Competition for Open Jobs

Competition for Open Jobs

The latest statistics from the United States Bureau of Labor shows that unemployment rose from 7.2% to 7.6% in the first months of 2009. Anyone who reads the paper or watches the news knows that the news is grim for job seekers. Job losses are large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors, and every day brings news that someone else is laying off part of their workforce.

Companies who are thinking of hiring to fill vacant positions are probably going to be receiving more applications and resumes from job candidates than ever before. How can you be sure that the candidate you decide to hire is the right one for your company? If you have 100 people apply for one vacant position, your human resource department is going to have their work cut out for them!

In these trying times, many candidates will be tempted to “fluff” their resumes in order to get a job. Resume falsification is on the rise and expected to increase as the country continues to slog through economic doldrums. Now more than ever, the need for employment screening is clear. The average company will spend between $7,000 and $15,000 in the first year to hire and train someone for the position after they hire the job candidate. That is a lot of money, particularly if you have to do it more than once for a position. If the first candidate you hire doesn’t work out, or if he does not have the qualifications you thought he had, you have to go through the process again.

You can help to eliminate some of the guesswork out of this by doing background checks on candidates. You don’t have to do it on all 100 applications that come in for that one position, but after you narrow it down to a small pool of potential candidates that appear to meet the experience or education level you need, doing a background check on those candidates can save you time, money and hassle.

Depending on the services you are looking at for your background check, the average cost costs can vary – more if you want an extensive check, less if you want a general check. A good background check run through BackTrack costs under $100, significantly less than the cost of a negligent hiring lawsuit and the potential loss of your company’s good name and reputation. Between interviewing, background checking and possibly assessment testing, you are being as proactive as you can be to ensure that the FIRST person you bring on board with your company will be a good fit.

Companies need to be very diligent when they hire. While the current state of the economy is worrisome, if you are hiring someone to come work for your company you are in a “buyers market” at this point with your choice of talent. Do your research and make sure you are getting your money’s worth.

Lisa Sprowls
The Filtration Group of RSI
www.rsipeople.com/filtration

Filtration Recruiter, Recruiter Solutions International