National Disability Employment Awareness Month

In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month we at City Personnel have taken the initiative to find some statistics on disability in the US just for you. I know, you've been wondering why has it taken us this long?  I mean we're already 11 days in!  Well I apologize for the delay, and fully blame it on Columbus and his holiday, but without further a due here are the stats:

• In the US 54 million people have a disability
• West Virginia has the highest percentage of people with a disability at 18.8% of the population
• Utah has the lowest percentage with only 8.9% of the population having a disability
• Hearing difficulty is experienced by 10.2 million people, of these 10.2 million, 5.8 million are 65 or older
• Visual problems account for 6.5 million people
• Roughly 13.5 million people struggle to concentrate or make decisions, of these 2.1 million are aged 5 to 17.
• Approximately $35.3 billion has been received by veterans for service connected disabilities for 2008
• Around 21% of the population over 16yrs old with a disability are below poverty level
• Nearly 72% of disabled people over the age of 16 are not in the workforce

The New Background Check, The Most Revealing Yet?

This is for you under 30 crowd.  Remember all those times your parents got on your back about minding your P's & Q's online?  You know what I'm talking about.  All those reminders that it probably is a bad idea to post all the various times you've woken up hung over, or those pictures of you acting like a fool in Vegas?  Well turns out they were right...again.  Trust me when I say I feel your pain. 

You all probably suspected that prospective employers may Facebook stalk you during the interview process, but I'm hear to assure that they do.   In a regularly cited survey released by Microsoft Research last year 70% of recruiters asked said that what came up when they googled you lost you a job. 

Reppler, a start-up tool for monitoring your social media usage, recently conducted another survey to see how 300 recruiters are using social media to screen candidates.  The results are astounding.  A whooping 91% of them are using social media tools to pre-screen candidates.   About half of this 91% screens before they even met you and the other half screens during the interview process.  69% of these recruiters said they had denied a candidate employment based on what they saw.  The biggest fault they identified,  lying about your qualifications for a position.

It isn't all bad though.  68% of recruiters also said that more than once a candidate's Facebook profile landed them the job over someone else. Why?  Because it showcased their honestly, relevant qualifications, creativity, and personality. 

All this in mind it shouldn't come as a shock that in June the Federal Trade Commission approved a company called Social Intelligence which runs background checks of web content.   The FTC determined that the company is in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act allowing them to operate.  Their service uses data mining to compile full records of what you have said and posted to Facebook/Twitter/Flickr/Craigslist/Blogs/etc.  If something job threatening shows up in your report it is saved on file for seven years.  This certainly makes posting things to the internet a bit more risky.  You do have to sign off on this the same way you would a criminal background check or credit report, but none the less think before you post.

Another Success

Two weeks ago tomorrow was my favorite day of the month, Candidate of the Month day.  That was only about 9 business days ago and guess what?  As of yesterday Joni is employed full time in Providence.  I would say that this months feature was another success.  Thanks so much to all of our terrific clients, we couldn't do it without you!

Hats off to Joni, and don't forget to keep checking in for our future Candidates of the Month!

Success in Numbers

Typically Wednesday's are not very exciting.  It is the hump day of the week.  Not quite as exciting and crazy Monday and Tuesday, and the sweet relief of the impending weekend that Thursday and Friday bring is not yet here.  Today is a little different.  Today I'm excited about Wednesday because not one, but two of our fabulous candidates have found full time work after only a week in the interview process.

Lets start with success number one.  We met Gina just last week and let me tell you, she was fabulous.   Just graduated college and moved back to the states and incredible eager to work and open to whatever possibilities we had to present.  Her terrific attitude parlayed itself into an interview for full time permanent job the following day.  Shortly after her interview we were contacted with an offer and as of yesterday she has begun her journey in the world of employment.


Our second success surprised even us.  Lisa is moving back to the area due to her husbands military transfer.  When I originally spoke with her on the phone she told me that she would be here permanently the first or second week of October.  She sounded terrific on the phone so we had her do all her paperwork via email and then while visiting the area for other interviews this past week she popped into the office.  I immediately sent her resume to one of our clients who interviewed her the very same day.  After her interview my client informed me he liked her but needed someone to start sooner. I conveyed this to Lisa who rearranged her move and is starting with my client on Sept 26th.  Her great attitude and flexibility made my job so much easier and resulted in a terrific resolution for all parties.


Congratulations ladies.  We wish you nothing but the best and are so proud to have worked with you.

Fall for September's Candidate of the Month!

Meet Our Candidate of the Month!

Joni, Administrative Support

• EDUCATION: Bachelors from Rhode Island College 2010 & Certificate from Boston University 2010
• WORK EXPERIENCE: Three internships with top publishing companies
• SKILLS: Highly tech savvy, certified in digital media, experienced in Adobe Suite, outstanding communication skills

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City Personnel provides the highest caliber of staffing in the area.  We provide candidates for all levels of legal staffing, accounting, human resources, medical, sales and marketing and other administrative office positions.  For a more detailed look at Joni''s background, or information on any of our other candidates, please contact City Personnel at 401.331.2311 or by email at resumes@citypersonnel.net.

To keep up with the latest candidates of the month and other happenings at City Personnel please follow our blog.

Cold Calling 101

Raise your hand if you've heard of Pat Cavanaugh, CEO of Cavanaugh Promotions, before this sentence.  I'm hoping some of you raised your hand for two reasons.  One is that your co-workers are now looking at you a bit mystified and two if your in sales hes a guy worth knowing.   For the NCAA basketball buffs the name may ring a few bells.  He was a standout player at Pittsburgh and has evolved into a standout sales man.  He generated 100 new accounts in the first quarter of 2000 alone and says that he can make 200 cold calls a day if left alone with the phone.  So whats his advice on success?  You'll find it below courtesy of Inc.com. 

Q: Do you have any tips on devolping cold-calling skills?

•  Warm up prospects with an inexpensive promotional item
• Ask for an appointment at a certain time, rather than "Tuesday"
• Respect the other person's time
• Do your homework on the person you are calling before you pick up the phone
• Timing is everything 
• If you get their voice mail, leave a message. The right message gets a return call
• Follow up

Q: What advice do you have for a cold caller who sells services?

• Don't waste an appointment collecting information on your prospects. Make the appointment once you have a match. That's when you're ready to start the selling process.

  Q: I got there voice mail, now what?

• Leave a message. 

Q: How should I address my staffs concerns regarding the impact of economic downtown?

• Your team must have faith in their products and services so that they can convey that faith to customers

 Want more sales tips? Check out the original text at Inc.com

Suella's Success

Who remembers July's candidate of the month, Suella? Well, if you don't take a quick scroll back in our blog and check out her profile and then I'll share some great news.  Shortly after our campaign Suella was offered a full time permanent position within a clients relations department.


Thank you all for your support of our Candidate of the Month program and please keep checking back to see if any of our selections suit your office.  In the meantime hats off to Suella and best of luck to her in her new position!