EmploymentMetrix.com

Beyond.com Launches New ‘Career Portfolio’ for Professionals to Create a Visual Resume in Minutes

Leading career network provides a new way for professionals to supplement their traditional resume with a dynamic infographic of their career history

Beyond.com, The Career Network focused on helping people grow and succeed professionally, today announced that they have launched an all-new Career Portfolio, a compelling, engaging and visually-informative snapshot of a person’s career that can supplement a traditional resume. This new tool, available for free to the over 30 million members of the Beyond.com community, maps career accomplishments into a timeline, allowing re cruiters and HR professionals to quickly scan for the most relevant information on the candidate.

Career Portfolio creates a pictorial layout that transforms often restrictive resume templates into compelling storyboards of a person’s career. The end result is an infographic that serves as a vibrant representation of all relevant work experience , skills, education, certifications and interests. The average recruiter only spends 30 seconds or less on a candidate’s resume and the Career Portfolio’s concise gathering of data is a highly efficient and effective way to convey large amounts of information quickly and clearly.

“The traditional resume is hard to decipher, at least efficiently, and is as inspiring as a brick,” said renowned HR expert Peter Weddle, CEO of WEDDLE’s, a research and publishing firm. “In today’s hypercompetitive job market, job seekers need a way to stand out, and I think that Beyond.com’s Career Portfolio is a big step in the right direction.”
 
The moment Career Portfolio launched, over 27 million people transformed their traditional resumes, giving them the option of supplementing any traditional professional career material with something much more unique. While traditionally formatted resumes blend together when placed side-by-side, Career Portfolio separates job candidates from the competition and presents information in an easily digestible format.

With almost 4 billion resumes sent out annually, there is extensive frustration among job seekers that their communication to prospective employers is lost in a sea of sameness. While the economy is certainly a factor in the increased competition, Beyond.com conducted a comprehensive survey of HR professionals and recruiters to find out why candidates might remain anonymous among the masses:

• 55% of respondents thought that “job seekers do not know how to use the traditional resume format effectively”
• 67% of all respondents thought that one of the most common mistakes job seekers make is “not clearly demonstrating relevant skills and expertise”
• The majority of respondents (58%) said that an infographic-style resume would enable them to evaluate candidates better and/or faster

Since launching in 1998, Beyond.com has changed the way people search for employment by connecting job seekers and companies through 75 unique career channels and 2,500 industry and regional communities. Members have 24/7 access to a suite of personalized tools, as well as networking features, statistics and social and industry research. The all-new Career Portfolio is the culmination of a long-term vision to radically rethink the status quo of job search.

“People tend to be visual learners and Career Portfolio provides a guidance technique that leads the eye to the most relevant information about a candidate, thus creating a powerful memory and lasting impression,” said Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com. “Each job candidate has a unique story to tell and now they have a much-needed tool to bring their distinct narrative to life. Career Portfolio enhances a candidate’s resume the way a telescope focuses on a singular image, distinguishing its qualities among a universe of stars.”

Those not yet members of the Beyond.com community are able to send their resume as an attachment to portfolio@beyond.com, where Beyond.com’s technology will  automatically transform it into a Career Portfolio and provide free membership to their vast network of available jobs and career tools.

For more information on Career Portfolio, or to sign up to become a part of Beyond.com, please visit: www.beyond.com, or email your resume to portfolio@beyond.com.

How Winning an Oscar is Like Being Told You Just Got a Raise and a Promotion

This past year at Beyond.com we’ve been talking a lot the Beyond.com Moment—that moment where you land your dream job or get that raise and you celebrate that win.

It’s a great feeling to know you’re doing something right and your efforts are being recognized, but most times at work when you’re told by your boss that you’re going to be promoted you can’t shout it from the rooftops. So instead you shake his hand, calmly exit his office and walk to the elevator. The doors open, you step inside and when the doors close an enormous smile crosses your face and you pump your fist in the air, but when those doors open again you act as if you’ve been standing patiently the entire ride.

Now that’s for us regular Joes, but what if you’re the Meryl Steeps or Denzel Washingtons of the world? 

You have your Beyond.com moment on television in front of 40 million+ people and you get to show everyone how your REALLY feel about the advancement in your career—because when you’re name is called it’s pretty much equivalent to it being announced that you just received a promotion and pay raise! You’re no longer just Natalie Portman, you’re now forever known as Academy Award Winner, Natalie Portman—pretty cool, huh? Now you can demand more money, get the good trailer, and make silly demands like you’ll only drink water that runs from a mountain stream in Zurich—I don’t know—but you get the picture.  You’ve won an Oscar!!! It confirms you’re one of the best.

So how have some stars celebrated these moments?  Here are some of our favorite acceptance speeches over the years.

Sally Field

 

Roberto Benigni

 

Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Ben Affleck & Matt Damon

 

 

Beyond.com Hires Director of Agency Relations

Leading career network brings on recruitment veteran in response
to steady growth of Fortune 1000 business

Beyond.com, The Career Network focused on helping people grow and succeed professionally, today announced that Cindy Songne has joined the company as Director of Agency Relations. With more than 25 years of experience in human capital management, recruiting, sales and marketing, Songne will be responsible for helping Beyond.com cultivate deeper relationships with agencies and expand its relationships with Fortune 1000 companies around the world.

“Cindy’s successful track record and proficiency in establishing and maintaining agency relationships will help us fortify and grow our already strong agency partnerships,” said Jim John, COO of Beyond.com.  “As agencies strive to find innovative talent acquisition solutions with maximum cost efficiency and candidate quality, we are committed to providing them – and their clients – with the most valuable recruitment experience. Cindy’s addition to our seasoned team will allow us to continue aligning agency needs with our own strengths in a changing recruitment environment.”

Prior to joining Beyond.com, Songne served as Vice President of Agency Relations at JIBE and JobTarget, where she implemented SaaS and mobile technologies to improve recruiting efficiency. Previously, Songne spent more than 10 years at Monster.com, where she rose to become Director of Global Agency Relations and built strong, mutually-beneficial global agency relationships.

Songne was the President of the SHRM Staffing Management Association for four years and won SHRM's first ‘Host Award’ for outstanding leadership. She has served on the Newspaper Association of America’s Recruitment Board and holds a degree in Marketing from Brooks College.

Another One Bites the Dust: Flu Season is Here

If you haven’t noticed, the flu is being passed around faster than…I don’t know something that gets passed quickly?—A hot potato!  In fact, it’s now at levels that are so high that it is considered an epidemic. So if you get sick follow these guidelines. 

• Stay Home. If you have symptoms of fever, nausea, vomiting, coughing, congestion, stay home! Not only because you’ll be keeping your germs out of the workplace, but you’ll also be less productive than you’d be if you were feeling 100%.

• Know How Long You’ll Be Contagious For. If you feel like you’re ready to come back to work because you’re feeling better, you may still be contagious so keep these guidelines in mind for coming back to work:

• Stay home for 24 hours after your last episode of vomiting.
• Stay home for 24 hours after the last elevated temperature.
• Stay home for 24 hours after the last dose of anti-fever medication AND normal temperature for that 24-hour period.
• Stay home for 24 hours after antibiotics are begun for strep infections.

• Get a flu shot! There are a lot of people that are against getting it because “you can still get the flu” but the likelihood of you getting the flu after getting the shot is less than what it’d be if you didn’t get one.  Plus, if you’ve ever had the flu, you know how terrible it is and there are more pros than cons to getting the shot.  If you have excuses as to why you don’t want to get it, read this post on flu shot myths.

• Don’t Feel Guilty. If you need to use a sick day, don’t worry about it, they’re there for a reason. Your boss and your colleagues want you to stay home. If you’re in the office with a fever, nausea, coughing, etc…you’re interfering with the objectives of the organization and you risk infecting others. 

• Wash Your Hands. In general this is something you should ALWAYS be doing but when there are a lot of germs going around take it to the next level—I’m talking Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets compulsion. For a how to on hand washing, go to 0:31 seconds of this video. 

Beyond.com Announces Acquisition of Career Site JobCircle.com

Expands Its Social/Employment Platform in Mid-Atlantic Region with well-known brand

Beyond.com Inc., The Career Network, today announced the acquisition of strategic assets of Human Capital Solutions, LLC (d/b/a JobCircle.com), through its subsidiary Career Management Solutions, LLC. JobCircle.com is a leading online job portal for employers and job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. The acquisition enables Beyond.com the opportunity to expand The Career Network online with virtual career fairs and offline with live career events in several markets, including the Tri-State area (PA, NJ, and DE) and the IT vertical market.

JobCircle.com provides its 1.3 million registered members with an array of tools to simplify job posting and candidate search processes. Founded in 1998, it’s best known for developing and producing targeted career fairs and events tailored to more than 18 industry categories.

“While employers and job seekers are increasingly interacting through our online channels, we recognize that a large part of the hiring process takes place face-to-face,” said Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com. “Today’s acquisition demonstrates our ongoing commitment to streamlining the hiring cycle for our employers while providing our more than 25 million members with comprehensive products and services that help them create smart and valuable connections.”

As a result of this acquisition, Joe Stubblebine, CEO and co-founder of Human Capital Solutions LLC, will be joining Beyond.com as Vice President of Corporate Outreach.

“Partnering with Beyond.com gives us the opportunity to bring our proven track record of developing engaging recruitment and enrichment events to a much larger audience,” said Stubblebine. “We’re excited to join one of the true leaders in the HR and career development industry.”

Q&A With Beyond.com CEO: Retailers Opening on Thanksgiving for "Black Thursday"

With Black Friday approaching, the talk of big box retailers opening on Thanksgiving Day has been a hot topic.  The team at Employment Metrix chatted with Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com, The Career Network to understand his thoughts on the topic, besides his concern that the concept of Thanksgiving dinner could disappaer with shoppers feeling the need to lineup even earlier.  Here’s what he had to say:

EM: Is it fair to make employees work on Thanksgiving? Why or why not?

RM: No, it’s not fair to demand that employees work on Thanksgiving. If working on Thanksgiving is tied to an employee’s year-end compensation or tenure then that is morally wrong. However, these large retailers understand that the success of their business is based on the relationships they have with their employees and with that being said they should make decisions with their employees in mind.

Overtime pay shouldn’t be in question when it comes to employees working on Thanksgiving.  Companies that do not pay overtime should be in question.

EM:  What does this say about the changing mindset of big box retailers? 

RM: This says less about the retailer and more about society as a whole. Target, Sears, Kmart, and others are all doing what they need to do maximize sales and profits. Our democratic society yields opportunity for large corporations to take unique actions that will help grow businesses, however there are times when those actions will challenge societal morals…it’s a fine line.

EM: What's the psychological impact on employees?

RM: There will be pressure, whether it’s inflicted by the corporation or self-inflicted by the employees to work when they wouldn’t normally.  It is important to remember that downtime away from work is necessary for everyone.  The holiday season is stressful enough and retailers need to understand that they can cause undue stress to their employees and if that does happen, that can backfire.

EM: Does this spell the end of holiday days off as we know it for retail employees?

RM: I seem to recall Labor Day specials and Memorial Day sales. Overtime this change has been more and more accepted and expected. Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day have always been considered sacred, but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore.

EM: Which retail positions are in the highest demand and where?

RM: The top job titles that were posted to Beyond.com, The Career Network in third quarter of 2012 in the retail industry were for Assistant Store Managers, Shift Supervisors, and Sales Associates.

The most retail jobs are located in large metros like New York, DC, LA, Dallas, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Detroit.

Thanks Rich for the insightful chat!

Hire or Fire: Who Would Job Seekers Pick for the Country’s Top Job? [INFOGRAPHIC]

With the Presidential Election just weeks away, job seekers (both active and passive) are feeling a wide array of emotions as a new or old President will take command.  With the largest job interview (full of debates and campaigning) continues on until November 6th who do job seekers plan to hire for the country's top job, President of the United States?  

Governor Romney Holds Edge Among Unemployed, While President Obama Favored Among Those With Jobs

It’s no secret that Americans are split about their choice for President, but the employed and unemployed are also closely divided on which candidate they believe will have a bigger impact on U.S. employment if elected, according to the results of a new study of 5,604 active and passive job seekers conducted by Beyond.com, The Career Network focused on helping people grow and succeed professionally.

The survey found that President Obama is favored more by respondents who are employed, by a 7-point margin (50% to 43%), while Governor Romney leads among the unemployed by 6 points (50% to 44%).  Further:

• A full 64% believe that how the candidates speak to the U.S. employment situation throughout their campaigns will have a major impact on their selection for president.
• And when asked which candidate would bring better employment prospects for them personally, Governor Romney came out ahead by a margin of 5% (46% to 41%), with 13% believing their job prospects will remain the same regardless of who is elected.

The survey revealed different degrees of optimism (62%) about today’s job market, which breaks down to 26% believing that there are good opportunities out there for them now and 36% that say they are cautiously optimistic despite a difficult employment environment. However, when asked about job opportunities in their own localities, the mood turned more bullish with 73% believing “there are jobs out there for me in my state.”

“Our survey confirms that the hiring picture in one’s own back yard is going to be a determinant of how people will feel when they visit the polls,” said Rich Milgram, founder and CEO of Beyond.com. “While job seekers are hopeful, businesses are more tentative, taking a wait- and-see approach to hiring. With new policies potentially on the horizon, the post-election environment will have a significant impact on the number of immediate opportunities available to the U.S. workforce,” Milgram added.

Among the battleground states of New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado, Beyond.com’s network indicates that recently the most job opportunities are to be found in the Healthcare & Medical field; across positions such as Physical Therapists, Registered Nurses and Medical Assistants, according to Milgram.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek recently reported that the jobless rate rose in August in 5 of 10 states considered battlegrounds in the U.S. presidential election.  Nevertheless, joblessness in six of those 10 states is below the national average of 8.1 percent.

Additional Highlights from the Survey

• While 17% of those surveyed said that they expect the current employment situation to “get worse before it gets better,” twice as many respondents (35%) report a conviction that the current employment situation “will improve” regardless of who is elected.

• A vast majority of respondents (85%) agree that fixing the employment system is a longer-term challenge that would likely take “at least another year” (42.4%) or “several years” (42.7%) to fix.

• Not surprisingly, respondents who are presently employed were twice as likely (33.3%) as those who are currently jobless (17.3%) to agree with the statement “as of today, I believe my prospects for employment are good; there are opportunities out there for me.”

• Respondents believe that the top three industries with the largest growth opportunities after the election will be:  healthcare (cited by 35% of respondents), manufacturing (23.4%) and technology (22%).

• Nearly half (45.6%) reported that it was “the economy” that will have the most impact on the growth of middle class jobs.” The number two factor with the greatest impact on growth:  small business (23.8%).  Only 17.6% viewed “politics” as a major influence on growth. 

A total of 5,604 individuals participated in the survey from among the 10 million+ unique visitors to Beyond.com between August 23 and September 19, 2012. Membership in the career network was not required.  The margin of error was plus or minus 1.31 percentage points. Respondents included individuals who were “unemployed and looking for work,” “employed and looking for work” and “browsing to keep my options open.”

Why There Were Only 96,000 Jobs Added In August

We read the report so you don’t have to and here’s what the August Jobs Report said—be warned it wasn’t terribly exciting.  There were only 96.000 jobs added to the economy.  On a positive note though, the unemployment rate went down from 8.3% to 8.1%. 

Where did we see growth?

• Hospitality (food services) added 28,000 jobs
  
  
• Professional and Technical Services added 27,000 jobs
  
  
• Healthcare added 17,000 jobs
  
  
• Utilities added 9,000 jobs
  
  
• Finance and Insurance added 11,000 jobs

Manufacturing experienced a decline of 15,000 jobs which I was surprised by given all the talk of the addition of manufacturing jobs and Detroit doing so well as a result of the auto industry.  I did learn that the motor industry laid off fewer workers than usual in July and fewer workers were brought back in August due to their summer closings—so that could be why there weren’t as many manufacturing jobs added in August—they didn’t let as many people go.

Some theories as to why there weren’t more jobs added—The summer is usually a slow time as many people take vacation and are out of the workplace which can contribute to the slow growth of hiring. Additionally, the upcoming presidential election will have much influence on the number of workers added now and in the coming months.

So what do we predict to see going forward? Based on the number of job postings we’ve seen posted to Beyond.com—The Career Network in the last three months—we predict that the total number of hires will slow as we enter the early fall months, but we will see jobs added to the Healthcare & Medical, Information Technology, and Retail fields. 

So there you have it, what happened in August and perhaps why. 

The History of Labor Day, It’s Not All About The End of Summer

As I prepare to cut out of work early today in order to get a jumpstart on the long weekend, it got me thinking about what Labor Day actually celebrates.  I always had off for Labor Day, but I never really took the time to think about why.

I always knew that the day was to honor members of the workforce, however I never thought any further than that.  How did it come to be?  Who decided that American workers should be honored? Why is it the first Monday of September? And so on.  So as we all start to head out the door to barbeques and beaches to close out the summer, here’s some insight into how Labor Day came to be.

(Cue the old timey music and faded black & white photos.)

Labor Day was proposed by either Matthew Maguire, a machinist, who was serving as the secretary of the Central Labor Union in NY OR Peter McGuire of the American Federation of Labor after attending the annual labor festival in Toronto—we’re not sure which man, but we’re pretty sure the year was 1882.

Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday, but it wouldn’t be a federal holiday for seven more years in 1894.  Despite being a federal holiday only 30 states celebrated. 

It wasn’t until after the Pullman Strike, where several workers were killed that President Cleveland and Congress unanimously signed legislation making Labor Day a national holiday.

Labor Day is celebrated in September as to not conflict with International Worker’s Day that is celebrated on May 1^st.

The traditional way to celebrate was with a parade and festival for workers and their families (so I’d say picnics and barbeques are keeping with tradition).

So that’s a quick summary of what I learned.  Yeah it’s not an in-depth thesis—but for a Friday morning before a holiday, I’d say it’s not bad-short, sweet, and to the point.

In a time when Labor Day (to most people) marks the end of the summer and no longer being able to wear white, it’s nice to take the time to see why this day is important.  Thank you Mr. Maguire or Mr. McGuire for your proposal, I’ll toast you this weekend! 

And to anyone still in the office to read this, have a great weekend!