Finding Candidates

I recieved an email from Amy Quinn who writes that they just posted an article that she thought our audience would find useful. In reviewing the post, I thought it would be of interest as well, to anyone looking for professionals in a variety of different areas.

Anyone who's ever had the challenge of looking for great employees, especially those in specialty fields, can tell you that it's no easy task. There are a lot of job seekers out there, but unfortunately, a lot of them aren't what you're looking for. So how can you separate the gems from the rest of the crowd? First you have to know where to look. Here are 100 sites that can help you narrow down


Paste the below link in your browser to check out 100 sites to use to find talent.

http://www.jobprofiles.org/library/guidance/100-sites-to-find-elite-in-any-given-field.htm

At Accounting Partners, we believe in utilizing every resource possible to find the best person for your open position. This oftentimes means browsing job boards, utilizing referrals, on-line advertising, internal recruiters, company website posting, etc., as well as working with a trusted outside recruiting firm.

The biggest advantage that recruiting firms can bring to the table is being able to uncover that hidden talent that isn't actively looking for work. The candidate that is happy with their current position and who wouldn't respond to an ad. The candidate that is giving it their all for their current employer. An outside recruiting firm is able to identify and approach these candidates to explain the benefits of new opportunities. Because of this, we are able to bring a whole different group of candidates to the table that may not be uncovered otherwise.

Employment Demand Still There

I continue to be asked what we are seeing in the employment market. I just got back from visiting our office in Bellevue, WA and am happy to report that hiring demand remains strong in the Pacific Northwest across the board in terms of different industries as well as range of positions. During the two days that I was in the office, we picked up orders for Director of Tax, Staff Accountant, Assistant Controller, Senior Accountant as well as several others.

The same thing holds true in Silicon Valley as well as in Phoenix. Our office in Phoenix reports that demand for contract services remains strong as clients continue to supplement their workforce with contingent workers. While accounting needs are still strong in Santa Clara, we are also starting to see more needs for auditors in the IT area. Positions such as IT Compliance Manager and IT Security Managers appear to remain hot with clients looking for professionals coming out of Big 4 firms.

It is our feeling that good financial talent is still scarce and because of this, firms continue to turn to outside recruiting firms to feed their recruiting needs. Additionally, the work flow has not slowed so they continue to require specialized contractors to keep up with the work.

Phoenix, AZ Jobs Update

This, just in from Area Manager, Michelle Marrs and Branch Manager, Daria Frye on the state of the Phoenix marketplace.

The Phoenix Contract Market is busy as it always is this time of year.

With the year end in site Phoenix businesses are scrambling for contract help on all levels. Pay rates are becoming more reasonable for a market that is no longer on the C-level due to our cost of living. Specifically, the end of year overloads are bringing lots of temporary needs for accounting personnel and the tourist season is opening up the need for additional staff in both the administrative and accounting arena. We have not only the Super Bowl in early 2008 but also the TPC – Phoenix Open Golf tournament.

Phoenix is striding purposefully to a year-end high for contract employees

Seattle, Wa Jobs Update

This, just in from Executive Search Director, John Herd, on the state of the Seattle marketplace.

Seattle continues to see a strong hiring market fueled my our diverse economy. We are fortunate that if one area slows down such as timber and financial institutions our high-tech wireless, aerospace and retail are able to pickup and flex. Specifically we are seeing more senior level financial roles coming available along with the usual demand for staff and senior accountants. More and more companies continue to put an emphasis on having a CPA and few of our clients have even gone as far to require all degreed accountants to be a licensed CPA.

This demand has been great for salaries across the board. It should be a great time to be an accountant…

Silicon Valley Jobs Update

This, just in from our Silicon Valley manager, Staci Birkendahl, on the state of things in Silicon Valley.

Regardless of what’s going on in the California real estate market or the stock market it sure is a good time to be looking for a job in Accounting or Finance in Silicon Valley. Hiring has been a-plenty this year. We have seen a sharp increase in job opportunities across the board—contract and direct hire. The candidate pool is tight, unemployment is low, so those interviewing are experiencing hiring managers moving very rapidly, they are seeing multiple offers, and sign on bonuses are very much a part of the ‘deal’ now-a-days. Our contract division has been very busy; they have specifically seen a high demand for more of the specialized positions, meaning those that were eliminated in a weaker employment market. Specifically, Software Revenue and Cost Accounting are skills that are highly sought after. These positions are once again being carved off the Sr. Accountants desk and companies are adding headcount for these specialties. Of course the demand is overwhelming for any level of SEC and SOX/Audit in this ever-changing “Sarbanes-Oxley/control ridden” environment!! Overall, we are seeing that salaries are on the rise, especially if you are a Big 4 CPA!!

Business Rebound

We experienced a slow summer in terms of business on both the contract and direct hire side. In listening to other staffing firms in the areas in which we compete, we weren't alone. The interesting thing is that things have been picking up in the fall, so much so, that our contract business is stronger than anytime in the last 18 months. Demand has returned and our biggest challenge continues to be finding talent for our clients. In an economy like this, most accountants that want a full time position are either working or are confident enough in their ability to find work that they aren't willing to work as a contractor. This limits our talent pool and makes our job particularly difficult. At this point, most, if not all of the heavy lifting is on the recruiting side of our business as the demand continues to roll in from existing clients as well as new ones.

On the direct hire side, business has come back with a vengeance as our order boards are full and we just successfully completed a large number of searches over the last few weeks. The key now for is to find internal recruiting talent in our Santa Clara operation to help spearhead our search business.

When it comes to changing jobs, Money talks

We were surprised with the responses we received in regards to a survey we conducted of several thousand candidates that we have interviewed over the years. In our poll, we found out that almost 80% of all employees would be enticed to leave their current position with only a 20% increase in pay. Click here for a link to the survey result. http://www.prlog.org/10022748-when-it-comes-to-changing-jobs-money-talks.html

This high percentage came as a bit of a shock to us as well it should to all employers that are out there.

We also had several other questions we asked that provided interesting results. I'm thinking I may publish some of these as well.