Archives January 2007

China recruiting U.S. IT grads

China’s rapid economic expansion has allowed Beijing to fund a recruitment drive targeting some of the best and brightest IT graduates from U.S. universities, according to Chinese sources.

In turn, this brain trust is being used by China both as a control on its own Internet revolution and as a potential resource for North Korea’ cyberwar program.

South Korean defense ministry said North Korean hackers are targeting the most tightly-guarded systems of that country’s main foes to extract intelligence information and to spread viruses capable of wiping out material or, at least, slowing down computers.

North Korean students learn how to use computers at an elite school in Pyongyang. AFP

Defense officials said privately that North Korea, with no great pool of computer whizzes from which to select, is relying on Chinese aid and advice to train some 600 qualified hackers in five years.
One Hong Kong-based specialist said China has a budget for hiring the best IT graduates from U.S. universities to monitor and control Internet news reporting, and useage within its own borders as well as for a national security resource. “They’ve got the money, and they are spending it,” he said.

In North Korea, the campaign ranks as a priority for Kim Jong-Il, who whetted his appetite for computer skullduggery during visits to China and Russia several years ago. Kim made a point of visiting computer labs in both countries and decided that all North Koreans should somehow become adept at operating computers even though Internet access is forbidden except for the highly privileged elites.

Those having access include Kim Jong-Il closest relatives, friends and allies, notably from the armed forces, as well as extremely well-trained technicians who had to pass strenuous tests of loyalty before being accepted into the elite computer course.

Students are studying in China and also at an academy that South Korean officials say has been educating a cadre of elite technicians for more than 20 years in a remote mountainous region.

Seven Major Job Trends for 2007

Is finding a new job on your list of New Year’s resolutions? The market may be in your favor.

Recent reports from the U.S. Labor Department indicate that while the expansion of the U.S. economy is slowing, it is doing so at a reasonable pace, and inflation has steadied. A moderated, yet stable, job market is expected to carry over into 2007 with gains that will remain strong enough to keep the unemployment rate in check.

University of Michigan economists predict the United States will create 1.5 million jobs in the next 12 months. According to CareerBuilder.com’s annual job forecast, 40 percent of hiring managers and human resource professionals operating in the private sector report they will increase their number of full-time, permanent employees in 2007, compared to 2006. Eight percent expect to decrease headcount while 40 percent expect no change. Twelve percent are unsure.

Employers are expected to become more competitive in their recruitment and retention efforts in the New Year as the pool of skilled labor shrinks and productivity growth plateaus. Forty percent of employers report they currently have job openings for which they can’t find qualified candidates.

This bodes well for workers who are likely to benefit from more generous job offers, more promotions, more flexible work cultures and other major trends identified for 2007:

No. 1: Bigger Paychecks
To motivate top performers to join or stay with their organizations, employers plan to offer better compensation packages. Eighty-one percent of employers report their companies will increase salaries for existing employees.

Sixty-five percent will raise compensation levels by 3 percent or more while nearly one-in-five will raise compensation levels by 5 percent or more.

Nearly half of employers (49 percent) expect to increase salaries on initial offers to new employees.

Thirty-five percent will raise compensation levels by 3 percent or more while 17 percent will raise compensation levels by 5 percent or more.

No. 2: Diversity Recruitment — Hispanics Workers in Demand
Understanding the positive influence workforce diversity has on overall business performance, employers remain committed to expanding the demographics of their staffs. With the Hispanic population accounting for half of U.S. population growth since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and buying power growing 8 percent annually, one-in-ten employers report they will be targeting Hispanic job candidates most aggressively of all diverse segments. Nine percent plan to step up diversity recruiting for African American job candidates while 8 percent will target female job candidates.

Half of employers recruiting bilingual employees say English/Spanish-speaking candidates are most in demand in their organizations.

No. 3: More Flexible Work Arrangements
Work/life balance is a major buzzword among U.S. employers as employees struggle to balance heavy workloads and long hours with personal commitments.

Nineteen percent of employers say they are very or extremely willing to provide more flexible work arrangements for employees such as job sharing and alternate schedules. Thirty-one percent are fairly willing.

No. 4: Rehiring Retirees
Employers continue to express concern over the loss of intellectual capital as Baby Boomers retire and smaller generations of replacement workers fall short of labor quotas.

One-in-five employers plan to rehire retirees from other companies or provide incentives for workers approaching retirement age to stay on with the company longer.

No. 5: More Promotions
With the perceived lack of upper mobility within an organization being a major driver for employee turnover, employers are carving out clearer career paths.

Thirty-five percent of employers plan to provide more promotions and career advancement opportunities to their existing staff in the New Year.

No. 6: Better Training
In light of the shortage of skilled workers within their own industries, the vast majority of employers — 86 percent — report they are willing to recruit workers who don’t have experience in their particular industry or field, but have transferable skills.

Seventy-eight percent report they are willing to recruit workers who don’t have experience in their particular industry or field and provide training/certifications needed.

No. 7: Hiring Overseas
Companies continue to drive growth by entering or strengthening their presence in global markets. Thirteen percent of employers report they will expand operations and hire employees in other countries in 2007. Nine percent are considering it.

With China’s economy expanding at 10 percent annually and India’s at 8 percent, these two countries are particularly attractive to U.S. companies.

Twenty-three percent of employers recruiting overseas report they will hire the most workers in China and 22 percent will hire the most in India.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,627 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions), ages 18 and over within the United States between November 17 and December 11, 2006. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 2,627, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

Matt Ferguson is CEO of CareerBuilder.com. He is an expert in recruitment trends and tactics, job seeker behavior and workplace issues.

Career Update: Headhunting

Executive search is about enticing the right person for a job, writes Vivienne Reiner.

HEADHUNTERS can do no wrong in the current economic climate, with a global skills shortage fuelling growth in their industry. Revenues for executive search firms worldwide have grown by 20 per cent each year for the past two years, and indications are very good that 2006 will also be a year of significant growth, according to US-based Peter Felix, president of the Association of Executive Search Consultants.

“Assuming a 20 per cent increase this year, then the market would be more or less back to its peak 2000 level with worldwide revenues at about $8 billion,” Felix says. “Any growth beyond that would take us to new heights.”

Search has experienced strong growth in the past few years because of a war for talent caused by demographic trends in Western countries and high competition for experienced management in new growth markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe. In Australia, the market is quite buoyant across all sectors, and particularly strong in infrastructure and resources. As well, the rate of change in Australian companies jostling to improve position, and mergers and acquisitions, have placed further pressure on the hunt for executives.

Executive search organisations tend to perform searches for senior positions offering remuneration upwards of $150,000-$250,000. But in Australia search is also becoming more common for more junior roles, thanks to the low unemployment rate. Employers are increasingly turning to recruitment agencies to target specific organisations and people to fill positions below the $100,000-mark.
Recruitment agencies with executive search arms, however, can be less research-intensive than headhunting firms that specialise in search.

Rob Pocknee is a partner in Cordiner King, the Australian arm of leading global executive search group Amrop Hever. Cordiner King receives up to 100 unsolicited resumes every week. But the people Cordiner Kings wants are often those well looked after by their employer, or too busy to apply for a new job.

“Sometimes the best candidates will not respond to an advertisement, and in fact that’s probably becoming more and more the norm the higher you go in terms of the job,” he says.
From the employer perspective, it may also be preferable not to advertise an upcoming vacancy, because this could be sensitive. To some people, headhunter is a bad name, suggesting a profession which poaches otherwise happily employed individuals.

But Pocknee believes the best headhunters present the information and leave the next step to the individual. According to Antony Beaumont, country director for Australia of another big global headhunting firm, Russell Reynolds Associates, people targeted for approach are generally ready for a new challenge. It is increasingly common for their companies to respond with a counter-offer, but Beaumont says about 80-90 per cent of people who accept counter-offers and stay put end up leaving within a year.

Beaumont says one of the exciting elements of working in the industry is the potential for finding the right placement that transforms an organisation. He once saw an injection of outside expertise boost a share price substantially. Some headhunters keep unsolicited CVs, but Beaumont says his firm focuses on search rather than collating and managing the numerous requests for work that come its way.

“It’s like a golden age for executive search,” Beaumont explains. “As companies become more international, the potential impact of executives who can really make an impact and drive performance and demonstrate that superior leadership is more marked. There’s more demand for these people and there’s a relatively small pool of them.”

The job of headhunting may sound mysterious, but there is generally a set way of going about the business that guides the profession. The first task is to get a clear brief from the client — perhaps not so easy when it involves a number of stakeholders. Next is to identify possibilities. Headhunters search their databases, speak to sources and specialists, and look at people in similar roles to the brief.

They then act as a mediator between the short-listed candidates and the client. Getting a meeting between the interested parties can be a job in itself, with full diaries and executives often in overseas locations. A change of mind at the last minute can further drag out the process. Searches commonly take three months or more, and are not always successful.

Headhunting can be done by large international executive search firms, boutique firms that may focus on one or two niche markets, or by national recruitment agencies with executive search arms. Larger firms tend to be brought in for appointments at the CEO level or for positions reporting to the CEO, and where candidates are hard to find.

Stakes are high, with executive search firms generally charging up to a third of the position’s first-year salary — (placements resulting from advertising average about one fifth of the salary, and some headhunters charge a fixed fee). One standard headhunters generally set for themselves is to not approach people previously placed for another client. Damon Sharwood, the director of legal search and recruitment agency, Dolman, says the exception is a past placement approaching the agency off their own intitiative.

Sharwood says in some cases people have said in their exit interview that they were headhunted, rather than admitting they had been looking. “It’s happened a few times and we have then had to go back and explain ourselves,” Sharwood says.

How can people increase their chances of being headhunted? As well as approaching agencies, people should raise their profile. Julie Mills, the chief executive officer of Australia’s peak body, the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association Ltd, says in this new era of privacy law headhunters can face hurdles getting information — but there is nothing to stop people posting their own details on the internet.

And Gaby Riddington, senior principal at local recruitment firm Hamilton James & Bruce, which also does executive search, says people can become more visible by presenting themselves as expert in their area — especially beneficial for those who do not network outside the workplace to make presentations at conferences, publish papers or do volunteer work for professional associations.
Riddington says people who are looking for new opportunities should not get complacent, or let their standards drop. And she says it is worth the effort to recommend a suitable person if someone approaches you for help in a search — it’s likely the favour will be returned.