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What Workers Want from their Bosses this Summer

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

What can employers do to enable employees to be happier on the job? One thing they can do is to realize that summer is not when most workers want to put in long hours. Rather, a study found that in the summer, employees long for long weekends where they can cut out of work early on Fridays and flexible schedules to accommodate mid-week breaks. Is that outrageous? The same study found that employers are happy to offer these benefits.

Controlling the Schedule

There are many benefits to having some control over their schedule, employees note. A survey of 400 employees and more than 500 human resource managers provided the information. In the survey it was found that many employees expect these types of concessions during the warmer months.

  • 41 percent of all workers participating in the study desire flexible schedules during the summer months.
  • 28 percent of those who participated want the ability to leave early on Fridays.
  • Some employees desire company picnics and a more laid-back dress code during the warmer months, too.

It used to be that summer was time to roll up your sleeves and get down to business. It could be the fact that workers are putting in longer hours or it could be that more employers are hoping to accommodate the needs of their employees. In either case, employers are on board with providing such incentives.

Employers Offer Incentives

Employers who responded to the same survey were more than happy to extend some benefits to their employees during the warmer months. About 75 percent of them allowed for flexible schedules, which is the most commonly requested feature from employees. As far as Friday’s go, employers understand this need too. Accordingly, about 63 percent of them will allow employees to leave early on Fridays to get a bigger weekend in.

As for the other requests from employees, employers want to provide help there, too. About 50 said they reduced their dress code requirements and about 25 percent stated that they offered some type of picnic or outing during the summer for employees. About 6 percent stated they offered no benefits for this time of the year.

Should You?

A big question to ask then is should you be offering some type of incentive to your employees? It is a good idea to accommodate the needs of employees when it fits within your schedule and your abilities. However, it is critical to do so properly and that often means that there should be some level of supervision involved. While most will be more committed to their job when you offer incentives like this, there may be the one or two people who take advantage of it. That is why it is important to have monitoring in place.

Engage your Front Line Employees to Drive Growth

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

In a scenario in which management and front line employees remain distant to each other, there’s an increasing gap present in the ability to drive a business. In short, numerous studies, various research programs, and reports teach that a top-down strategy within the business environment is not a quality substitute for engaging employees and managers who operate the business at the customer-point. If this is the case, why is it still happening so often?

It’s a Tough Road

One of the reasons why so many businesses fail to take on this type of advice, of working in a front-line centered element, is that, for most situations, it is a game of staying at the top. The problem is, in a capitalism drive society, many businesses fail and even those that do not only remain at the top of their game for a short period of time. In a 2006 study conducted by John Stubbart and Michael Knight, the two looked at various firms and their history. The study found that of the six million firms included, only 10 percent were still in existence at their 40th anniversary. That study was done in 2006.

In many cases, businesses miss growth opportunities because they fail to engage the front-line worker and the managers on the scene. In fact, innovation is often unpredictable and based on unplanned connections within a business. In other words, some of the best people for finding these growth opportunities are those who work with customers on a regular basis, not top of the line (and often out of touch) management.

Think Like the Military

The U.S. military is a perfect example. While it may look like a top-down management style, it is just the opposite. Leadership and management within the military is dependent on a bottom-up design – the communication and learning within the troops comes from those men on the front lines, not those sitting in the offices. While the organizational chart displays a very complex method of managing these individuals, it is really the people on the ground that makes the biggest difference in the decision making and running of the organization.

In fact, in today’s military scenario, front line troops are given cyber technology to allow them to remain in constant communication with their leaders. These individuals have access to the top levels within the military. That is something that is not often easy to see within today’s management structure.

What does this mean for a business? It means CEOs need to create more points of interaction with their front-line workers. This type of leadership not only helps to grow a business, but it can also help to sustain it well past that 40-year anniversary so many do not make it to.

To build your team of front line employees, you need pre-screened and quality employees who can get the job done. Advance Staffing Solutions in the Toledo, Ohio and Michigan regions are there to help.

Modern Day Compensation: What Do Employees Value These Days?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Modern day compensation is not all about the money. While many companies are focusing on driving key professionals into their organizations, if they only focus on providing a paycheck, they could miss the best professionals in the market. While a salary needs to remain competitive, it is far from the only thing that today’s professional wants to switch jobs or to accept one offer over the other. For any employer or HR recruiter looking for a top-notch candidate, there is more to dangle as a carrot than just a high paycheck.

What Else Candidates Want

Employees value a great number of things. Just a few years ago, employer loyalty was enough. Those who had a job were not tempted to leave for another offer because they were happy with what they were doing. Now, it is easy for employees to go from one company to the next especially when the incentives to do so are better than where they are right now. How can your business be the greener grass for those employees you are after?

Take a look at some of the other values employees have a desire for in today’s workforce. If your company cannot or does not offer these, it could be missing out.

  • Employees want to have the ability to make decisions. From simple ones to more complex project management decisions, employees want to be trusted enough to do their job. By empowering employees, they perform better, too.
  • Employees want job security. In a company that is struggling, it will be hard to entice a key player into the ranks. Job security often translates into a company they will want to work with for a long period, too.
  • All employees want respect. They want to know that you value their opinion and that their abilities matter to the company. Actions and words make a big difference in whether a company is worth working with for the long term.
  • They want a challenge. Sometimes, the company that can offer the experienced executive the biggest challenge with the best reward can also be a better option than the easy job. If an employee does not feel they are using their skills in their current position, they may be willing to talk to another company who can challenge them.
  • They want perks and incentives, but they want to do their job their way. Having access to MP3 players on the job or being able to incorporate a more laid-back attitude is important especially to the younger generation. A business that wants to find great employees needs to communicate with those employees about their desires.

For those businesses and HR managers looking for the best of the best in talent, remember it is more than just money that candidates want. Have confidence in the employee. Give them the freedom necessary to do their job their way. In the end, the company ends up benefiting by attracting better employees who are happy to stick around.

Haven’t Hired in a While? Advice for Recruiting New Hires

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

After a period filled with economic uncertainty, many companies are facing a new dilemma. They now need to fill positions that were either vacated or eliminated over the past several years. The problem is that many companies have had a freeze on hiring for long enough that they’ve gotten out of the practice of hiring altogether.

Here are a few tips that are sure to get you back in the habit of effective recruiting before you know it.

Know What You’re Looking For

Before you can come up with a proper recruitment plan you need to know exactly what kind of employee you’re looking to hire. What positions need to be filled? What qualities or traits make a prospect a good fit with your corporate culture? Are you willing to take big risks in order to find truly innovative staff or do you prefer to stick with traditional characteristics and experience for the position in question?

These are all important questions that can really shape the hiring and interview processes. Once you’ve identified the kind of employee you need or want to hire then you can begin the search in earnest.

Set Deadlines to Find Qualified Candidates

It’s easy to get lost in a sea of maybe and tomorrow. Time is a luxury you don’t have when you need someone to pick up slack or start making changes now. Give yourself a hard deadline to find a group of solid candidates and set up interviews.

Once you have a deadline in place you can tailor your search process to get the fast results you need. An added sense of urgency can serve as a huge motivation and help keep you on target for the “less glamorous” aspects of looking for new hires.

Utilize Every Available Recruiting Option

You are no longer relegated to a time when the Sunday paper was your best recruitment tool. The rules have changed and technology is changing them even more. Don’t forget to place notices of positions on your company website. Make sure you’ve made it mobile device friendly as well as many people are conducting their job searches on the go these days.

Take advantage of recruitment services, like Advance Temporary Services. You’ll be surprised at how effective they can be (and cost effective) by eliminating the daily grind of finding new, highly skilled candidates for the positions you have available. More importantly, they can do the hard work of prequalifying candidates for the positions you have available so that you’re only seeing the best of the best available and not forced to sift through many unqualified applicants that aren’t likely to be a good fit for the culture of your company.

Social media is another excellent tool you can put at your disposal to find a sea of applicants for your positions. You just might find the perfect choice in short order. More importantly, you’ll have a list of qualified people the next time a position becomes available.

Recruiting new hires doesn’t have to be a painful prospect – even after a long absence. This is cause for celebration; not dread. Just keep these tips in mind and you’ll have the cream of the crop knocking on your door before you know it. For help finding the best employees this year, contact Advance Temporary Services!

Photo Credit: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Job Offer Letters: What to Include and What to Avoid

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

People who enjoy watching horse racing are familiar with horses coming “out of the gate”. This term refers to how smoothly a horse leaves the starting gate, which can give the horse a good starting position in the race. It also helps to contribute to how successful the horse will be.

In a way, this idea can also refer to new employees. Hiring companies and new candidates know that a good start is beneficial to both. A good job offer letter can be the beginning component of this successful start.  Here are some elements of what should be included in an offer letter, and what should be left out.

Job offer letters should specifically state the job title and location of the position. Identifying the job title confirms to the candidate what the actual job duties will be. Location is helpful if there are multiple locations for the company. The letter should also mention the start date of the job. These may seem obvious items to express in the letter, but they minimize confusion for new employees not familiar with the company. Effective communication of details sets the tone for good rapport with the company. In addition, a designated contact person needs to be stated on the letter.

Many companies are at will employment agencies. This means they have the ability to hire and fire at will. Some companies in a union environment have an established procedure for the termination of employees. Job offer letters should include information that the business is an at-will company so that new workers are aware of this from day one.

Letters should also clarify the compensation for the position.  This may have been addressed in the job announcement and at the interview. For purposes of clarification, pay should be included in writing. This should not be done on basis of annual salary but what it will be per pay period. Knowledge of their compensation helps new workers when they need to make adjustments in their lives with their employment such as added cost of a longer commute.

Some form of feedback should be given by the new employee. This can be in the form of an email confirming receipt of letter and acceptance of employment. Some companies also make it a policy to have the candidate sign, date and return the letter verifying acceptance of the employment offer. Businesses need to make this decision based on their need.  Any letter written should be simple, professional and direct.

Avoid making statements regarding job security as anything in writing can become a legal document if problems occur and arbitration is necessary in the future.  Nothing should be mentioned regarding the length of employment. Personal statements should be kept out such as “we are sure you will have a long future with us”.

For more information on writing offer letters, be sure to visit our employer resources found at Advance Temporary Services.

Want to work somewhere FUN? Prepare for an interview at an employer with a unique company culture.

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

In many companies today there is a focus on providing not only a great salary and benefits package, but also on giving employees a fun atmosphere to work in. This movement started with the first company that decided a casual, fun workplace was more conducive to happy and productive employees—and for good reason. Studies have consistently shown that happy employees lead to higher levels of productivity, which translates to more revenues and greater creativity. This leads to innovation like never before seen. Just think Google and Apple and you get the general idea.

As you start interviewing for new assignments, you may encounter companies that promote this “fun” workplace. In order to put the best foot forward, it’s best to prepare in advance for a different style of interviewing you may experience. Here are some ways to get ready for an interview at the next funhouse company.

Before the interview, review the corporate website and any articles that pertain to the company as a whole. You will generally be able to learn much about a company by reviewing any press that the company has received, including the executive leadership. Try to understand what the company stands for by reading the mission statement. This will come in handy when you are asked to come in personally for an interview.

If you have the opportunity, speak with the direct hiring recruiter to find out what the general corporate culture is like. Ask what the inside of the building is like, what are some of the events that the company has, and what the general population of the existing staff are like. Does the workplace include any on-site perks like a café, coffee shop, exercise center, a skateboard or bike path, entertainment spaces or other aspects of a fun environment?

Check with your staffing agent to find out what the dress code will be for the initial interview, because he or she has been inside the company. If the agent tells you business casual, be prepared to dress smartly for the interview, but not too over the top with a suit and tie, or too casual with jeans and flip flops. If this fun work environment includes ultra-casual attire, wear at least khakis and a collared shirt to avoid appearing too “stuffy”. Dress codes do vary from one fun workplace to another, so don’t assume to know what will be expected of you.

Ask around to see if any of your personal contacts know anyone who works at your target company currently. If you normally associate with people in the particular industry you are trying to get employed in, chances are someone knows a little more about the company than you, or has had a chance to visit there for an interview. Friends within the company can also shed more light on what it’s really like to work in that environment, which can give you more to go on as you interview. You’ll likely get a more accurate picture of what the fun environment is about, rather than a somewhat biased view from a recruiter who is trying to court you for a job there.

Remember, that you only get one chance to make a positive impression, and that the company has one shot to entice you to want to work there. Sometimes what seems like a “fun” environment to others may not be the right environment for you to work in. On the other hand, it may be the perfect place for you to grow in your career.

 

What is an Interviewer REALLY Asking When They Say “Tell me About Yourself”?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

You are in an important interview for a job you really want at a company that gets you really excited about your career. As you sit across from the potential employer, you smile and know things are going well. Then, they ask the question, “Tell me about yourself?” What do you say to that?

The common answer that interviewees give is about their work experience. Some will discuss their personal lives. Others will answer with comments about what they like to do and what they did last night. None of these answers is the right one from the perspective of the person giving the interview.

What’s He Really Saying?

When heading to an interview, realize that the person asking you questions is not always going to be looking for the answer to that question. In other words, he or she may ask one question but is probing for a completely different one. It is up to you to understand the true meaning of any question prior to answering it. This is not always an easy process, though.

In order to know what the interviewer is really saying, you need to do two big things: listen to the entire question and notice any cues he is giving you. If you can do those things, you will be able to answer any question, including this one accurately.

What Is the Interviewer Looking for in Those Questions?

In most situations, a job interviewer is looking for the best candidate to fill a specific position. To learn if the person sitting across from them at the desk is that person, he needs to find the answers to some very specific questions, including these.

  • Can you do the job? Will you do the job?
  • What special skills do you have that others do not have that makes you a better choice?
  • What experiences do you have that makes you a better choice over other applicants?
  • What do you have to offer to me that is something the company is lacking?

Knowing what information the interviewer is after, you can provide a better answer to the question asked to you. Ask yourself, how you can answer these questions in a way that provides the information the interviewer is really looking for you to provide.

Know the Cues

Secondly, notice any cues that the interviewer is putting out there. These can be key indications of what information is necessary and what may not be. More so, the cues are often signals to you as to how you should answer questions. For example, the following are some cues you may see.

  • The interviewer is distracted by something else in the room.
  • The interviewer is interrupting your replies, which shows he or she is impatient.
  • He keeps looking at the wall.
  • He is slouching.
  • He is listening intently to what you are saying.

If the interviewer seems distracted, he or she may be annoyed with how long your answers are. If he is interrupting, you may not be answering in the right manner.

Tell Me About Yourself

Keeping all of this in mind, the answer to this question comes down to just a few things. Can you communicate well with others? Do you have the ability to set goals and to stay on track? Can you handle rejections? In other words, are you able to answer these questions in a way that delivers the responses he or she needs?

Get ready for a great new part time or full time career when you work with Advance  Staffing Solutions. Let us help you get ready for those upcoming interviews so you can be successful in your quest for the right job.

Why It’s Important To Conduct Background Checks and How To Do It Legally

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

The hiring of new employees can be sort of like walking a tightrope. It is important to find the right candidate with the qualifications and integrity to do the job, but in today’s hiring climate it’s impossible to accept clients at face value. To be effective in hiring practices involves delving into the background of applicants to get a better idea of their abilities and employment performance. However, this has to be measured with respect for the privacy of each individual candidate as well as staying compliant with relevant laws. The purpose of the background check is to help evaluate aptitude and skills and needs to be carried out with this the primary goal.

Verify Employment Qualifications

Any employer can be overwhelmed with the number of resumes received for an open position. There could be several applicants with outstanding qualifications to do a job. It can be difficult to determine one that sticks out. At the basic level, the background check is to determine if information provided by an applicant is true and accurate. It also helps paint a picture about the applicant beyond what is on paper or discovered in a short interview.  Previous employers give an idea of what kind of work habits an applicant has. References can provide information on personal characteristics.

Protecting the Organization

The background check can be considered as a preemptive measure to ensure the integrity of the organization and the safety of employees. Individuals may not be appropriate for certain positions due to some aspect of their history. Someone with a criminal background may not be appropriate for a security officer position. If someone has had issues with substance abuse, they may not be able to work in a hospital with accessibility to drugs and medication. Certain kinds of information can only be found with a background check.

Legal Issues with Background Checks

One of the most important aspects of the background check is that information is gathered for job related purposes. Some activities of a background check may not be necessary. It is easy for an organization to go overkill in a background check to err on the side of caution. Before a background check is initiated, evaluate what the purpose is for it. Certain information such medical and credit history require written consent from the applicant.

Background checks may be somewhat different for applicants and should be planned on a case by case basis, however they must be consistent for all candidates. If an applicant feels they were discriminated against for not being selected for a job, they can file a lawsuit against the hiring authority. If subject to review,  any background investigation needs to reflect being strictly part of the hiring process based on ability and not personal private information.

The background investigation can be an essential part of the hiring process. It is a tool that helps identify qualifications of applicants.  The hiring authority needs to take care in collecting information to get what they require without violating the privacy of applicants.

For quality pre-screened candidates, consult with the staffing experts at Advance Temporary today!

4 Things You Should Include in an Administrative Professional Job Description

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

A good administrative professionals’ job description should clearly and concisely state what the job entails, including the position’s purpose, responsibilities, duties, and qualifications. It shouldn’t be overly detailed or unduly simplistic, but the job description should be customized to the needs of the person or team who the assistant is supporting. An administrative professionals’ workload can vary significantly by company, but there are some general tips for putting together the job description.

Here are four areas you’ll want to include when writing a job description for an administrative professional:

1) Purpose of Position. Outline the basic role or function of the administrative position. You’ll want to include who the administrative professional is working for. Will the administrative professional be supporting a Manager, Director, or President of the Company? It’s essential to put into writing whether the administrative professional is employed to support one executive or a collection of positions to avoid confusion later on.

Include a general overview of the duties and responsibilities of the position, but don’t get too detailed — you’ll be providing the specifics in the “Duties and Responsibilities” section of the job description.

Take a look at this sample administrative professional position purpose: “To perform general administrative duties and provide support to the Executive Director as requested.

2) Duties and Responsibilities. Within the duties and responsibilities section, provide the exact primary task details of what will be required by the position holder. Typical duties of an administrative professional include booking travel, taking minutes in meetings, scheduling and managing a calendar, correspondence preparation, screening calls, opening and sorting mail, along with a host of other general administrative duties. Use a bullet format to list duties and start each task or responsibility with an action verb, such as sort, create, maintain, etc. To cover all basis, reserve the last bullet to include any other duties or tasks that may be required.

3) Minimum Qualifications. In the minimum qualifications section you’ll need to include the number of years experience working in an office environment or reporting to a particular management or executive level. Further, if the position requires educational credentials, such as secretarial training or an associates degree, you’ll also provide this information here.

  • Warning! Be sure to exclude any statements that could be viewed as against the Equal Opportunity Employment (EEO) laws, such as those making references to race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, physical limitation, or mental disability.

4) Skills. Administrative professionals are often required to have extensive software skills, especially in today’s digital age. Make sure you list all required software skills, such as Power Point, Adobe, Photoshop, Word, Excel, Quicken, or any other software product unique to the business. Other skills typically required of Administrative Professionals include good communication skills, writing skills, dictation, transcription, records management, basic bookkeeping, basic website updating, and customer/client service.

After reading through the job description, administrative professional applicants should have a good understanding whether they have adequate knowledge, skills, and experience to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the position effectively.

How to use LinkedIn to get more exposure for your job posting

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Though much of the attention in this economy is focused on job seekers, employers trying to hire just the right person for a position need to know how and where to post their open job to attract the right candidates. Making use of targeted social media is one way and, when it comes to networking and recruiting, no site is more effective than LinkedIn®.

On job sites like Monster.com® or CareerBuilder.com®, your job posting not only competes with hundreds of others–both in your company’s field (a recent search for “Software Engineer” in Ohio brought up 14 pages of listed ads and a geographic search for all jobs listed more than 5,000), but attracts people with all levels of skills and experience–hardly the targeted response you are looking for when trying to fill a specific need within your organization. LinkedIn, from its inception, has been much more directed at business professionals and its reliance on “connections” between colleagues. It immediately sorts much of the wheat from the chaff when it comes to engaging professionals.

That doesn’t mean that the talent pool gets smaller. LinkedIn claims 35 million members from 200 different countries and the numbers grow daily as more employers learn how to best use LinkedIn to meet their needs for top talent.

It’s Who You Know: That old adage still holds true in today’s competitive job market–even if you are the employer looking for employees. You not only can send a request to the people within your LinkedIn network asking that they pass along the job post to anyone they know who might suit the job (former colleagues in your field are great for this), but may also make use of LinkedIn’s own search tools to narrow down a perfect candidate from across the entire LinkedIn database–by using search criteria like Experience, Education, Work History, Geography –even Recommendations–and many more.

It’s Also Who You Don’t Know: Professionals who are good at what they do often already have a job or have no need to actively look for one. These are called “passive candidates”. They are the types who get a phone call offering them a position and, as an employer, you’ll be competing with other employers for this talent. Using LinkedIn to search for specific qualifications will turn up lots of these passive candidates for you to mine. Send them your job post.

Up Close and Personal: Using LinkedIn’s “In Mail” feature: You can compose a personal email which will be sent directly to all candidates you choose–whether you know them or not informing them of the job opening and asking if they are interested.  LinkedIn claims 60% of its members actually open and respond to InMail Messages–unlike random emails they receive from a stranger. Using this method, you may discover that the perfect candidate is interested in your job–they just didn’t know it until they heard from you.

Attraction Rather Than Promotion: LinkedIn lets you create a profile for your company–using those same rich keywords you use to search for possible employees. Make your company sound interesting and enticing enough and candidates who are actively looking for a new situation (and use LinkedIn to search for companies for whom they’d like to work) may contact you.

Join Some Groups: Groups at LinkedIn not only bring together people of common interests (and you can enlarge your network within your field to more than just the people you know, work with, or work with elsewhere.) You can also ask group members if they know any candidates they would suggest for the job you are seeking to fill and contact those they suggest.

Look Close To Home: Do ask other members of your company, via LinkedIn, to keep their eyes and ears open for prospective employees and pass along the job posting when they find a likely candidate.

Some People Do Like A Know-It-All: Use the “Answer” section of LinkedIn to respond to questions posted about your field. Not only will it show that you (and therefore your company) are on the cutting edge of industry knowledge, but the conversation you join by your answer attracts other people also interested in the subject. Choose from among the responders and pass along the job post to any of them who have impressed you.

LinkedIn also offers corporate services (for a fee) wherein they will post your jobs (using LinkedIn Jobs Network), “push your job listing” to the most qualified candidates whenever they go online, and use their Referral Engine to screen the candidates for you–referring only relevant, high-quality contacts. An Automatic Search Function even alerts you of new prospects as they join LinkedIn.

At Advance Temporary Services, we make use of LinkedIn to form relationships and attract top-notch candidates to provide cost-effective staffing and human resourcing options for our clients, allowing them to concentrate on their core business while we provide solutions to their staffing challenges. Whether you are in need of permanent or contract employees, please contact us today at www.advancetemps.com to learn more about how we can help your business to grow.

Is recruiting via social networks as effective as traditional methods?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

That question is akin to asking if you’d rather have a hammer or a screwdriver in your toolbox. Both are valuable tools and one can’t replace the other. So it is with social media versus traditional methods of recruitment—they will continue to complement, rather than replace– each other.

As the economy revives, companies are staring to hire more workers and would like to do so in the most cost-effective and efficient way. Innovative social media recruiting appears to be free (but you must factor in the cost of the time you put in to establish an online presence, contribute to social media sites, monitor, network, and update that presence.) Nonetheless, according to a recent survey of companies, 83% now using or planning to use social media for recruiting. LinkedIn with its “living resumes” continues to lead in usage (and even more so in hires successfully made), but there has been a growth in adoption of multiple networks: Facebook use has grown 15% since last year’s survey and Twitter use has grown 32%. Now 55% use Facebook and 45% use Twitter. 46% of respondents plan to spend more on social recruiting as the economy recovers.

A survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, shows that about 65% of business professionals are connecting with each other and with employers on such social networking sites, which jibes with the finding that the most successful recruitment tool has not changed— referrals. More good hires are made by referral than any other process—whether those referrals are in person or online.

While social media recruiting will supply the largest pool of applicants, relying solely on such networks poses some hazards in and of itself. Mirna Bard, an instructor of social media at the University of California at Irvine, points out that the possibility of violating discrimination and privacy laws and the potential for unreliable information all should be considered when using social media as a recruiting tool.

For example, gathering candidates from Facebook may gain you a long list of candidates, but they may be all of a younger demographic (older workers have been shown to use social media much less that the younger generations) opening your company to accusations of ageism (and missing some of the more experienced candidates). Or peeking into someone’s personal life may violate privacy issues (if you see a photo of a candidate a little worse for alcohol at their bachelor party, does that disqualify him for a job?) Or because a candidate’s friends recommend her effusively on LinkedIn—does that insure she’d actually make a good employee or have her contacts exaggerated her talents or skills?

Here the vetting and screening done by a staffing firm can be invaluable. Such companies, like Advance Temporary Services make use of social media to garner prospects and then use more traditional methods to weed out those not suitable, before presenting a carefully pre-qualified short list to  prospective employers.

Bard believes that HR departments will likely skip traditional career fairs in favor of using virtual Web-based solutions and that job boards may soon no longer be the primary source for higher-quality candidates, but she also is clear in her opinion that we are clearly a long way from seeing social networking replace traditional methods of hiring.

Social media allows both candidates and companies a way to digitize referrals, conduct research, market themselves,  and create a larger candidate pool, but social media should be just part of a recruiting plan. The use of executive recruiters and staffing firms, a strong company website presence, and a vigorous employee referral program should be included in a successful recruiting strategy. Let Advance Temporary Services map out just such a strategy for your company.

Why it’s Important to Conduct Background Checks, and How to Do It the Right Way

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

There are many good reasons why it’s important to conduct background checks for all potential new hires. For one, people are not always who they say they are in the interview process. People will very often say anything to get a job, especially when there is an average of 10% unemployment rate in the country as of this article. Conducting a background check protects not only the company, but also the existing and future staff at the company, from possible issues such as workplace violence, theft and property damage.

Did you know that in just 2009, there were nearly 572,000 non-fatal crimes that occurred in workplaces around the USA? These figures were released by the Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistics’ newly released publication, Workplace Violence, 1993-2009. Those figures may seem staggering, but more and more cases of workplace violence and crime are making the news daily. It’s important to reduce the chance of workplace crime by conducting thorough background checks as part of the new hire process.

A best practice for conducting background checks is to use a reputable employment background check company to objectively provide information on candidates before an offer of employment is made. This information can be obtained within a matter of days by a good background check company, but keep in mind that all candidates must give their written consent to this check. Require each candidate to sign a background release form, which gives you permission.

Another best new hire practice is to check employee references, from past employers. Find out if the candidate is being truthful about his or her work titles, duties, dates of employment, and reason(s) for termination. While sometimes a candidate may use an incorrect date or embellish actual work duties on a resume, look for glaring differences in the information provided by the candidate vs. the actual information received by references.

You will also want to require a drug test as part of the background check. You would be surprised at the types of people who are actively engaged in drug usage in this country – an epidemic that has spread to all socio-economic communities. Again, do this before making any offer of employment, and make sure to consistently check all candidates regardless of the job itself.

Lastly, work with a quality staffing company that can conduct background checks for all your candidates. This can save you a great deal of time and money with your recruiting efforts. Any candidates will have already been checked for criminal histories, drug use, false information, and more before they have a check to become part of your corporate environment.

Want more information on how using a staffing agency to conduct your background checks can best work for your company? Consult with the career experts at Advance Temporaries today!

 

 

 

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