Recovery: Step 3? of 10?

The media led the recession, and the media will probably lead the recovery. A number of reports recently including stabilization of unemployment numbers, stock market climb, higher real estate sales numbers in several markets, have tipped the media buzz towards 'we're in the beginning of the recovery'.

I tend to believe this is true. Recoveries tend to be in fits and starts however, and uneven.

In HIT, things have gone from very slow, to a slight trickle, to a slightly larger trickle. We're seeing more activity, although client urgency is lacking in most cases, and many requirements are for proposed projects, that may or may not be firm. I'd say we're at about step 3 of 10. Candidates are saying regularly that they are getting more calls, more activity, but things are moving slowly, stalling, or no decision is being made. Clients' mindset is that things are slow, there are plenty of candidates, so sense of urgency is lacking. And they may or may not be committed to filling positions. In the next few weeks and months, I expect the volume to steadily increase, more positions to get filled, and the mindset to gradually change.

There are a number of predictions out there of a looming talent shortage (again) in HIT, to come sometime in 2010. Question is: how soon?

My guess is things are likely to start getting busy after Jan. 1. We'll see.

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No Job and Running Out of Money

http://www.thewisejobsearch.com/2009/09/no-job-and-running-out-of-money.html<

New Requirements

John is seeing things picking up. New requirements for Cerner, Epic, Soarian clinicals, McKesson Horizon, PMP Project Managers ..... 1 second ago -

Epic Non-Compete

Recruiting in the Epic arena is even more of a challenge than many of the other HIT vendors for a couple reasons: One, they're hot, and outselling the others, so lots of demand, and two, the non-competes and restrictions on certifications only through client and approved vendor sponsored candidates limits the number of certified resources available.

We've had many conversations with candidates trying to figure out how to get certified, or how to make a change when their current employer won't release them.

What's your story?

"Passive" vs. "Active" Candidates Revisited

I was reading an Adler article this morning and saw a reader comment post in response. The article talked about the recovery and predicted candidate behavior in the coming few months, cautioning companies to focus their efforts on "passive candidate" recruiting rather than chasing active candidates. One of the readers objected to the idea that there weren't many good candidates in the "active" pool.

The whole binary of active vs. passive is sort of a misnomer; there are varying degrees of job search or new opportunity receptiveness out there, and it can vary by day, week, month or whatever. People aren't either "on" or "off". And yes there are some good people who are unemployed, or very active, for whatever reason.

However, to varying degrees, highly active candidates are by definition less desirable than passive candidates. It doesn't mean that the active person hasn't been a good employee or performer in the past, it simply means that when a person is active, their behavior is more problematic for recruiters and hiring organizations.

Active candidates tend to be less selective about pursuing opportunities, they look at everything. They tend to give positive responses about their interest in relocation, travel, lower salaries, lower titles, etc, when their objectives are really more selective than they are saying. They want to keep doors open, they want to get in front of hiring managers to try and talk their way into better roles, etc. Which is frustrating for recruiters and hiring managers who are looking for someone for a particular role.

Passive candidates tend to be very selective and more specific about what they want. If you are active, and want to be viewed as a premium candidate, try and resist the temptation to cast a broad net and be specific and somewhat selective about the opportunities you pursue. Your behavior will be noticeable to the hiring people with whom you are dealing, and may get you more serious consideration for the kind of role you really want.

Anthony Guerra MUST READ: Part I of my interview with KLAS Pres Adam Gale. We talk of HITECH, Epic and other good stuff

http://tinyurl.com/mj46qo