is unaware of the behavior the interviewer is verifying.
In addition to the candidate's verbal responses during the job interview, observe all of the nonverbal interaction, too, as this is part of the non-verbal communication.
Assess Candidates Following the Job Interview
After the interview, you need to do a post-interview assessment of the candidates. Have a standard format for each interviewer to use to assess each candidate following the job interview. After the assessment, you should have several candidates who you'll want to ask back for a second or even third job interview.
Conduct Yourself Well During The Interview
You should conduct yourself well during the interview as the candidate will be assessing you as much as you are assessing the candidate. You represent the image of your organisation.
You should try to put the interviewee at ease since that will help insure that you get more honest answers. However, you shouldn't give the impression that you are relaxed type of manager if you aren't one. It's as much about the potential employee deciding if this place is right for him or her as it is about you deciding if the candidate is right for the job. If this isn't a good match, from either party's perspective, it's best to find out during the interview.
Be polite and considerate. Making the candidate waiting, or taking phone calls in the middle of an interview reflects poorly on you and your company. This person you are interviewing may some day work for you, or, in this fast moving world, you may someday work for him or her.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Hot Jobs for 2008
According to the US outplacement firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc, below is the list of hot jobs for 2008. What do you think? Are you into any of these hot jobs?
Hot Jobs for 2008
Posted by Charley Hannagan December 17, 2007 3:29PM
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., which keeps a keen eye on the nation's labor market, has come up with a list of hot jobs for 2008.
They include "green" jobs such as: environmental engineer, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program specialist, solar panel installer-technician and corporate sustainability manager.
Energy jobs should also be hot including positions as: field service technician, mechanical engineer, renewable energy engineer, and pipeline designer-engineer.
If you're interested in a global career you can practically write your own ticket, according to Challenger. Hot jobs include: translator, plant manager, logistics manager and construction engineer-manager.
Other hot jobs: registered nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist, network engineer, information security specialist, Web 2.0 software engineer, biotechnology scientist, lawyer, accountant and management consultant.
Hot Jobs for 2008
Posted by Charley Hannagan December 17, 2007 3:29PM
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., which keeps a keen eye on the nation's labor market, has come up with a list of hot jobs for 2008.
They include "green" jobs such as: environmental engineer, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program specialist, solar panel installer-technician and corporate sustainability manager.
Energy jobs should also be hot including positions as: field service technician, mechanical engineer, renewable energy engineer, and pipeline designer-engineer.
If you're interested in a global career you can practically write your own ticket, according to Challenger. Hot jobs include: translator, plant manager, logistics manager and construction engineer-manager.
Other hot jobs: registered nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist, network engineer, information security specialist, Web 2.0 software engineer, biotechnology scientist, lawyer, accountant and management consultant.
Britain: Employment rate set to slow to worst figure for a decade
Britain: Employment rate set to slow to worst figure for a decade
According to the latest report in The Independent, in Britain, the forecast for the number of new jobs next year is the worst in a decade because private firms are recruiting fewer staff and the public sector is facing severe cuts. It warns that this could fuel a recession in Britain in 2008. Read the report for more………..
Employment rate set to slow to worst figure for a decade
By Amol Rajan; Published: 28 December 2007
The forecast for the number of new jobs next year is the worst in a decade because private firms are recruiting fewer staff and the public sector is facing severe cuts, a new report warns.
Fears are mounting that storm clouds gathering over the British economy, coupled with slowing global economic growth, could fuel a recession in Britain next year, as a decade of steady growth and low inflation threatens to come to a painful close.
Click below to read the full report:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3289232.ece
According to the latest report in The Independent, in Britain, the forecast for the number of new jobs next year is the worst in a decade because private firms are recruiting fewer staff and the public sector is facing severe cuts. It warns that this could fuel a recession in Britain in 2008. Read the report for more………..
Employment rate set to slow to worst figure for a decade
By Amol Rajan; Published: 28 December 2007
The forecast for the number of new jobs next year is the worst in a decade because private firms are recruiting fewer staff and the public sector is facing severe cuts, a new report warns.
Fears are mounting that storm clouds gathering over the British economy, coupled with slowing global economic growth, could fuel a recession in Britain next year, as a decade of steady growth and low inflation threatens to come to a painful close.
Click below to read the full report:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3289232.ece
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