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“It is time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system…”

Just in case you missed last night’s State of the Union and wanted to know what the President said about jobs, here are the highlights:

• In the last 22 months businesses have created more than 3 million jobs.
  
  
• Last year businesses created the most jobs since 2005.
  
  
• American Manufacturers are hiring again.
  
  
• Today General Motors is back on top as the world’s number one automaker.
  
  
• The American auto industry is back and has added 160,000 jobs. 
  
  
• If you want to bring jobs back to the US the government will help you succeed starting with taxes.
  
  
• Companies should be rewarded by creating jobs here in the US.
  
  
• If you’re an American Manufacturer you should get a bigger tax cut.
  
  
• If you’re a high-tech manufacturer the tax deduction you receive should be doubled because you’re making your products here.
  
  
• If you want to relocate a business to a community that was hit hard, you should get help with financing or training for new workers.
  
  
• Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers that can do the job.
  
  
• Model partnerships between companies and community colleges to train 2 million Americans with specific skills that will lead directly to jobs need to continue to happen.
  
  
• These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today.

Beyond.com Honored with the Future 50 Award from SmartCEO Magazine

Beyond.com, a Career Network focused on helping people grow and succeed, was honored with the 2012 Philadelphia SmartCEO/ Clifton Gunderson Future 50 award. This award recognizes the Greater Philadelphia area’s 50 fastest-growing companies based on employee and revenue growth over the past three years.

Along with the other Future 50 award winners, Beyond.com will be profiled in the January 2012 issue of SmartCEO Magazine.

“This is such a positive way to start the New Year,” says Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com, Inc. “Being recognized as a Future 50 award winner truly validates all the hard work that the entire Beyond.com team has done not just over the last three years, but also over the ten prior when we first opened our doors. Thank you to SmartCEO Magazine for recognizing our team’s efforts.”

Those who accepted the award posed with a local celebrity. The dapper gentleman in the photo is the Phillie Phantic and the guy in the tuxedo is Beyond.com CEO, Rich Milgram.

Great Way to Start the New Year

“New Year, New You”—the cheesiest tagline/slogan ever! But I admit it applies. 

Whether you’re resolving to get a new job this year, change career paths, or simply do your job better, this time of year brings out the best in us—that is until we recoil into our comfort zones—but let’s resolve not to do that this year.  This year let’s make a resolution to keep our New Year’s Resolutions!

So as an HR pro, what kinds of resolutions have you made when it comes to your job:

• Did you resolve to make smarter hiring decisions?
  
  
• Better prepare for interviews?
  
  
• Discover new/awesome incentives for your team?
  
  
• Advance in your current position?
  
  
• Change careers paths altogether?

With the thought of a new year and a fresh start fresh in our minds, things are certainly already starting off on a good foot when it comes to hiring.  The December jobs report was released today and hiring is up and unemployment is down. In fact, unemployment is the lowest it has been in close to two years—more than 200,000 jobs were added in December!

So whatever you resolve to do, we hope that you have positive results just like the December jobs report.  Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving

As much as I point out the annoyances about things that happen in the workplace, (for instance, right now there is an incessant hammering going on) I thought that for just one week, I would try to put all those things aside and be thankful.  So I decided to make a list of things I’m thankful for. 

Here it is:

• Thank you commuters for taking off the week of Thanksgiving, my drive into the office this morning was a breeze.
  
  
• Thank you Black Friday for distracting my coworkers from doing actual work— as they are too focused on plotting their course of action to receive as many door busters as possible.
  
  
• Thank you to my coworkers who are getting a jumpstart on the holiday (eating) season and have already started to fill the communal kitchen with delicious baked goods.
  
  
• Thank you to those teammates on vacation this week, because they thought it would be a slow time, but them being out makes my supposed slow week crazy.

But in all seriousness, I truly am thankful for the wonderful team, I get to work with everyday at Beyond.com.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I hope you all have safe holidays!

Beyond.com Selected by AlwaysOn as a Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 Winner

Beyond.com, a Career Network focused on helping people grow and succeed, today announced that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as one of the Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 winners.  Inclusion in the Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 signifies leadership amongst its peers and game-changing approaches and technologies that are likely to disrupt existing markets and entrenched players. Beyond.com was specially selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team and industry experts spanning the globe based on a set of five criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz.

Beyond.com and the Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 companies will be honored at the IMPACT Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic event, November 29th and 30th, 2011, at the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia, PA. 

This two-day executive event features CEO presentations and high-level debates on the most promising emerging technologies and new entrepreneurial opportunities on the East Coast. PACT’s annual venture conference, IMPACT 2011, is the most established venture conference in the northeast. For over 20 years, IMPACT has been showcasing the best and most promising investment opportunities in the technology, life sciences, and clean technology sectors.

“The Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 winners are transforming the mid-Atlantic region’s technology community through innovation and creativity,” said Tony Perkins, founder and editor at AlwaysOn. “The companies represent some of the highest-growth opportunities in the mid-Atlantic private company marketplace across all industry sectors, including digital media and entertainment, on-demand computing as well as greentech and the life sciences.”

The Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 winners were selected from among thousands of mid-Atlantic technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists, and greentech industry insiders.  The AlwaysOn editorial team conducted a rigorous three-month selection process to finalize the 2011 list.

Take This Job and…

Resignations have been big in the news this week.  With the scandal at Penn State University and Eddie Murphy withdrawing as host of The Academy Awards I have resignation on the brain and it got me thinking about resignation best practices from an HR perspective.

Resignations can go sour fast—employees can be asked to vacate the premises immediately, the resigned can check out for the last two weeks on the job, transitions might not happen in a timely and orderly fashion OR they can go smoothly, with the resigned staying on board to recruit and train their replacement, tie up loose ends, work hard until their last day on the job, etc… But to be honest—after a resignation is tendered—a combination of both the good and the bad probably follows suit.

So for those of us who are left behind and for those of us that resignations are tendered to, here are a few tips to follow to ensure the resignation goes smoothly for both parties.

• Be happy for the person moving on. Wish them the best in their next phase and secure their contact information to stay in touch—either as a networking contact or simply as a friend.  
  
  
• Don’t burn any bridges. Allow your former colleague to leave on good terms, if you were in their shoes you wouldn’t want to leave on bad terms. Besides, you never know who you may cross paths with again in the future.
  
  
• Don’t kick the recently resigned to the curb. Taking a resignation personally is never a smart move. When a resignation is tendered, don’t overreact and ask the employee to leave immediately.  You’re only hurting yourself and the staff left behind that has to pick up the slack and make assumptions about unfinished projects—all while feeling like they did something wrong to be treated that way.
  
  
• Respect the remaining staff and inform them in a timely manner. Telling those who are staying on staff that a resignation was given in a timely manner is crucial.  If the staff finds out that a team member is leaving and that team member gave notice six days prior—that makes the team feel wronged.  While relaying this kind of information may not be easy, it’s best to do it sooner rather than later.  If you wait too long you might have other resignations heading your way.     

U.S. Job Creation Stagnant in August, Yet Some Industries Maintain Strong Hiring Activity

 Beyond.com’s First Infographic Analyzes Key Challenges and Positive Trends for the Job Market

Beyond.com, today released its first Employment Data Report, which provides a timely assessment of recent economic and political events that have had an impact on the employment world. Released in conjunction with Beyond’s recently released Second Quarter 2011 Career Trend Analysis Report, this first Employment Data Report examines job posting volume from January 2011 to August 2011, compared with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) unemployment rates.

The Employment Data Report explores the possibility that the U.S. could face a double dip recession and considers the role of political events and economic instability on the job market. After an encouraging start to the year, unemployment numbers have continued to rise as the economy failed to add as many jobs as expected in June and July. During that same period, the nation’s economy has been threatened by a debt crisis and the subsequent Standard & Poor’s (S&P) credit downgrade.

In spite of the obvious challenges, the Employment Data Report notes some industries that increased hiring activity in the second quarter, including Healthcare, Sales & Sales Management, Merchandising, Purchasing & Management and Information Technology. The report also highlights some new job titles that have emerged, particularly in the IT and Environmental fields, as a result of new technologies and demands.

“Ahead of President Obama’s speech addressing the jobs crisis on Thursday, many are already fearing that we’re headed toward another recession, fueled even more by last week’s Department of Labor report indicating that job creation was at halt in August,” said Rich Milgram, CEO at Beyond.com. “While these fears are real, there are still some bright spots in the employment market and our data pinpoints industries and specific careers that job seekers should have on their radar to ensure they’re taking advantage of the opportunities and growth sectors that are out there today.”


To view the complete Infographic for September 2011, please visit http://about.beyond.com/infographics/employment-data-report-september-2011.

Looking Forward to Some Fun in the Sun at IAEWS

Master of Ceremonies Rich Milgram will Lead the Bi-Annual Gathering of Recruitment Industry Leaders

Rich Milgram, Founder and CEO of Beyond.com, focused on helping people grow and succeed within their careers, will serve as Congress Chair for the International Association of Employment Web Sites (IAEWS) Fall Member Congress, to be held on September 7, 2011 in Hollywood Beach, FL the day before The ERE Expo begins.

The IAEWS's bi-annual Member Congress unites executives and industry leaders in online recruitment to share ideas and strategies for future growth and success. It is the only event that is 100 percent dedicated to improving the operations and financial performance of online employment services organizations.

"We are very excited to have Rich participating in this year's event," said Peter Weddle, IAEWS Executive Director. "Rich brings a wealth of experience and insight to his role as master of ceremonies and joins a distinguished list of previous chairs, including Aaron Matos, CEO of Jobing; Shawn Boyer, CEO of SnagAJob.com; Don Firth, CEO of JobsinLogistics.com; Kim Peters, CEO of Eluta.ca; Tony Lee, EVP of Adicio; and Constance Melrose, EVP of Dice."

"I'm honored and excited to be a part of this year's IAEWS Fall Member Conference. It's always a great opportunity to be surrounded by other professionals in the world of recruitment," said Rich Milgram, CEO at Beyond.com. "I look forward to reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, meeting new ones, and sharing our current challenges and recent strides."

Going to be at the IAEWS Member Congress?  Be sure to say hi to Rich!  Also, ERE attendees stop by booth #301 to say hi to the Beyond.com team.  Looking forward to seeing you in Hollywood!

Beyond.com Identifies Emerging Jobs Despite Fears of Double Dip Recession

Quarterly Trends Report Finds Positive Indicators in Uncertain Economic Times

Beyond.com, a Career Network focused on helping people grow and succeed, today released its Second Quarter 2011 Career Trend Analysis Report which provides an in-depth look at the latest job market trends. While the U.S. economy continues to pose uncertainty, Beyond.com is reporting a positive outlook with the emergence of new job titles and growth sectors in a year over year comparison of Career Network data.

The Beyond.com Career Trend Analysis Report, which gathers information across thousands of top-tier industry and local career sites, indicates that five job titles have shown a noticeable and steady uptick in job postings, spanning primarily across two industries: Green and Technology. While both industries have remained steady over the past year overall, some specific positions stand out amongst the others in providing an increase of opportunities for job seekers.  

 According to the report, the emerging job titles include:

• Green Consultant Jobs
  • With an average salary of $60,000, this position can take on a variety of different roles, from helping organizations evaluate and improve internal environmental processes to aiding in the implementation of green strategies. Nationally, green jobs employ 2.7 million people, according to a report by The Brookings Institution. Green Consultants will continue to be in demand as more and more businesses look to these experts to help establish environmental best practices. 

• Eco-Friendly Freelance Writer Jobs
  • With many people turning to magazines and news outlets for tips and information about green and eco-friendly living, writers with knowledge of the green market are becoming more sought after. Further, with many publications unable to take on full-time staff, a freelance position is often the best route to establish yourself and continue to practice your skill. As a freelancer making an average of $60,000 a year, this job often provides more flexible hours which can be a nice perk for some professionals.

• Genius – Apple Store Jobs
  • The “Genius” position has presented more job opportunities over the past year for the similar reasons as an iPhone Developer – growing adoption of the iPhone along with the iPad, iPod and other Apple products. As people are using these products, there is more need for customer service and technical support. This position typically requires working in an Apple store and has an average salary of $41,000. Responsibilities include helping customers resolve issues and conducting hardware and software troubleshooting.

• iPhone Developer Jobs
  • With the increasing popularity and adoption of the iPhone – particularly with availability now across multiple mobile carriers – it is no surprise that the growth of job openings for iPhone Developers is on the rise. This position with an average salary of $95,000 typically requires working for a specific mobile company and is responsible for all frameworks and mobile technologies to make new applications successful.

• Silverlight Developer Jobs
  • Developers are in demand across the technology industry. However Silverlight developers in particular are seeing a rise in job opportunities due to an increase in consumers’ streaming of TV shows and movies on their computers. At an average of $104,000 a year, qualifications for this position include expertise in creating software solutions for enterprises and in building rich internet applications using Microsoft technologies.

“It’s no secret that the U.S. economy is currently facing financial worries and the unemployment rate remains high, yet at the same time it’s important to recognize that some markets are still thriving and providing opportunities to job seekers and professionals within those industries,” said Rich Milgram, CEO at Beyond.com. “For job seekers in either the green sector or technology industry or those looking to enter these fields, there are options available when you know what to look for. By identifying these specific job titles, job seekers can modify their search and apply their expertise to these specific positions in an effort to not only secure a job but establish themselves in a healthy sector.”  

 To view the complete Career Trend Analysis Report and Industry Essentials Reports for second quarter 2011, please visit http://about.beyond.com/statistics.

What Does the U.S. Credit Downgrade Mean for U.S. Jobs?

So the debt ceiling has been raised and America’s credit has been downgraded, so how does that impact jobs?

This is a hot topic of discussion at the moment, but many of us might not fully understand what it all means, so for those of you who need a crash course—here is high level way to understand how the credit downgrade can affect you and jobs in the United States. 

As everything is interdependent—the raising of the debt ceiling has in turn downgraded the U.S. credit which in turn will increase the interest rates that the United States will pay on the national debt, which in turn will result in higher borrowing costs for all of us (i.e. business credit lines, mortgages, student loans, and credit cards rates) which in turn can instill fear that any interest increase will slow the economy and mean less demand for workers, bringing about layoffs and increasing the risk of a double dip recession. 

For those of you who are like me—visual learners click on the image below:

Other influencers? The downgrade adds to the worry that has already been instilled based on the fact that the government said our economic growth was far weaker in the first half of 2011 than economist had initially expected.  So have employers stopped hiring?  Well according to the soon to be released Beyond.com Q2 Trends Report (this is a sneak peak) when comparing Q1 to Q2 there was an increase in the number of fulltime jobs posted—which is promising.

So should we be worried?  Well there are a lot of things up in the air at the moment, so it is hard to say. After all this is the first time in history that the U.S. lost its triple-A debt rating, however a better than expected jobs report that was released on Friday is keeping people calm. 

Also, according to Beyond.com, CEO Rich Milgram, who acknowledges that while we saw a modest uptick in jobs for July, part of what is currently impacting job growth is the fact that many people forget about the woes of the world and go on summer vacation (even stay-cations)—that goes for the people who are doing the hiring and the people who are looking.