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Employers Intensify Recruiting---Globally

As the global economy becomes stronger, employers around the world will invest more resources in recruiting. Very few employers have full staffs, even though most have tightened their organizational charts. When companies reduce the number of positions to operate in a lean mode, every unfilled position affects the achievement of corporate objectives. Mission-critical vacancies must be filled by competent employees, a difficult challenge in a tight labor market with a shortage of skilled workers.

Employers are implementing a variety of strategies to attract the needed talent. Many are assigning more employees to recruiting duty. These people are charged with finding desired candidates, even if they are already employed by other companies. Pursuing employees of other companies has become a common practice, sometimes described as �poaching.� In the war for talent, some recruiting teams concentrate on one or two source companies and steal a number of people at the same time. The hiring company wins: the raided company is suddenly weakened.

Recruiting on college campuses will increase this year and in the future. Some of this recruiting will be accomplished in the traditional way, with company representatives visiting schools to meet and interview prospective employees. Even more will be achieved through the Internet. In a few years, it will be more difficult for recruiters to find available seniors to interview; many of them will be off the market because they were recruited as interns and co-ops in their sophomore and junior years.

Exciting things are happening in recruiting overseas. Within one week, two significant events occurred in Doha, Qatar. Qtel, the country�s telephone company staged the country�s first job fair. With 350 jobs to fill, the company�s human resource professionals were delighted to see 7,000 people attend. Applicants could participate in either Arabic or English.

A few days later, Qatar University held its first ever Career Day, with booths staffed by company representatives. Commercial Bank attracted over 1,000 people to its booth, introducing the bank�s prestigious Graduate Management Trainees Development program. The program develops Qatari graduates to become well rounded bankers with a clear understanding of all aspects of banking operations.

From 'The Herman Trend Alert,' by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group of Companies, Inc.