This is one of the strangest hiring markets that I’ve seen during my 10 years at Accountants One & The WATERS Organization. I’ve been through one economic slow down (in 2001), but these times are very different in two ways:

1. In our current market, the demand for exceptional Direct Hire (permanent) candidates is extremely healthy. In 2001, very few companies were interested in hiring a permanent employee. Currently, we are pleasantly surprised by the increased number of companies that want to utilize our Direct Hire recruiting services. Manufacturing and Service Companies constitute the bulk of our current clients. Unfortunately, many good candidates are passed over in this “buyers” market. Today’s market is one where the client can afford to be extremely picky.
   
2. In 2001, we saw many companies utilizing upper level contractors. We have not seen this trend repeat itself in today’s market. There has been a minor decline (roughly 10%) in the need of clerical accounting temporaries, which is completely understandable given the economic conditions; however, as of yet, we have not seen companies taking advantage of the market by hiring unemployed upper level accounting and financial professionals to temporarily augment their existing work force.

Has Accountants One been able to retain their success rate?

I am honored to say that our Direct Hire Side success rate has remained at 97% for 2008. Currently the Contact Division is at 92%.

What are the hot areas you’re seeing?

And our winner for the hottest job in the city (for 3rd Quarter of 2008) is…The Senior Accountant! Most of this hiring was with larger companies. The ideal candidates for this role are accountants who took the traditional CPA firm to industry path. These candidates have 5+ years of experience and have strong hands-on experience with complex accounting systems.

Of course the demand for traditional auditors remains high.

As I mentioned earlier in this article, many companies are utilizing these times to search for C- level executives who can bring a great deal of experience to the table. In fact, during the quarter, Accountants One successfully completed an executive search at the highest level in our 35 year history.


How about the Raleigh office?

Just a few weeks ago, I had the honor of taking part in “The Triangle’s Search for the Funniest Accountant.” I flew to Raleigh for the day and was able to see Raleigh’s search for the Funniest Accountant comedy show. Over 100 people attended the event and the quality of talent was exceptional. We raised money for Junior Achievement of Raleigh and flew the winner (Tom Presley) down to take part in the Search for the South’s Funniest Accountant held in Atlanta the following week.

Brad Barbour, CPA is doing a great job opening our new office in Raleigh, North Carolina. The office opened on May 1st and Brad has already seen a great deal of success both in filling jobs in the Raleigh area and identifying candidates who are open to opportunities in the Atlanta market.


The WATERS Organization is your sister company, specializing in administrative office professionals, what trends have you seen there?

Demi Tanner, the Director of the WATERS team is exceptional. If you’ve never met her, I urge you to have us come out for a visit. Demi brings 20 years of experience to this role, and her level of knowledge and professionalism is second to none. Under Demi’s watch, the demand for qualified administrative candidates continues to grow.

Currently, Demi and The WATERS team are working on delivering value to several of Atlanta’s top companies through large scale staffing projects. Demi’s experience in delivering value through a flexible work force is gaining in demand.


What is this I hear about a new book?

It is true. I am finishing up a book entitled “Mission Critical Hiring.” By collecting hiring “best practices” over my 10 years of observing thousands of hires, I have created a book that shares a step-by-step approach to hiring the right person every time. Originally I was creating the work just for my internal team, but the interest in the approach has encouraged me to share this proven process-driven approach on a wider scale. I am hopeful that the book will bring value to those who want to raise their hiring success rate above 95%.