Saturday, June 25, 2011

Golf A Little, Get A Lot

It’s 7:15am on a beautiful Thursday morning in June. On any given Thursday, I would normally be getting ready to start recruiting Toronto’s top talent; however, today isn’t just any Thursday – it is the day I will play my first round of golf! Not to mention, I will be playing it with the extremely athletic (and golf saavy) Stafflink team! Luckily, I have a new golf outfit, so at least I look the part.

Although the Stafflink team is a rather adventurous group, today’s golf adventure means much more than trying out a new sport or showing off some superb skills. Today we are participating in Bereaved Families of York Region’s 17th Annual Forget-Me-Not Golf Tournament.

www.bfoyr.com is an organization that is very close to my heart. I became involved in the organization back in 2007 when they hired me as a summer student, while I was completing my degree. The organization’s mission is to provide volunteer bereavement support services to families and individuals grieving the death of a loved one. Their services are offered free of charge and they receive no federal or municipal funding. The majority of their funding comes from individual contributions and fundraising events, such as their golf tournament. They are an organization who runs on the generous hearts and hard-work of a very strong and compassionate community.

After telling the Stafflink team about my involvement with BFOYR and the upcoming tournament - it took absolutely no convincing, our amazing founder, Tim Collins, had already signed us up.

So how did my first round go? I may not be Michelle Wei but I hit a few good drives and I learned how to “chip”. I also discovered that Tim is a phenomenal golfer, Ryan can hit a ball farther than anyone I’ve ever seen, and Neil is a mini-putt champion. Most importantly, our day was filled with a tremendous amount of laughs, wonderful company and an opportunity for our staff to support a great cause while participating in a phenomenal team building exercise. Thanks BFOYR!

Other Posts by Michelle De Rubeis

Where are the Women? Connecting Women and Technology
iPad versus Playbook Debate Revisited
Steve, Mark and Jim: Who Made 2010's Nice List?
How to Sparkle in a Room Full of Diamonds

About the Author

Michelle De Rubeis ,Technical Recruiter, StaffLink Solutions
Website: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis
Posted by Michelle De Rubeis 0 Comments
Labels: , ,

Saturday, June 11, 2011

10 Tips to Capture Hot Candidates

Can your company improve the recruiting and hiring process? As the marketplace shifts to a candidate’s marketplace, companies are challenged to constantly analyze and improve their talent acquisition processes.

If a candidate has three offers, are you confident that they will take your offer?

Smart employers are beginning to realize that they must be willing to be innovative and move quickly to capture these hot candidates. Some successful techniques that we have seen employers use to capture star candidates include:

  1. All interviews same day. Don’t force a candidate to come back twice if you can complete the evaluation in one day.  Efficient hiring processes demonstrate to a candidate that you are an agile, efficient company. That you respect and value their time. This gives the candidate a preview of what the processes throughout the company will be like.
  2. Extend offers within days of the interview. How long do you really need to think about itJ
  3. Signing bonuses.  A good alternative to raising the salary above a set salary band.
  4. Free Tablets. It’s pretty cool to give the candidate an iPad when they sign up.  Cost low – impact high.
  5. Working from Home privileges. A great way to demonstrate your commitment to work-life balance.
  6. Flex Hours. Many companies have core hours when employees must be in the office but are flexible outside of the core hours.
  7. Free beer. If you fill an open engineering position at Hipster, a startup in Silicon Valley, they will reward you with $10,000 in cash and a year's supply of beer.  http://bit.ly/ispZf3 
  8. Have your stars interview star candidates. You need to bring out the top talent to capture the top talent
  9. Know what the market rates are. Don’t try and lowball. If you know market rates it shows the candidate that you've done your research and you are willing to pay them what they are worth.
  10. Gym Membership. A healthy employee is a happy, productive employee. Less sick daysJ

Empower the people doing the interviews to capture the top talent. Make sure they have the training and coaching to interview and sell star candidates on the opportunity to work for your business. Employers that can adapt and capture the best candidates will be more successful in the long run.
Related Articles

Written by:
Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
Posted by Tim Collins 0 Comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

IT Job Market 2011: Who's Hot?

We’ve noticed a change in the kind of person our clients want to hire. It’s not enough to have the technical skills anymore. Our clients are looking for triple threats: IT experts with 5+ experience in a specific business vertical plus excellent people skills. 

It’s not just about coding in a cubicle anymore. Now employers are looking for technology experts with client-facing skills, adaptable people who can move from one team to another.  But people like this are in short supply.  Here are the top skills in demand in the Toronto GTA job market right now:

  1. Mobile Programmers – J2ME, Objective C and Android – anybody with hands on experience can write their own ticket. If you are a college or university and you want to increase your placement rates, then teach these courses and give the power to the graduates.
  2. Programmers with client facing skills – Consulting companies are hiring again. If you have OO skills and have experience working with a consulting company, you know you are in demand because you get calls all the time. If you have these skills and are looking for work call us at 416 364 2300 and we'll give you multiple opportunities J
  3. Derivatives and technology – A deadly combination that makes you very much in demand.  As a candidate with a few years experience, these skills you will get 70K.
  4. Solutions and Enterprise Architect – Being able to see the big picture allows these candidates to have the power. SOA consultants have the ability to design the fundamental 'architecture' of an application. The Enterprise Architect is especially sought after since they are able to architect applications that are compatible with many different divisions of an enterprise.
  5. Government Experience – As much as the government says they will consider people without government experience, if you have this experience you can write your ticket.
  6. Business Intelligence – So much data  is being tracked throught social media that people with the skills to analyze and help clients use this data are, and will continue to be, in huge demand.
These are the most in demand skills that we see presently. Everybody is trying to capture these candidates. In my next article I will reveal strategies that some companies are using to capture these candidates.  Stay Tuned…

Related Articles

Written by:
Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
Posted by Tim Collins 4 Comments
Labels: , , , , , ,

IT Job Market 2011: Is This a Candidate’s Job Market?

Who has the most power in the marketplace these days? Is it the candidate or the employer?

According to Statistics Canada our jobless rate is at 7.4% (http://reut.rs/jzgrHv ). This is at our lowest rate since June 2009, which was the beginning of the recession.

As the jobless rate decreases the power grows for technology job candidates. If you are in the manufacturing industry there are still struggles ahead.  My expertise is around the  technology world, and we are starting to see evidence of an emerging  candidate's market.

What are some of the signs of a candidate's market?
  1. Competition for candidates. Now it's normal for us to see candidates with multiple offers, but this didn't happen a year ago.
  2. Empowered Candidates. Candidates are actually turning down reasonable job offers. One year ago candidates would jump at the first offer.
  3. Employers are looking to fill teams. Some of our clients are winning projects and need to fill teams of 5 to 10 people or more. A year ago many of our clients were cancelling projects.
  4. Less outsourcing. Fewer clients are outsourcing projects overseas which means more competition for candidates. Businesses have become very selective about what they outsource abroad. This means more jobs locally. Recently we had a client that did a cost comparison between outsourcing a team of three from India and hiring three local contractors. After considering the costs and the importance of delivery deadlines, they chose to hire local contractors because it was less expensive to do the work locally.  
  5. Small businesses are hiring. One of the main causes for the decrease in the jobless rate is the increase of self-employment and the success of small businesses. Over 30% of our job orders are now coming from small and medium sized businesses that are growing.
It's not a candidate's market for all candidates at this point. But the candidates that have the power these days are obviously the ones that are in demand.  In my next article I'll tell you exactly which candidates are wielding the most power in the technology job market.

Related Articles

Written by:
Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
Posted by Tim Collins 0 Comments
Labels: , , , ,

Friday, April 29, 2011

Stafflink Attends Regent Park School of Music Spring Fundraiser


Ryan, Tim and Neil at RPMG Fundraiser
We had the enormous honour of attending Cresendo, the annual Spring fundraiser for the Regent Park School of Music at the Steam Whistle Brewery on Wednesday.

Our relationship with RPSM began a couple years ago when I worked with the Board of Directors to recruit and hire Richard Marsella, their current Director. This isn't our normal line of business but I was thrilled to help out.

It was beautiful to see people giving back to this event in support of the children. The choir and the individual performers were extremely talented and entertaining. Jim Creegan of The Barenaked Ladies not only performed with the students but spent weeks prior to the event practicing and no doubt inspiring the kids.



RPSM Performs with Roger Waters

The choir was fresh off of a performance at the ACC with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd where they sang the chorus of the "Another Brick in The Wall". These kids were inspiring. You could see a true love of music shining through them.

The Regent Park School of Music started as a safe haven for youth after school. For the first two years they worked out of the basement of a church. Now they are operating out of a brownstone townhouse. RPMG is about to move into a new building as part of the revitalization of the area. The school has set a goal of having 3000 students enrolled within the next five years.

I am confident that they will meet that target. I've met the board members and the current Director Richard Marsella is an amazing individual who has accomplished great things with the Regent Park School of Music already. The future is very loud and vocal for this little school that is rapidly evolving into a renowned school of music.

Donate to the Regent Park School of Music

Written by:
Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
Posted by Tim Collins 0 Comments
Labels:

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Could AI and RIM Cure Blindness?

Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer
Imagine.
What if there was an artificial intelligence that helped us distill the collective knowledge of the Internet into a Blackberry device that enabled a blind girl to see?

Let's say that this AI could see through any firewall and had unlimited access to everything on the Internet. It claimed that its primary intention was to improve the net happiness of the world. Then it demonstrated its goodwill by comparing the results of every study and presented a cure for cancer?

Big Brother?
That AI would be immensely powerful. More powerful than any government. Would the benefits outweigh the risks? I wonder.

Wonder is the title of a novel I just read by Robert J. Sawyer. It's the third book in Sawyer's WWW series. It's a sci-fi page-turner with philosophy, politics and Canadianna. Much of the action revolves around the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Waterloo.

The heroine is a blind teenage girl who regains her sight with the help of an AI named Webmind, a Japanese doctor, the Perimeter Institute and a Blackberry (nice plug for RIM). Caitlin goes through some of the typical teenage things like high school dances. But her connection with Webmind puts her in front of the United Nations and at the center of a major world transition. Need I say more? You gotta read it :)

Who Really Controls the Internet?
This book makes you question the limits of technology, smartphones and who really controls the Web. I kept asking myself, should somebody or some organization control the Internet?

The Internet as a Political Force
This novel reminds me of how often social media has headlined in the news lately. Facebook recently signed a deal with the largest social networking site in China. How about President Obama's appearance at Facebook HQ for a Town Hall meeting. Many countries are attempting to limit or control information flow but people still find ways to coordinate protests online.

WWW Equals Hope
What I liked most about Wonder is how it explores the potential of the collective of the World Wide Web to make the world a better place through crowdsourcing. What would happen if the Internet woke up and became a conscious of itself? Let's hope that AI would be a synthesis of the best that Web has to offer.

Related Links

Written by:
Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
Posted by Tim Collins 0 Comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Where are the Women? Connecting Women and Technology

It has been almost a year since I began my career as an IT Recruiter at Stafflink. As my one year mark nears, I've started to reflect on my experience in the industry and all of the wonderful IT professionals I have met. However, I am still left with one recurring question… “Where are all the women?!”

It is hard to ignore the fact that a very small majority of IT professionals I have encountered are women. However, this discussion is not meant to focus simply on the lack of women in technology but rather focus on the importance of women in technology.
Did you know that… the average teenage girl sends approximately 3,330 text messages a month? How about that 77% of Groupon’s subscription base is female? And if you want to know who the average social gamer is; it’s not your thirteen year old brother… it is your 43 year old mother. (Christina Brodbeck, CEO of TheIceBreak, http://tcrn.ch/hKSqx5).
Women are clearly engaged and excited about technology so why aren’t many of us pursuing careers in technology? Educators and industry leaders are asking the same question.

The photo on the left was taken at a forum hosted by The Peel District School Board to explore careers for women in Information Technology on International Women's Day. (Students Explore Career Paths, Brampton Guardian, March 8, 2011)

I believe that the only way to encourage women to pursue technical careers is to educate women on their power in the field and nurture their love for technology. Women need to see examples of other women’s success in the field so they have role models they can look up to. Here are just a few to get the conversation started:

Limor Fried, Founder of Adafruit

Limor is a “do-it-yourself” goddess that sells DIY kits that assist people with hardware hacking. One of her most popular products is a DIY kit that disables the cellphone signals of those around to help students who are studying and crave absolute silence. adafruit.com

Kelle Santiago, President and Co-Founder of thatgamecompany

Kelle heads a small team of 12 people that have proved they can stand among the corporate gaming giants. Her company, thatgamecompany, created the game Flower which was ranked in Sony’s top ten Playstation games for 2009 and 2010. thatgamecompany.com/

Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss, Co-Founders of Rent the Runway

These Harvard graduates embraced technology when they created their highly successful website that allows women across America to rent luxury dresses and accessories instead of purchase them. The site acts as a reservation site where women rent items for special occasions for a period of 10 days and then return the item once the event is over. www.renttherunway.com

Recommended Reading

Women and Tech: Focus on Female Consumers and the Founders will Follow
Executive Forum on Gender Diversity – A Step toward Full Parity
ITAC Gender Diversity Forum Provides Primer on Building an Inclusive ICT Workplace
Students Explore Career Paths

 

About the Author

Michelle De Rubeis ,Technical Recruiter, StaffLink Solutions Ltd.
Website: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis
Posted by Michelle De Rubeis 0 Comments
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)