The Employment Guide Carolinas Office Wants To Help

Today was our second “Putting Americans Back To Work” job fair in Charlotte. Again, over 1,000 job seekers attended this event looking for employment. Unfortunately, there were more job seekers than jobs available, and while many walked away with a new job or at least a follow up interview, many more were not as fortunate. You've probably seen some of the blog posts and news coverage we've received in the last few days.

A few weeks ago we received an invitation to Job Angels, a group that's sole purpose to help job seekers out - just help 1 person find 1 job. We were moved by this initiative, so we at The Employment Guide here in the Carolinas decided to get on board.


At each of our job fairs we collect resumes for people who cannot attend or who would like to pre-register for our event. We then share these resumes with employers who attended our event. Because of the overwhelming amount of resumes we received for our February Job Fairs we decided to do our part and try to be “Job Angels” ourselves.

We originally published our offer on Twitter but decided to open this up to all of our blog readers as well. Throughout the month of February, if you have a job to offer, you can direct message @carolinajobs via Twitter or email ncjobs@employmentguide.com (Subject: Job Angel); we'll search our database for job seekers who match the type of jobs available.


To qualify for this promotion, you'll need to send us your:

• Company Name
• Job location (Charlotte, Greensboro or Raleigh & surrounding areas)
• Job Title or Keywords (to give us an idea of what you're looking for)
• How you want the job seeker to contact you
  

Only companies with hourly or salary jobs will qualify. We will research all companies who make request and of course reserve the right to withhold job seeker information from any company who does not qualify. We want to help as many job seekers as we can, plus this is a great opportunity for those of you with one or two jobs that you'd like to fill.

Once you send us your information, we'll research your company, search our database of job seekers, and then contact a few that we think might qualify to fill your position. We will encourage the job seekers to contact you directly. The great thing is it's free for all involved… our own little stimulus package right here in the Carolinas, and we didn’t have to spend Billions of $$$$.

- Rosie Reilman

Greensboro: Online Privacy Issue Event

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce is hosting an Online Privacy Event. Learn how to best protect yourself online and what you need to know to conduct business online. Admission is free but registration is required. This might be helpful for those who are wary of applying to jobs online and even those who accept applications online. The event is November 20, 2008 from 8:30am - 10:30am.


Click here for event details and registration information.

Or contact the Chamber with your questions.



Related posts:
Caution: Is this job a scam?

Get Connected with NC Job Seekers and Recruiters

I've written on this blog about how personal branding is very important in your job search. How sometimes your presence online can help make or break your chances for a job. Well we've created a couple of new places to utilize and build that brand so that you can connect with recruiters and show off your professional expertise.

HiredIn

This is a fairly new launched Ning site that allows you to post your resume, discuss and chat with other job seekers around the world. You'll also be able to browse hiring event information and member profiles to connect with friends and individuals in your industry.

LinkedIn Group: North Carolina Job Seekers

If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can join our job seeker group for North Carolinians. Recruiters and job seekers are encouraged to join and connect with one another. We'll post hiring event information and other important employment information specific to North Carolina areas.

These are just two of the many sites available to you to help with your job search. Not only can these sites help you connect with recruiters and get your name out there but they can also help you take control of your online brand and find support amongst other job seekers.

So let's connect, North Carolina!

- Rosie Reilman

Text Messages vs. Emailing in the Job Search

Lately I've started subscribing to TIME's Work in Progress blog. Recently Lisa Takeuchi Cullen posted a story about how her babysitter was more likely to respond to text messages than emails. Interestingly enough she talks about increase of texting to set up interviews and get directions to places. She goes on to ask the question if you text your boss and question why texting is better than emailing?

It's funny because just the other day I was going to meet up with my aunt. She was coming to my new apartment and needed directions. I really wanted to just text her the directions but knew that she had no idea how to retrieve it. So I left her a voicemail of the directions. In that case it would've been simpler because of course the voicemail didn't cut it and I had to walk her through the turns once she got off the interstate. But it seems mobile technology is really becoming more important. So important it's arguably more important than the internet itself.

So what does this have to do with your job search? You tell me. It seems having access online through our phones allows us to stay mobile. We don't have to be sitting at a cafe with a laptop. We can be walking down the street, checking our email (or text messages). Now, most of us don't have access to a recruiter or hiring manager's cell phone. But if you did... Would you text them?

How do you forsee using text or mobile technology in your job search? Do you get updates on your phone? Do you want updates on your phone? What about you, recruiters? Have you utilized mobile technology?

Leave a comment or feel free to email me at rosemary.reilman@employmentguide.com. Your turn to sound off.

- Rosie Reilman, Photo by nate steiner

Employers Banned from Using Facebook?

Awhile back I wrote a post on Personal Brand and the Job Search. Basically cautioning job seekers to be mindful of what they put out there on the web because essentially if you post something for your friends to see, more than likely, your potential employer can see it too.



Today while browsing through the latest kirtsy links in Internet and Technology, I found this: Bosses Could Be Banned from Digging Up Facebook Dirt. Now this article is from a paper in London and so it doesn't really have a whole lot to do with us at present. However, the controversy over whether or not it's right to penalize someone for their online profiles is still being debated.



Whether you think it's fair or not, the fact is that it's happening. Facebook and Myspace are easy ways for your employer to see what kind of individual you are. I always feel like it's better to be safe than sorry and to keep your profile pictures down to an appropriate level. There's no need to share with the world the photos of your binge drinking adventures. Utlize privacy features of websites, too. What can hurt you can be turned into something that can help you. Your profile can project you in a positive way depending on the information you provide. Show off your wide array of interests or your expertise in your field.

- Rosie Reilman

Charlotte Job Fair ~ Testimonials

We're getting such great feedback from our job fair from this week that I wanted to share! This event was well attended by job seekers and recruiters alike! We also had a laptop station where we allowed people to search and apply for jobs on EmploymentGuide.com, sign up for Job Alerts and apply online to the companies in attendance right there.

This is from a company recruiting for fast food/restaurant candidates:

The job fair was EXCELLENT. I had over 75 applicants and are actually making an offer to 25. We have not had time to review and schedule interviews for the rest. Thank you so much.

And from a staffing agency that was looking for various positions:

I was VERY happy. I got about 30 resumes for Gastonia (Two of which we have put to work), 40 for University, 20 for Uptown, One for Rock Hill and one for Monroe. Most of them seem like good prospects. I thought you did an outstanding job AND lunch was great.

So if you weren't a company that participated in our event, then you missed out on a great set of candidates. Don't worry about it though, we've got plenty of events in Charlotte throughout the year. Our next job fair in Charlotte is in April and we have job fair events outside of the Charlotte area in just about every metro area in the U.S. Send us an email if you're interested in participating in any of our events.

- Rosie Reilman

Spice Up Your Office & Your Employer Brand

Sometimes you just need a little spice in your life. (No, I'm not talking about the Spice Girls.) Here's a fun little post from the Meebo Blog on spicing up the office. Meebo does a great job of giving their users insight to what it's like in their office. This is great for Employer Brand. Employer what? Just like job seekers (and any online user) can develop a Personal Brand,

Employers should be mindful of their own brand.

Any marketing professional knows that how your consumers view you is important. When you're hiring, how much more important is it to portray your company as an attractive place to work?

Employer Brand starts at your corporate website, reputation and presence on and offline and then moves to your job descriptions and your interview process. That's just the beginning of it and a very summarized version. It's so important because if you read any of the linked articles and blog posts, they all say that employer brand directly affects retention, hiring and bottom line.

It's also important to remember that this adds some responsibility of the employer to back up their brand. You can produce the best videos and present a pristine image of your company, but follow through is paramount. It's similar to candidates who lie on their resume. Without it, your employer brand means nothing.

Related Articles:
Take Care of Your Candidates; Take Care of Your Employer Brand
More Facebook Headaches for Employers and the Brand of You

Any questions, please feel free to ask! Use the chat box or email me rosemary.reilman[at]employmentguide.com.

- Rosie Reilman

Connect with Healthcare Professionals, Search Jobs, Get Information

There has been a lot of talk recently about the shortage of nurses and how it's expected to continually grow. Here's some statistical information for you:

Last year hospitals needed 118,000 nurses to fill vacant spots. US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects by 2014, hospitals will need 1.2 million new and replacement nurses. PLUS by that time 703,000 new positions will be created (and need to be filled).

There are less faculty to teach nursing students and less students who want to study nursing. Those who are currently RNs seem to be experience job burnout because of the shortage. They're dissatisfied with the diminishing amount of time they can spend with their patients and the quality care that their facilities are providing.

1 out of 3 hospital nurses under the age of 30 plan to leave their current job in the next year.

These are some surprising statistics, though with any job if you have a lack of people the work you'd like to provide can't be done. We're really excited about our new redesign and relaunch of HealthCareerWeb.com. It's still in beta but so far we have job postings, forums for healthcare professionals to discuss different topics, profiles to display your information and network and connect with other people in the medical field, and videos.

This is a great opportunity for both medical professionals and healthcare facilities to connect. It's not just for nurses. Whether you're a Physician, Allied Health Professional, Medial Assistant or any other healthcare related profession, I envision this will be a great place for medical students to get real life insight to what working at various hospitals and facilities is like. It's also a great way to get your foot in the door and meet people who are already where you want to work. And for hospitals and healthcare facilities, you can find great talent to fill your vacant positions and have a unique opportunity to really let your company shine to possible recruits.

If you're looking for work in healthcare in North Carolina or South Carolina, I'd love to connect with you. Sign up and build a profile and then request to connect with me. I'd love to get your input on the features that we're offering.

Hospitals feel free to contact me (rosemary[dot]reilman[at]employmentguide[dot]com) and I can get you more information about using HealthCareerWeb.com.


-Rosie Reilman

Resources: AACN: Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet; US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor and Statistics

Why You Should Put Time into Writing a Job Description

Part of what I do is help write job descriptions. I see a lot of jobs from a lot of companies that write very good job descriptions. However, a lot of times I'll see ads like this one:

Now Hiring
Customer Service Positions
Call Today!

With the dozens of other staffing agencies and companies looking to fill the same position out there and what makes you stand out? This as an advertisement says nothing about if this is going to pay me enough, what the work environment or hours are like, what kind of benefits do they offer? Part of my job is to help optimize postings like this one. However, when I do it most the time there will only be very general information about what the job entails or maybe a little bit about the company overview. I can only do so much, but as a recruiter, you know more about the environment, the benefits and reasons why a jobseeker should want to work for your company. So here are some ideas to help you write better job descriptions for your postings on EmploymentGuide.com.

Getting the Word Out
Before I go into how to attract candidates to apply, let's talk about getting the information to them. Not only does the ad above have no information that will attract the candidate it most likely won't be found by search engines. While EmploymentGuide.com tries to partner with various associations, search engines, websites and job boards to maximize your jobs' exposure online, unless you have the content, it's not going to be found by Google or any other search engine.

Joel Cheesman has a great post on how to optimize your job posting content and drive traffic to your job postings. He specifically writes for optimizing for Indeed but the post offers good rules to keep in mind for general online search engine optimization. Not only that but if you post jobs on EmploymentGuide.com, they also show up on Indeed.

So now you know that you need content to get your job posting to candidates. So what kind of information should you include that is going to attract the right candidates and get them to choose your company over anyone else?

Getting the Message Across
CareerJournal had an article about Employers Using Plain English to attract candidates. It's not something you always think about but if you think about it, putting things in a way someone will understand gives them a clear idea of what a job is going to entail. For example, this Morris Jenkins posting, instead of saying, "Must have good communication skills" they say that they are looking for someone that has, "a personality that shines through the phone lines and enjoys working with people!" It's just small example but from this statement you now know that you'll be using personality to deal with customers over the phone. Whereas, from the previous statment all you knew is that you'll be communicating.


Getting Jobseekers To Apply
According to Mo Edjlali at ERE there are two things you should focus on when writing a job description: stressing benefits and calling the candidate to action. Use the work environment; if you get donuts or celebrate birthdays use that. Mention overtime pay or wages if they are competitive or advancement opportunities. You might find it surprising what difference little things like recognizing birthdays or if a company really does promote from within. What makes you stand out? What makes your company different?

Take those benefits and paint a picture of how that is going to change their lifestyle for the better. Then call them to action. Give them multiple ways to apply and make it easy. There are several ways you can set up your EmploymentGuide.com account to receive applications. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me so that we can discuss these options and what will be best for your hiring situation.


Also check out:
How To Get The Best Response Out Of Your Job Posting
What is that Job Posting Really Saying?

There are tons of other ideas but ultimately the more specific you are in your job posting, the more likely you'll get qualified applicants. If you'd like to add your ideas, please do so in the comments. Or if you have questions about how to optimize your postings or want ideas on how to write a more effective job description, feel free to contact me.

- Rosie Reilman

Dealing with Employee Turnover

It's not secret how the job market is pretty tight. Turnover is greater and it's harder to find qualified people (who want to stick around.) I found a really great article that provided some really good thoughts on Turnover, particularly in the retail industry. You can read the full article by Dr. Charles Handler here at ERE.net. But here are his conclusions and reflections from the article:

• Even though job duties are standardized and some work environments rely on workers having a core set of traits to carry out these duties well, everyone is still very different and comes to the table with a totally different history and context. This context often has more of an impact on tenure than anything else because it represents a reality that is highly personal and often transcends things like money and time.
  
• There are a lot of folks out there who may be seen as overqualified for some jobs but whose life-reality places them in situations where they end up needing the job to make ends meet. This can have both positive and negative impacts depending on the person, the environment, or even things such as the person's relationship with management.
  
• The staggering number of options for doing something with oneself and the reality of the opportunities provided to those of us living in the United States often compels people of all ages and races (not just Gen Y or whatever other "Gen") to look at jobs as temporary.
  
• In many cases, hiring people for their raw abilities rather than for their experience or technical skills can be a good strategy, especially if one is having trouble getting butts in seats. Someone who is passionate about customer service and can relate to people can probably do well at jobs that require these things, even if they have no experience. This is one of the biggest value propositions for personality and work-values assessments.
  
• It is important to be honest about opportunities and what they offer to a job applicant. The reverse also applies; applicants should be encouraged to be honest about their goals for the job. Anything less is going to accelerate things like turnover.
  
• Organizations need to understand the demographic from which they hire. It is important to understand trends in how job seekers view employers and to do one's best to adapt hiring practices to account for these things. This also applies to sourcing and even employment branding.
  
• Understanding of context should drive creativity. If the cold, hard reality is that a worker isn't expected to stay at the same job long enough to make the hire pay off, seek creative ways to change this equation. This may include offering flex time, telecommuting, or benefits that are of value to the employee.
  
• Hire and/or train management to be understanding of the context that each worker brings to the table so that they can relate to that person and understand the value that his or her unique circumstances bring to the table.
  
• And, most importantly, tracking the relationship between data collected in the hiring process and objective, measurable outcomes is absolutely critical for understanding the economic impact of the reality that is our workforce. From this information springs the power to justify processes or to understand the need to adapt and change them.

Handler has some interesting thoughts and good ideas on dealing with turnover. Feel free to post your ideas in the comments if you know of any other thoughts or ideas on how to retain employees.

- Rosie Reilman

News Release: The New American Workforce: Older Workers

The Employment Guide and AARP Foundation bring together older workers and potential employers during “Employ the Older Workers Job Fair Series”

NORFOLK, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Labor Day is an opportune time to reflect upon the American workforce. Since the inception of Labor Day 125 years ago, the complexion of the workforce we honor has changed dramatically. Increasingly these laborers are older Americans.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the share of the labor force aged 55 and older, currently at 17 percent, is rising rapidly and, by 2020, it is projected to be nearly 24 percent. The graying of the labor force can be attributed to many factors including longer life expectancy, the enactment of age discrimination laws, and significant increases in healthcare costs, necessitating more income later in life.

Older workers staying in the labor force longer is good news for employers. A mass exodus of Baby Boomers, currently between the ages of 43 and 61, from the labor force as they reach retirement age would cause a significant labor shortage. Some experts predict that by 2012, there will be 3.3 million fewer workers than jobs. Retaining older workers longer would alleviate the expected shortage.

Keeping these workers employed also makes good business sense. A report prepared for AARP by Towers Perrin, The Business Case for Workers Age 50+, found that older workers are more motivated to exceed expectations on the job than their younger counterparts. They also bring experience, dedication, focus, stability and enhanced knowledge to their work.
However, businesses will have to offer the right mix of rewards in order to attract, retain and engage older workers, according to the study. These include health care benefits, innovative growth opportunities and flexible work schedules.

Evelyn Issa, staffing manager over National Hiring Partnerships for Home Depot, agrees. “Mature workers bring not only solid work experience to the job, but they also have a lower rate of attrition and a strong work ethic,” she said. “Many of our older workers are enjoying retirement but want a part-time job where they can interact with people and use the skills they’ve developed. To attract and retain them, Home Depot offers part-time, flexible schedules with health benefits and a 401K plan. We believe this gives us a significant competitive advantage,” continued Issa.

To find these valuable older workers, Home Depot is participating in the Employ the Older Workers Job Fair Series—a national effort, reaching more than 40 cities, to bring together older workers and 50+-friendly employers.

A partnership between The Employment Guide (www.EmploymentGuide.com) and AARP Foundation (www.AARP.org/foundation), the job fair series will run from Aug. 22 to Oct. 19 and is being held in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Employ Older Workers Week, Sept. 23-29, 2007.

“We are thrilled to offer the opportunity for older workers to connect with hundreds of potential employers. The Employ the Older Workers Job Fair Series is just one of the many ways we can help the older worker continue to make a contribution to the labor force,” said Jeff Littlejohn, vice president and general manager of The Employment Guide.

To learn more about the graying of the American labor force and the Employ the Older Workers Job Fair Series, and for a complete listing of the job fairs, log on to http://www.olderworkers.employmentguide.com.

About The Employment Guide
The Employment Guide is a division of Dominion Enterprises. The Employment Guide and www.EmploymentGuide.com offer businesses a comprehensive recruitment solution for hourly workers through a nationwide series of publications, award-winning Web sites, and series of job fairs. The free weekly publications are published locally in more than 75 markets with a combined circulation of more than two million copies nationwide. The job board, www.EmploymentGuide.com, attracts more than one million unique visitors each month and features a candidate database and job postings. Niche Web sites have been developed to serve in-demand industries such as transportation and health care. Face-to-face recruitment is available through The Employment Guide’s job fair program, with more than 220 job fairs conducted nationwide each year. For more information on The Employment Guide, visit http://www.EmploymentGuide.com.

Manpower Blawg

Cool! Our friends over at Manpower have started blogging. The topics are of HR and law which should provide some great resources for recruiters. Be sure to keep an eye on their site, oh and by the way, they're looking for Customer Service folks in Charlotte. Check it out.

Get With The Times - Go Video

Video is only just starting to gain according to stats from comScore. Is your company using this great branding opportunity to it's fullest?

Pure and simple, injecting video into your employment branding scheme will provide an entirely different dimension of messaging to perspective candidates, domestic or global... video as a widely accepted, mainstream communication, and branding vehicle for anyone willing to embrace it.

Read more. (hat tip)

Schools, you can add your recruiting videos to our education center and generate warm leads. When a inquiring mind clicks on your video, a lead form appears and your video starts playing. They can then fill out their contact information if they'd like to know more. (And then we send that info to you!) Want to know more? Shoot me an email.

Employers, we'll soon be able to integrate your branding videos into EmploymentGuide.com video center as well. So get those videos ready, and let your brand shine. Upload it to YouTube and include it on EmploymentGuide.com and get it infront of jobseekers!

Posted by Rosie Reilman, Internet Sales Specialist

How to Sell Your Company to Qualified Applicants

Today's ERE Daily has a great article by Dr. John Sullivan about how to sell applicants on your opportunities and how to make a list of selling points to get qualified candidates to respond to ads and even accept offers.

Many organizations struggle to get enough high-quality applicants. While corporate websites, job boards, and events generate lots of flow, most agree that the quality is lacking in a vast majority of applicants.

The culprit might be how organizations sell their opportunities. A quick scan of major job boards, print advertisements, and corporate career sites reveals that organizations rely on ordinary, bland recruiting materials and dull position descriptions to attract talent.

It is evident that little emphasis is placed on making the recruiting pitch truly exciting. The lack of effort is indicative of an often oversubscribed premise that the talent you are after already knows how great you are as an employer, so you don't need to spark their interest in your openings.

It's a premise that is rarely true, unless you happen to work for a small handful of rather elite companies. If you don't, there is an alternative approach that accepts recruiting as a form of sales and dictates that recruiters become more adept at articulating differentiated "selling points" (i.e., a value proposition).

Read the Complete Article.

Event: SHRM Mid-Year Legal Update

Hey Recruiters! The Charlotte Employment Guide is going to be the sponsor for next week's Mid-Year Legal Update Meeting. More information about location and time can be found on the Charlotte Area SHRM website.

We'll be collecting business cards for a chance to win an iPod. So be sure and enter to win! Also, ask about our special advertising discounts for event attendees! We'll see you Monday!

Hiring and Retention… Honor your Superstar Employees to get new ones

The job market has slowed down a little bit. With unemployment at around 4% nationwide, recruiting can become somewhat difficult with the unemployed pool getting smaller. It's been said that there is a 'war for talent' out there and companies are forced to rethink their recruiting efforts, advertise more and work harder to retain the employees they don't want to lose to other companies.

In Susan M. Heathfield's About.com article, lack of recognition made the top 10 list of her reasons employees would stay or leave a company. She writes:

"A common place complaint or lament I hear during an exit interview is that the employee never felt senior managers knew he existed. By senior managers I refer to the president of a small company or a department or division head in a larger company. Take time to meet with new employees to learn about their talents, abilities and skills. Meet with each employee periodically. You'll have more useful information and keep your fingers on the pulse of your organization. It's a critical tool to help employees feel welcomed, acknowledged and loyal."

When thinking about ways that you can recognize your star employees, why not start by getting on board with our Superstar Employee program throughout July? We'll run this special section in our paper and online for 4 weeks and can highlight up to 4 of your best employees. Each recognized employee will be entered to win a new laptop. Not only will your company's best be put into the spotlight, others will see that you recognize your star performers, and learn more about why they want to work for your company. We're also offering these ads at pretty amazing discounted prices as well. You can email me with more information and some additional discount opportunities on this program. It's a great way to brand, keep your best and get a few more on board.

Posted by Rosie Reilman, Internet Sales Specialist

Hourly Employees are Optimistic, Satisfied, and Loyal

Hourly workers are optimistic that they could find a new job, but most are satisfied with their current job and are surprisingly loyal to their employer, according to The Employment Guide® Hourly Employee Survey published by Dominion Enterprises. The findings are part of a national survey conducted in November that will form the basis of a new quarterly index on hourly workforce trends.

"Most of us assume that people would change jobs simply for higher wages, but our survey found that, while money is a key factor, hourly workers really don't want to 'job hop,'" said Jeff Littlejohn, Vice President and General Manager, The Employment Guide and EmploymentGuide.com.

"In fact, more than three quarters of the people we spoke with said they would like to stay with a single employer for most of their career," said Littlejohn. "Also, the great majority indicated that they feel a sense of loyalty to their employer that is much, much stronger than we expected."

Only 28 percent of hourly workers agreed with the statement "I generally do not feel an overwhelming sense of loyalty to any given employer," while a significant majority, 72 percent, disagreed.

The Employment Guide Hourly Employee Survey also provided the following data on satisfaction, optimism, loyalty and tenure:

-- 78 percent of hourly workers are generally satisfied with their current job. At the same time, 78 percent indicated that they are optimistic about easily being able to find a new job.

-- More than three-quarters of hourly employees have had only one or two employers in the last three years; 61 percent have had no more than three employers in the past 10 years.

-- Despite being optimistic that they could find a new job, most hourly employees are staying put. Nearly three-quarters or 72 percent said they are not seeking new employment opportunities.

"These are interesting findings for employers," said Sharon Sewell, Senior Director of Marketing Communications with the National Association of Workforce Board (NAWB), Arlington, Va. "In a nutshell, the study suggests the hourly workforce in the United States is interested in employment that stretches out over a period of years and that these job seekers are inclined to be exceptionally loyal to the right employer."

Hourly Wage Discrepancy

The recent survey uncovered a larger-than-expected differential between the wages of men and women in occupations that pay by the hour. These fields include clerical/office administration, customer service, sales, healthcare/nursing, retail, computers/IT, factory & warehouse, hotel/motel/resort, telecommunications, restaurant, construction/skilled trades, transportation, protective services and law enforcement.

The average wage for the women surveyed was $11.74 per hour versus $16.99 per hour for men, suggesting that women make 55.3 percent that of men when looking at a broad range of different hourly positions including both skilled and unskilled jobs. According to 2004 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median usual weekly earnings of women are 80.4 percent that of men for full-time wage and salary workers.

Professor Christopher B. Colburn, Ph. D, Chair of the Economics Department of Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va., who reviewed the data, offered the following explanation, "The Bureau of Labor Statistics data includes salaried professions where there is greater parity in compensation among men and women. In hourly fields, by comparison, men are likely to earn more per hour on average because they are often in occupations where they may be compensated for physical risk -- with high-paying construction jobs being a prime example. Also, men are, in general, in the workforce longer and thus paid more while women's careers are more likely to be interrupted for family reasons. Lastly, women place a greater emphasis on non-monetary benefits such as flexible hours and day care, which would also explain lower hourly wages."

Men also required more money to change jobs in hourly fields, expecting a 30 percent pay increase to make a move versus 24 percent for women.
Seniors Especially Good Employees

According to the survey, workers aged 55 years or older make particularly loyal employees:

-- 50 percent do not believe it is necessary to change jobs for better pay and advancement opportunities versus 37 percent for all hourly workers

-- 77 percent feel loyalty toward their employer

-- only 50 percent are driven by pay/benefits (versus 80 percent of 18-24 year olds, 77 percent of 25-34 years olds, 70 percent of 35-44 year olds and 68 percent of 45-54 year olds)

"Older workers make up a significant portion of the nation's hourly workforce," said Jim Seith, Director, National Programs, AARP Foundation, "As Boomers age, recruiters are likely to hire more and more seasoned workers. And this age data reinforces the facts: older workers are more loyal, not as driven by pay, and more willing to be paid on an hourly basis."

New Hourly Employment Index Planned

The 19-question telephone survey of 500 hourly workers was conducted nationwide in November 2006. The survey sample matched population data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.
The Employment Guide Hourly Employee Survey published by Dominion Enterprises will be conducted every quarter. The results will form the basis for an index that tracks hourly workforce trends in the United States.

"Through The Employment Guide's portfolio, which includes a web presence, print titles and job fairs, we have unique insights into the hourly segment of the overall workforce," said Dominion Enterprises Chief Executive Officer Conrad M. Hall. "While there are numerous studies on salaried workers, we see an opportunity to offer more data for hourly recruiters and job seekers. By combining our data with quarterly national surveys, we expect our hourly employment index, as it evolves, to become an important new metric."

Additional details from the survey -- including pie charts and bar charts of key findings -- can be found at both www.employmentguide.com and www.dominionenterprises.com.

Be a Featured Employer

Recruiters, let us feature your company! We have three opportunities to feature your company on our blog that offers advice and information on the job hunt.

Featured Employer.
If you have a recruitment video, let us know! We'll upload it and post it in our Featured Employer section on the left sidebar. It's a great way to further you company brand and show job seekers who visit our blog what it is like to work for your company.

Featured Opportunity.
We'll announce your job opening on one of our weekly podcast as a featured opportunity. Appeal to those browsing our site who are listening to our podcasts.

Featured Sponsor.
Add a web banner to the right hand sidebar under our Featured Sponsor section. This includes mention of your sponsorship in the podcasts and an opportunity to write a guest article for our blog. Blogging is great for search engine optimization and will help to increase traffic to your site.

If you'd like more information about this please email our office at ncjobs@employmentguide.com.