CBDC Recruitment Resources

Finding the right employees for your business doesn’t have to be time consuming and expensive. However, it is important to have a recruitment strategy that is well planned and that addresses the specific needs of each individual job opening. The first step in recruiting is to analyze your needs and the resources that are available to you. When planning your recruitment strategy you should look at several factors such as how quickly you need to fill the position and how specific the technical skills are that are required for the job. Filling entry level, clerical and even administrative jobs can usually be achieved by utilizing low cost recruitment resources such as advertising in a community newspaper, employee referrals, local college recruiting and word of mouth or networking. However, recruiting for highly technical and executive jobs is competitive and usually requires a more aggressive approach.

This document offers some guidelines for successful recruiting and provides several useful resources that have been utilized by CBDC clients.

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General Tips

  • Recognize the overlap between good public relations, marketing, and communications
  • Use friends, clients, professional organizations and other contacts as primary networking channels. Spread the word when you have an open position. You will be surprised at how others want to help.
  • Reward current employees for successful referrals by offering cash bonuses (the average rate is $500.00 per referred hire) or other incentives (e.g., day off, dinner for two). Beware that with this method, diversity may suffer.
  • Blitz strategy – combine ads, web, on-campus recruiting and other methods to get the most resumes at once
  • On-line services require fairly small investments of time and money. They attract computer-savvy people, especially students, who may perceive your company as “user-friendly.”
  • Don’t forget your own personal web site as a means of collecting good resumes and advertising new openings.

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Recruitment Resources

On-line Resources

The use of on-line services can be helpful, but are best utilized in conjunction with other recruiting methods when the need to fill the position is urgent. Numerous web sites market and match your company’s needs with the resumes of job hunters. Services include: advertisement posting, resume scanning, and company marketing. Membership profile and fee are usually required as well as fees for additional services.

Boston Herald’s Jobfind – http://www.jobfind.com/ – Provides on-line advertising and resume scan services. Basic listing: $100 per listing (1-3) $75 each additional listing; Resume Central: $750 per month $1,500 per quarter, Corporate Profile: $799 (60 days).

Career Path – http://www.careerpath.com/ – Sponsored by a group of leading newspapers, including the Boston Globe, this on-line service hosts a bank of resumes and employer profiles. Focuses on fields of: technology/engineering, accounting/finance, sales /marketing. $750 for special offer (5 searches). $1,500 normal fee.

The Monster Board – http://www.monster.com/ – “Job postings are entered into an actively searchable database according to location and category. Price includes one location and one category. Sixty-day Job Postings are $175 and annual postings are $875. Additional locations or categories are $125 each.”

JobDirect, Inc. (Greenwich, CT) – http://www.jobdirect.com/ – Focuses on entry-level jobs targeted at the college/graduate student populations from 2000 campuses nationwide. With 80,000 résumés in its current database, JobDirect serves more than 100 employers, represents over 18,000 positions from Fortune 1000 companies. Fee charged, (amount not posted on web site)

MBA Central (Menlo Park, CA) – http://www.careercentral.com/ – Focuses on MBA and software developers. Promises 10 or more resumes in 5 business days. Phone screens candidates before passing them on to employers. “Typically, our candidates are business school alumni of an average age of 32, who have 10 years of experience and are earning about $100K,” says MBA Central President Jeff Hyman. “With experienced MBAs who are in well-paid jobs, we’ve found that many candidates say they don’t want to post their résumés on the Web. MBAs are nervous about that. Our system gives these people the opportunity to look for a job and yet remain totally confidential.” The cost for a one time search varies depending on what you are looking for: Business Professionals with MBAs ($2,995), Graduating MBA Students ($1,495), Summer MBA interns ($295), Software Developers ($2,995)

Bridgepath – http://www.bridgepath.com/ – “This company follows a search or recruitment agency model for linking job seekers with jobs.” Targets undergraduates. E-mails the particulars of a job description to members who meet the profile. Those who respond are screened by phone and then passed on to the employer. Clients receive pre-qualified candidates at low prices.

JobTrak (Los Angeles, CA) – http://www.jobtrak.com – Founded 11-years ago, JobTrak targets students and alumni through university career centers. It receives more than 35,000 visitors, 360,000 page views, and 3,000 new job postings daily. The company invests in strong relationships with more than 750 college and university career centers, alumni associations, and MBA programs nationwide. Employers pay fees to post job listings and are contacted by fax, e-mail, or snail mail.

Career Resource Center – http://www.careers.org/ – Provides useful sites and lists of employers, books, associations, and other on-line career development services.

Yahoo – http://www.yahoo.com/ – Look under: /Business and Economy/Employment/Jobs/Career_Fields.  An on-line search service of categories, employers, and resumes. Free.

Local Media – Cambridge Town Crier – This community newspaper will be starting with listings of jobs in non-profits and other community-based organizations. If you have a job that you’d like listed, send an email to: ctc-editors@civic.net

Hiring an Internal Staff Person as a Recruiter

CBDC clients have found that this is the best way to find new employees if you have room in your budget to hire a recruiter/human resource professional as an employee. A recruiter who is an employee of your company will have the best understanding of your corporate culture and particular staffing needs. The recruiter will be responsible for tapping into her/his own network, executing advertising, prescreening applicants, arranging interviews, and making job offers when appropriate.

Contract Recruiter

A contract recruiter is a useful alternative when you can’t afford to hire internally or when you have peak loads that require recruiting talent for short periods. A contract recruiter will perform all the duties of the full-time recruiter but is hired on an hourly, consulting basis for a specified period of time or until a certain number of people are hired. Since a contract recruiter is not an employee of your company, you must make sure to spend the appropriate time educating the recruiter on the dynamics of your company and the specifics of the jobs that he/she will fill.

Recommended by one of CBDC’s mentors:

Joe Brideau – 978 526 8500

Agencies that provide contract recruiters include:

Winter Wyman – 781/890-7000

Willmott & Associates – 781/863-5400

Professional organizations can also yield contract recruiters:

Northeast Human Resource Association (NEHRA) – 781/235-2900 – NEHRA is a professional organization with over 2,500 members who are in human resources, or a related field. This is a great resource for finding a contract recruiter without going through an agency. For $195.00/month you can post your contract recruitment job opening with this organization. Many members do contract recruiting and are in the market for these opportunities.

Employment Agencies, Contingency Search Firms, Executive Search Firms

Recruiting firms come in a variety of forms. They are generally expensive but have developed great networks for finding people and are the best resource when you need to fill a position very quickly, need a very specific and/or hard to find skill, or are searching for an executive level professional. Following are some of the kinds of recruiting firms:

Employment Agencies

Employment agencies typically work within a local geographic area and handle jobs that are generally less than $30,000/year. Most employment agencies handle jobs that are clerical or task oriented. Employment agencies charge a fee once the individual has been hired and is working at your company. Fees are usually 20% of the new employee’s first year annual salary.

Some suggested employment agencies are:

Franklin Pierce/Office Support Division – 617/654-8858

Office Specialists – 617/734-7199

Reardon Associates – 617/270-4400

Contingency Search Firms

Contingency search firms handle professional level jobs for client companies. The search will often expand into a larger geographic area. Search firms typically specialize in certain job categories so it is important to contact a search firm that works within your industry or handles jobs that are specific to your needs. Contingency search firms, as well as employment agencies, charge a fee once the individual is hired and is working at your company. Fees are usually 20% of the starting annual salary. When utilizing a contingency search firm or employment agency, you only pay a fee if an individual is hired; therefore, you can use several of these firms at the same time. You will only pay one of them. To use the search firm most efficiently, it is important to communicate your staffing needs clearly and provide a solid understanding of your organization and the skills and personality that are best suited for the job.

Recommendations include:

New Boston – 617/938-1910.  Contact: Joanne Show. Specializing in information technology services.

New Dimensions in Technology – http://www.ndt.com/ – 617/592-9900.  Contact: Beverly Khan.  Good for senior level, i.e. senior engineers at director level, VP-level types,

Winter Wyman – 781/890-7000. Contact: Matthew Corbett.  Specializes in recruiting services in a number of fields including: Software Engineering, Information Technology, Technical Documentation & Training, Materials Management & Manufacturing, Human Resources , Human Resources Contracts, Information Technology Contracts, Software Engineering Contracts.

Romac – 617/350-0945. Specializes in all levels of Accounting and Finance

Scott Wayne – 617/587-3000.  Specializes in all levels of Accounting and Finance

Executive Search Firms

Executive search firms, or retained search firms, are firms that carry out a specific search assignment for a client company that is typically seeking an executive level person, generally at a minimum salary of $75,000/year, but usually more. The search firm is paid an agreed upon amount for finding the employee and is paid in stages as the search progresses. Often the client pays for the major expenses that are incurred by the search firm during the process. The terms are often agreed upon before the search and are typically outlined in a contract. An executive search firm will search for the right candidate until a hire has been made. They will provide much more personal service and can function as a consultant to you, getting to know your organization well in order to find the best candidate. An executive search can include services such as coaching you on interviewing and helping you define the job description, as well as identifying the ideal candidate profile. Recommendations:

Christian & Timbers – 781/ 229-9515, Fax 781/ 229-8608

Russell Reynolds Assoc. – 617/326-5200

Gustin Partners Ltd. – 617/ 332 – 0800, Fax: 617/ 332 – 0882

Korn/Ferry – 617/345-0200, Fax: 617/345-0544

Aubin International Inc. – http://www.aubin.com/ – 617/443-9922; Fax (617) 443-9955

Fenwick Partners – 617/862-3370

Heinrich & Struggles – 617/423-1140

J. Robert Scott – 617/563-2770

Recruitment Advertising Agencies

Recruitment advertising agencies can be extremely useful at helping you get the most out of your employment ads. These agencies will put together professional ad campaigns that represent the appropriate image and message for your company. They will advise you on the best papers to advertise in and the best times. In addition, they will handle all the details of placing the ad. The Agency does charge an additional cost for handling your ad, but the charge is usually minimal.  Recommendations:

Buyer Advertising – 617/969-4646

The Haughey Group – 617/439-0090

JWG Associates – 617/235-6800

Additional Resources

The Consulting Exchange – http://www.cx.com/ – 617/576-2100. P.O. Box 391050, Cambridge, MA 02139.  Contact: Geoff Day. The Exchange can provide linkages with short-term or part-time professionals who can provide technical, CFO, product development, manufacturing, etc. expertise. Mention CBDC.

New Directions – 617/624-3359.  Contact: Patricia Smith. The organization works with upper level managers who have been squeezed out by mergers or downsizing and who wish to take their skills to a new opportunity. These particular skills are often in finance, operations, marketing. They can often open doors at the highest corporate levels. Most need substantial (over $100,000) salaries. If you’re lucky, an occasional one will take a lower salary and/or can make an investment. Dave Corbett, New Directions CEO, is very entrepreneurial, and Patricia is very helpful. Mention CBDC.

PSSI – 617/ 449-9119. Contact: Alex Sheyner. This company has programmers from Russia who are available to do projects for other companies at PSSI. Call Alex Sheyner for information. He uses PSSI staff developers.

Boston Career Link – 617/ 536-1888.  281 Huntington Ave., Boston MA. A partnership initiative of the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union (WEIU), Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, Dimock Community Health Center, this program receives federal and state funds. It offers full range of recruitment, training, and employment services targeting the following industries: health care, food services, financial services, retail.

TriNet Employer Group – http://www.trinetgroup.com/ – 617/ 270-0695, Fax: 617/ 270-9979. 5 Burlington Mall Road, Suite 300, Burlington, MA 01803.  Provides human resource services including: payroll, benefits, training, recruiting, and performance evaluation. Clients consist mainly of emerging technology companies.  (See CBDC Vendor File in our office for more information)

Human Resource Solutions 617/566-8978.  141 Beaconsfield Road, Suite 5, Brookline, MA 02146. Specializes in designing human resource programs for newly established companies. Provides services in recruiting strategy design, benefits, employee relations, management training, orientation, and performance appraisal .

The Kelliher Center 617/ 643-9018 Fax: 617/ 648-0137. 41 Foster Street, Arlington, MA 02174. Offers the services of developmentally delayed adults in short or long-term job assistance including: packaging, labeling, direct mail, collating and inserting, heat sealing and shrink wrap, and assembly operations.

“Digital Moms”

Great sources for part-time or home-based help. Sometimes this population is difficult to target. To reach them,

Get referrals from other moms and dads

Advertise in parenting publications and places like: YMCA, health clubs, supermarkets, Discovery Zone, Local papers

Day care centers and schools are sometimes less useful places to advertise because moms already work.

On-line and print publications may be a good way to target a part time population. These include:

Universities and Colleges Career Centers

Can be an excellent source for temporary workers or first time entrants to the job market. Boston has the advantage of being near many high quality schools. Students with work-study financial aid stipends may also qualify to work in your organization, depending on the type of organization and project, for a subsidized rate. Don’t forget to check into annual college career fairs.

Books

  • Dixon, Pam, and Sylvia Tiersten. Be Your Own Headhunter Online New York, NY: Random House, 1995.
  • Kennedy, Joyce Lain. Hook Up, Get Hired! The Internet Job Search Revolution New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.
  • Mehler, Mark and Gerry Crispin. CareerXroads : The 1998 Directory to Jobs, Resumes and Career Management on the World Wide Web Washington, DC: IEEE, 1996.
  • Colton, Kitty, and Michele Fetterolf. A Job Seeker’s Guide to America’s 2000 Little-Known, Fastest-Growing High-Tech Companies Princeton, NJ: Peterson’s Guides, 1994.

Please let us know what is working for you as you recruit employees. E-mail info@cbdc.org with information about what recruiting sources have worked well for you. Also let us know what other recruiting information would be valuable for you to see on our website.

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