Protingent Blog

These days, you can’t go anywhere without running into social media. One in six job seekers find their job on social media sites, and folks are getting more creative about how they present themselves. So when you stumble upon a job that interests you, think twice about how you respond and try to using unique and creative ways to make yourself stand out.

Job seekers and employers alike use the resume for the same reason: to get to the interview, so it pays to use this tool wisely. Resumes tend to have a basic anatomy, but it’s key to focus on relevant experience.

While local economies across the nation are seeing continued slow recovery and high unemployment rates, the technology and healthcare sectors are experiencing a shortage of workers with technical skills, as evidenced in a report by Dice about all-time highs in job postings. So what’s hot in terms of what employers are looking for in technical skills?

Despite continued economic woes, the staffing industry is expected to reach a high of $213.3 billion in 2013, according to Staffing Industry Analysts, with growth represented in many verticals including industrial, engineering, clinical, life sciences, locum tenens, marketing/creative fields and information technology.

I read an article from a “helpful non-partisan blog writer” who had worked with many “recruiters”. He had three simple tips for getting a job through a “Recruiter”, Headhunter (aka snake-oil salesman/woman) and he said at the end of his article (which only had one thing in it helpful to people working with Recruiters in my humble opinion.) “Recruiters, you really ought to have your own blog where you run the voodoo down for us.” I think because he knew that most of what he was saying was going to start a storm of responses.

GeekWire and Vitanna have partnered in a “Geeks Give Back” campaign to fight youth poverty. The competition will discover the Northwest’s most generous tech company. The team that raises the most money during the month of November will be honored on stage at the GeekWire Gala, December 6th, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center.

The demand for temporary workers remains strong even though unemployment remains high by historical standards. Employers are continuing to take on temporary workers as an alternative to permanent hiring.

The leading cause of death in exercising young athletes is sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Statistics from the American Association of School Administrators indicate that 2,000 young athletes die each year from SCA. With the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), chances of survival can increase up to 90 percent. The development of the AED is one such medical advancement by engineers to extend life expectancy and increase quality of life.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system is not scheduled for release until sometime in November but we’re already seeing impressive smartphones for the platform

The world is suddenly waking up to the discovery that employers are bringing on temp and contract workers at a pace that will soon surpass the peak numbers of 2006.

As an IT Engineering Recruiter in the greater Puget Sound for nearly 15 years, I have found it important to keep my finger on the pulse of what is happening in the JOB Search arena. Things move fast here in Seattle and to be relevant we must stay competitive to find and hire the BEST Talent.

Companies today want the best and the brightest to compete effectively in the global economy. They also want to get more done with fewer people. This being said, grinding away without a creative and energized work environment will never be a successful business strategy. The wisest job search strategy involves a solid understanding of what current companies need to be successful and making sure you tailor the presentation of your skills and interview conversation to meet those requirements.

The candidate is happy. They get a call from a recruiter. Why should they be open minded enough to have a conversation? Well, there are many advantages to discussing an opportunity even when they’re content where they are. Hopefully, this article gives you some insight on why it makes good career sense for the prospective candidate to be a little more open-minded when they get a recruiting call.

People often wonder why they never hear anything back after they hit ‘send’ on the email with a resume attached or on the on-line job application. If you’re very lucky, you might have a preliminary email exchange with a recruiter and then never hear from them again. It’s a depressing experience, and one which also casts a shadow on the hiring company’s reputation. So why does it happen? Is it you, is it them, or is it just something every candidate must prepare for in the hiring process? Biro, Meghan M. 2012. "5 Reasons Why You Never Hear Back After Applying For A Job." Business Insider.com. Retrieved July 31st, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/top-5-reasons-you-never-hear-back-after-applying-for-a-job-2012-7

A raft of new surveys from as varied a group as Dice, CFO magazine, and Silicon Valley Bank all say the same thing: Tech hiring is accelerating. To put that another way, if you think it’s hard hiring IT professionals now, just wait a few months.

More companies are trying to tap Facebook Inc.'s 750-million-plus user base to find new employees, threatening traditional job boards and competing with LinkedIn Corp., which has dominated the online professional networking arena.

If you are seeking a new opportunity and are fortunate enough to get an interview request, it’s important to keep in mind that there is still plenty of work to be done to successfully land the job.

Microsoft showed its first public demo of Windows 8 on Wednesday, and it's not at all like the Windows operating systems you've come to know over the past 25 years. The next version of Microsoft's operating system ("Windows 8" is just a codename) is a radical departure, designed around touch screens. If this revelation is making you weak in the knees, worry not. Here's a handy FAQ on the early Windows 8 build that Microsoft demonstrated:

Facebook is emerging as the leading social network when it comes to job hunting. By a margin approaching 2-to-1, job seekers credit Facebook with helping them get their current job. LinkedIn ran a distant second, with 46 percent of job seekers attributing their job to that business-oriented network. Twitter, the short messaging network, got a thumbs-up for its job help from 36 percent.