Here’s a relevant survey by CareerBuilder.com that puts numbers to something that nearly anyone in recruitment and staffing has observed or themselves instituted: the practice of using the social networking aspects of the Web to evaluate potential hires.

What that means for those firms, for staffing consultants and for jobseekers is that there may very well be reasons not to hire an individual, reasons that have nothing to do with his or her resume or stated experience – and everything to do with what they post or reveal via the Internet.

Here are some of the reasons cited in the survey for not making a hire, based on what surveyed employers discovered by checking prospects’ profiles and posts on social media sites:

• Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information – 53 percent
• Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs – 44 percent
• Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients – 35 percent
• Candidate showed poor communication skills – 29 percent
• Candidate made discriminatory comments – 26 percent
• Candidate lied about qualifications – 24 percent
• Candidate shared confidential information from previous employer – 20 percent

What a prospect posts on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or other sites is perfectly fair game for any staffing consultant or HR person who wants to make a comprehensive investigation of an applicant.

There’s also good advice here for jobseekers: the barrier between our “public” and “private” selves is pretty thin on the Web.  The offhand gripe about your last boss that you post today may very well come back to haunt you tomorrow.

Are employers and staffing firms properly positioned for an improvement in the job market? It can be a mixed blessing if you’re not prepared.

Just one of the complications is skills scarcity, as the most qualified and valuable prospective hires find their talents are in greater demand and go off the market. Whether you’re a staffing firm or an employer, you might find yourself really scrambling to fill positions with good, qualified people — if you haven’t been laying proper groundwork ahead of time.

There are a few simple questions any smart HR department or staffing firm should ask itself about its preparedness for a job market uptick of lasting duration:

1. Do we have a plan in place? Be certain you — and your team — have a strategy in hand to guide you in sourcing and recruiting the right prospects when the need arises. Remember, waiting until only the actual moment you need them most means you’ll have to make last-second choices – not advisable in any business situation.
2. Are we willing to scale up our staffing team? If there’s a sudden influx of job requisitions, possibly even a new slew of clients to handle if you’re a staffing firm, do you have the personnel on board it’ll take to maintain solid due diligence?
3. Are we willing to invest in staffing skills? You should always be looking to strengthen your hand; whether you’re an employer or a consultant, you should stay on top of the latest training and work resources available that can help your staffing team succeed.
4. Are we keeping the prospect file full? Even if you’re not in hiring mode, always be sure to stay abreast of what roles you might have to fill if the situation changes – and try to maintain outside staffing resources or a database of prospects that can give you a quick head start when you do need to put hires in place.
5. Are we jumping the gun in hiring full-timers? Temp and temp-to-hire personnel are probably still a wise option to keep in mind, unless you’re absolutely positive about your business prospects in the upcoming year.

Daniel Indiviglio at The Atlantic has been a proponent for some time of the idea that temp hiring is a good indicator for growth in the general economy, and now has a chart he’s discovered that helps prove his point. His capsule summary of what it shows (and very plainly, too — make sure you hit the link!) is, “as this chart demonstrates, temp jobs lead permanent job growth. It’s rare to see such a clear correlation between two variables.”

This is a graphical demonstration of the plain and simple predence and logic we see every day from our clients: in periods like this, qualified temps or temp-to-hire staffers are the safest bet, until any improvement really takes hold in time. Then those temporary positions turn into permanent hires.

The real concern comes in making sure the people you bring in, especially on a temp or transitional basis, have the skills and focus that let them jump right in, and seamlessly serve the client’s business. That’s obviously a sober and serious responsibility for staffing firms like North Bridge.

A big part of the culture here at North Bridge is about outreach.  We’re firm believers in doing whatever we can, whenever we can, to assist and promote the great organizations that help make Chicago a better place to live. 

So when we had the opportunity to help out with preparing and serving meals at Ronald McDonald House, we were all to happy to lend a hand!  We had a great time, and everyone got to share that special feeling of uniting with others in service to a good cause.

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It’s another small step in the right direction, as up to 6,000 Illinois jobs may be created by the Federal monies going to the state to begin developing high-speed rail for the Chicago to St. Louis corridor.   This program will probably create secondary opportunities for Chicago-area businesses, as well, especially if plans move forward for a new high speed rail terminal in the city.  Let’s hope the funds will be spent wisely and efficiently, leading to permanent long-term growth for area businesses and employees.