What’s Going On Out There?

Every once in a while I try to get you involved in my column and solicit your opinions and experiences. I have made half a dozen presentations during the past few weeks all over the world. Each time I present, I am asked about what’s happening in the world of recruiting given the seemingly slower economy. Everyone is hungry for information that never seems to be very clear. So I thought I would make this a very simple column and ask you about your own situation. If you would answer the few questions below and email those answers back to me, I will summarize them and publish them next week along with other information I am getting. I will NOT share any individual information with anyone, and I promise to keep the confidentiality of both you and your organization. There seems to be a great deal of confusion out there. While many manufacturing and telecommunications firms have reduced staff in the last two months, many other businesses have added jobs. The services and health care sectors are robust and real estate and construction remain reasonably healthy. Many dot-coms have gone under this year, but many others are thriving — especially as competition has been reduced. Some of you may follow FlipDog’s monthly job opportunity index, which gives a picture of whether supply of talent exceeds the number of jobs open or vice versa. In February, several states, including Massachusetts, California, and Colorado, were showing more jobs available than people to fill them; while others states, including Montana, Arkansas, and Louisiana were showing more seekers than available jobs. I would say from my preliminary analysis that we are in a weaker job market than one year ago, but a job market that is still healthy and growing. Do you agree? What are your numbers looking like? Here’s the short survey. I will publish all responses next week — and I will reveal no confidential information. A Wheeler “Gold Star” to all who submit a response! SURVEY:

1. Is your organization planning to hire??(MORE)??(THE SAME NUMBER)??(FEWER)??new employees than last year?

Have you recently had your projected hiring numbers for the first quarter cut???YES??NO
Have you had new openings put “on hold” for a quarter???YES??NO
Are the hiring cuts/postponements across the board or for targeted groups???(ACROSS THE BOARD)??(FOR SPECIFIC GROUPS)
If they are for specific groups, which groups are being cut/postponed?
Are any groups being expanded???YES??NOIf YES, which ones?
Has your organization had a layoff in the past 6 months???YES??NOIf yes, how many were actually let go (vs. early retirements or other similar process)?
Has your recruiting staff been reduced???YES??NO??
Were contract recruiters let go???YES??NO??What percentage of the total contract recruiters?
How do YOU feel about the employment situation in your firm right now???(OPTIMISTIC)??(CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC)??(SOMEWHAT PESSIMISTIC)??(I’M ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB)COMMENTS (These will be kept confidential):
How many people work in your organization?
What are the approximate annual sales?
What does your company do/make/provide?