Houston, Texas: Walker Elliott has been awarded on the Forbes list of America’s Best Recruiting and Temporary Staffing Firms 2021. This prestigious award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list was announced on May 6^th, 2021 and can currently be viewed on the Forbes website. This is the second time that Walker Elliott has made the Forbes list.

The America’s Best Recruiting and Temporary Staffing Firms 2021 ranking is based on an independent survey of peers and clients. Feedback from external recruiters, hiring managers at client companies, and job candidates were considered. Over 31,000 recruiters and 7,200 job candidates and hiring managers were invited to participate. More than 26,000 nominations have been considered in the final analysis.

Based on the results of the study, Walker Elliott is ecstatic to be recognized on the Forbes list of America’s Best Recruiting and Temporary Staffing Firms 2021.

“I am so proud of this team” said Betsy Elliott-founder and Managing Partner for Walker Elliott, LP. “2020 was probably the toughest of my career, while the market conditions were certainly challenging; our biggest struggle was really the isolation that the pandemic brought to our clients and to our own team. Walker Elliott is built on not only strong individual performances but also an intensely collaborative team environment. This team not only endured the pandemic, but they have also found a way to thrive! 2021 is already shaping up to be an extraordinary year for us. Looking forward to great things in 2021!”

Recruiters have the unique experience of sharing in the life stories of those we represent. When the economy is booming, we get to share in stories of success and advancement, but when the market moves down we experience the all-too-often surprise of the layoffs, the difficulty of transition, and the struggle to gain their job-search footing in a rapidly changing market.

Yet, it’s often in these markets that we get to encounter the most remarkable people. These are the ones that approach their job search head on, with drive and determination.

I received an email today from that type of individual. Previously, he had been the IT Director of a Houston-based Energy firm earning a great salary, solid benefits, and bonus when his role was eliminated. He is one of many outstanding IT leaders that we have seen affected by the energy markets here in Houston.

Today he sent me his “success story.” Part of his success, of course, is that he is now happily employed again, but to me the real success lies in his attitude.

His message was so great that I asked his permission to share some of his thoughts:

Hello all, A Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

A quick note to let everyone know that my job hunt was a success!  I started work February 1 in the role of Director of Enterprise Solutions.  These first two weeks have been an exciting immersion into an excellent culture, office and group of coworkers.

It was stressful but in a genuine way I enjoyed this transition period.  It gave me the time I needed to reset my perspective and reconnect with my family.  I started my social media push and began work on building my “brand”.  I am trying to engage the twitter-verse and add to the discussion on IT leadership, technology and renewable energy.   I am thrilled and grateful.  But in a weird way I will miss being “out of work” because I was so busy doing things that were close to my heart – spending time with people I know and love – giving as well as receiving

I continue to hear about struggles in the Houston job market.  We cannot seem to catch a break on oil prices.  The only advice I can offer to people still looking for work is to focus on transferable skills and do not be too quick to turn down an opportunity based on perceived problem areas like “a difficult commute”.  And keep in mind that it is a buyer’s market right now for talent so be prepared to accept slightly less by way of compensation.

Thank you for all your support.

We are starting 2016 with a continued drop in the price per barrel. As recruiting and consulting specialists in the Upstream Oil and Gas industry we hear the stories every day about how this profound drop in price is affecting our clients and in particular those individuals that have been laid off. The price drop is also making its mark on the future of the talent landscape moving forward.

While it is anyone’s guess what the price will do in 2016, it does not take an expert to know what a prolonged drop in price will do to the talent pool in this industry.

It is a well-known and documented fact that the Oil and Gas industry is heavily loaded with Baby Boomers. By some estimates 50% or more of the engineering and geoscience professionals will be retiring or will be eligible for retirement in the next few years. This has actually been termed the “Big Crew Change”. This fact coupled with the tremendous amounts of layoffs may be setting the industry up for a talent shortage in the coming years.

We are hearing an interesting trend from a number of our clients that are baby boomers. We’ve talked to many individuals that are choosing retirement early due to this downturn. These Baby boomers have already experienced the downturn in the 80′s and have planned their exit strategies over the last 5 years. After “toughing it out” before they are ready to move on from the industry. We’ve also hear from some of the baby boomers that they are choosing to step aside so that some of the younger talent can keep their jobs. They understand that the industry will need the critical talent once the price stabilizes.

In either scenario, the industry may be losing long term talent that will be difficult to replace.

While layoffs are often a necessity to companies in order to survive, the Oil and Gas industry still needs to continue to mentor and develop the next generation of technical professionals.

Walker Elliott can help our clients in this area. We can help with retention strategies after layoffs, short term contractors, or even internships for the recent graduates.

For further reference see the following articles:

http://magnaes.com/oil-and-gas-baby-boomers/

http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-112/issue-10c/regular-features/journally-speaking/the-big-crew-change-is-here.html

If you’re an active searcher for new work opportunities, you probably know this feeling too well. You see a posting for a job that’s near home, well compensated and best of all, you’re well qualified. But, then after a few days, you still haven’t heard back for an interview. Once in a while, that just happens. But, if over and over again your resume doesn’t get you called, it may be time to take another look at your resume.

As both a Recruiter and an Account Manager, I have the added benefit of working with candidates as well as directly with the hiring managers.  This allows me a unique perspective.   I want to help candidates have the best chance at the right job for both sides. This often means helping a candidate tailor his/her resume, since it is the first impression to hiring authorities. Employers will draw conclusions from its quality and it continues to be an important part of the hiring process.

Although writing resumes can often be tedious, you need a strong resume if you’re looking for new work opportunities. It’s not enough to be qualified; you have to sell yourself with an outstanding resume. Here are some tips for making sure your specs are up to spec.

Style:

• A resume is different writing than normal everyday communication. Think brief and precise. No pronouns. No be verbs (is, was) or auxiliary verbs (do, did, have, has) and modals (could, might, would).
• Make sure your grammar is impressive. Correct capitalization. Excellent spelling (“their, they’re, there”). Present tense for current role; past tense for prior roles. Keep your lines short and declarative, in first person without pronouns. E.g. “Designed and implemented software,” as opposed to “While there, I designed software, etc.”

Content:

• Many candidates look for several different titles or roles at the same time, depending on their interests, talents and experience. If that’s you, you’ll want to have a separate resume for each role, reorganizing each resume to highlight the relevant experiences for each role sought. If you have done Project Management but stayed hands on as a developer too, you won’t want to send a resume geared towards a PM role if you are applying for a Sr. Developer role. It goes without saying that you of course need to stay honest about your experience but it is ok to highlight different capabilities in different versions.
• Employers assume you are listing your skills in a declining order, so order your experiences to reflect the needs of the company and to reflect your strengths and interests. If you don’t like project management, don’t put it at the top of your skills. If you’re primarily experienced at C#.Net, for instance, then don’t bury it in a sea of technical abilities. Put it front and center.
• If applicable, include metrics. Quantifiable data looks really good in experience. And make sure you detail how your technical skills were used in your previous roles. (“Designed and implemented software using PHP, MySQL, Apache and Linux”). And feel free to get more specific about what exactly you accomplished in each task or role. (“Provided software support to over 30 partnered clients with x total users”).
• It might be tempting to hire a freelancer to write your resume. While it’s certainly important to take your resume to a talented resume-writer for revision, you need to be the author of your credentials, because only you will be able to accurately portray your experience in a meaningful way.
• Cookie-cutter resumes can be smelled from a mile away. Make sure the content in your experience is accurate to you specifically. You don’t want to sound like a job description.
• Unless you personally helped with an accomplishment, leave it off. You don’t want to accidentally lead potential employers into thinking you can do more than you actually can.

Format:

• The goal of a resume is to detail experiences efficiently to an employer. Even if you can write beautiful paragraphs about your experience, job history really needs to be shown in bullet points.
• Consistency is key! One font style is best with only titles of sections or roles being in a large font size. The simpler a resume, the better. Choose one primary font. Then bold and underline as appropriate to give the document a structured, logical look.
• Be cautious about your use of charts, grids or graphics to structure your document, for simple, yet serious reasons: Often times formatted resumes won’t return your file in an applicant tracking system or computer system. For instance, if you write your technical skills in a box, and then I look for “.Net Developer” in my computer, many times your resume won’t get pulled, even if you match my search. It also will not convert over right to various operating systems and may come through the ATS looking very bad by the time the hiring manger sees it.
• Did I mention simple is better? Doc. Format is generally the best format for submitting resumes to applicant tracking systems or even directly to recruiters. Although these systems are continuing to update, there are many that don’t import PDF’s or docx cleanly.  And since they don’t import well into older ATS systems, they are not always searchable. Many recruiters will need to ask you for a Word document anyway as they usually will remove your contact information and replace it with theirs. So save having to send two over to begin with and start with an editable Word format.

The art of finding work can be complicated, and at times it might seem overwhelming, but a good recruiter can help you make a resume that is as impressive as you are. Just remember that your goal is to honestly reflect your experience in a persuasive way. You’ll be amazed at how much a good resume will open new doors in your job search.

Related articles:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gone-six-seconds-why-i-passed-your-resume-danielle-krause

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/4-resume-blunders-that-dr_b_7842408.html

It’s been a little over a year since we’ve seen the price per barrel start its fall. As we move towards the close of the year it is a good time to reflect on this price and how we’ve seen this affect the Houston recruiting market. Some sectors have responded positively.

Industries such as the Petrochem and Refining have added this year in response to the lower prices. Other industries have also responded with an increase in hiring this year such as retail, entertainment, healthcare and certain sectors in the manufacturing industry.

But in Houston, the Energy Capital of the world, many are affected negatively by the price per barrel drop. We’ve heard from way too many of our clients and candidates about layoffs this year and many of these talented individuals are still in a career transition heading into the end of the year.

However, we’ve seen a few glimmers in recent months that are worth sharing.

Our hiring activity in our upstream oil and gas division has seen a steady increase in hiring activity for the last 3 months. In fact, our placement activity (offers extended and accepted) in the last three months has been considerably more than the entire first 6 months of this year. The second half of 2015 is on track to double the first half of the year in overall Oil and Gas hiring for our team.

The positions in the last three months have been the better paying “game changer” candidate searches. This shows us that our clients are starting to look for strategic hires to be in place for their 2016 plans. Most of our sources are telling us that they think the prices have started to stabilize and that we will see a steady but perhaps gradual increase in the price per barrel.

So, if you have been affected by the price per barrel this year-here are just a few tips for job searching in the 4th quarter:

•    Don’t listen to those who tell you that the 4th quarter is not the time to look for a job. In all my years of recruiting often the 4th quarter is the busiest. This year is definitely trending in this direction.
•    Looking for a job is a full time job. It requires the same dedication that it took to get your degree and to succeed at your previous jobs. You should be doing something every day on your search
•    The internet is a necessity. You need to have your profile out on a number of sites including: LinkedIn, Indeed, OilPro and others. If you need suggestions on where your profile should be and what it should look like please feel free to reach out to us.
•    It’s okay to consider contract consulting roles.
•    It’s also okay to consider some step back in compensation—but if you do make sure you get a good sense of your ability to get reviews and raises once the price per barrel normalizes.
•    Watch the job postings frequently—in this type of market you want to be one of the first to apply to a job, you don’t want to be at the end of the queue.

Remember, the market ebbs and flows. We have been able to see signs of improvement already, and hopefully those continue to increase into the next few months. So keep your head up, work hard in your job search and prepare for exciting new opportunities.

This summer has seen many jobs added to the marketplace. In fact, recent reports show over 200,000 new jobs added in August. And yet, thousands of skilled workers are struggling to find work, and it goes without saying: The job search is frustrating and can feel defeating. For many, long-term unemployment is a source for anxiety and depression. Here are a few tips to maintain your mental health when you’re in a work transition or just in-between.

Snowball your tasks.

Lethargy is dangerous! Whenever stresses start to stack, the combined weight can make us feel sluggish and unmotivated. Plus, there are a hundred things to worry about and not many have easy solutions. Start with a few easy tasks each day to help your brain feel successful. Then find one or two more difficult problems to solve and focus a few hours to making the calls, filing the paperwork, writing the letters, etc. You’ll be amazed how a few, focused hours of productivity can lighten your mood.

Start each morning with something refreshing.

Each person has their own way of refueling. Find yours and start your day doing whatever that is. For many, spending fifteen minutes meditating can make the day seem more approachable and exciting. For others, maybe all you need is a quick jog in the early morning.

Fight the urge to sleep in. Try finding a fight-song and play it while you get ready in the morning. Can’t think of one? Try this classic.

Stay connected.

A limited income might mean less time out with friends and family. Try and monitor how much time goes between important conversations. Invite friends over for an easy night in. It might be a great time to reconnect with people you haven’t spoken with in a while. Don’t be afraid to vent to loved ones, but make sure to try and keep a positive outlook. Being between jobs has been shown to cause frustration and fallout that can strain important relationships, so having fun with loved ones is a must for your long-term health.

Reframe your situation.

It is not a personal failure to have not found the right work fit for you. The reality of the market is that there are many well-qualified, hard-working people who struggle to find meaningful work. It’s important to put your situation in perspective and not rehearse negative thoughts. Kick self-deprecating thoughts to the curb and remind yourself of your strengths. Focus on leads and again, try to be optimistic. Not only is optimism more enjoyable, it’s also good for your health.

Related Articles:

http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2012/04/unemployment.aspx

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201110/preserving-mental-health-during-unemployment

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/the-mental-health-consequences-of-unemployment/372449/

In the past several years, networking has become a buzzword. As recruiters, our work involves quite a bit of it. For instance, we keep up with contacts to be in the know about new work opportunities and are constantly researching and making new relationships. But everyone should develop their personal networks.

It may seem counter-intuitive for a recruiter to advise someone to make their own connections, but it isn’t! We want each of our candidates to create their professional networks for a few reasons.

Sharing opportunities with your consultant helps us to know more about your interests and which type of jobs are exciting to you. When you tell us about your professional web, we get a better idea of which job will fit you best. If you see leads, tell your recruiter. Lots of times, recruiters have already built a relationship with someone in the company you’re excited about, and we can help you get in.

Of course, networking is not easy, but there are some simple ways to establish yourself in your network. Here are three tips which will send you in the right direction.

1. Complete your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a professional networking tool. And although it is a type of social media, it is not the same as Facebook! Fill in as much information about yourself as you can. The more you write, the more employers will find you when searching for candidates.
   

    

2. Be careful the types of posts you make on LinkedIn. Try and keep your page as professional and objective as possible. And if you’re a young professional, make sure that your social pages aren’t hurting your professional pages. More on this here.
   

    

3. Add everyone to your network that you can. Pluralizing your network helps you to hear about market news and work opportunities more quickly, which could give you an advantage in the marketplace.
   

And remember. Potential employers will look at your LinkedIn to see who you know. If they see that you are well-connected, it’ll raise their interest in you as a candidate, and it may spark a conversation if they learn that they share some of your contacts. Therein lies the beauty of networking: Growing your network strengthens the networks of people who know you.

Related articles:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2012/05/29/7-reasons-networking-can-be-a-professional-development-boot-camp/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/248812

Resume Tracking Systems

Looking for a job used to involve submitting your resume to a person, typically HR, who reviewed it and then made a recommendation about bringing you out for an interview. Much of what has been written about how to write a successful resume revolves around making your resume stand out from other resumes when a person is reviewing them. Although this is still a very important quality of a great resume, first your resume has to make it through and past the Applicant Tracking systems.

Most studies report that somewhere between 50-75% of the companies now use applicant tracking systems. With more and more companies implementing Applicant tracking systems (ATS) and Candidate portals, your resume has to make it past the internal ranking system of the ATS to even be seen by a real person. In addition, your resume has to be formatted in such a way that it can be easily and accurately “parsed” into the ATS.

ATS Ready Resume

Getting your resume “read” properly by the ATS is your first priority. Most ATS systems utilize a common “parsing” technology. The parsing systems have more difficulty in bringing in resumes with lots of formatting, columns, and tables. In addition, many of the parsing systems don’t bring in PDF’s, HTML, or .DOCX so it is best to keep your resume in a .doc format to insure that the system can parse it in and accurately pull the relevant information off the resume. Other formatting tips include putting key skills or projects into a bullet point format and avoid overusing graphics, logos, and pictures on your resume

Optimize Your Resume

Optimize your resume to match the job listing. We’ve all heard about Search engine optimization when it comes to building websites that will get noticed. The same principles apply now to your resume. The ATS systems are trained to pull relevant information from your resume that matches the company job description. How well your resume matches will determine how your resume is ranked. Your ranking in the system will ultimately decide whether your resume gets reviewed by a human. Older ATS systems would often just count the times a buzz word or key word appeared on your resume. The more times the terms were there the higher your resume would be ranked. The newer ATS systems use a different approach which is “contextualized search”. In a “contextualized Search” process the ATS system not only looks for certain key words it also looks to see if you are using them in a meaningful way.

You can maximize your optimization by:

• Use the same type of verbiage as the job description. For example: if the job calls for extensive “Project Management” your resume should have the words ‘Project Management’ together somewhere on your resume in order for the system to “see” you as a match.
• Embed your technology terminology in a realistic way throughout your resume. Just listing your technical terms at the top of the resume is not enough. You have to show where and how you used the technology. You can’t assume that just having the technical terms once in your resume will get your resume reviewed. You should show your technical terms at every job.
• Don’t “overdo” the technical terms. Putting .NET on every line of your resume may actually get you screened out as many of the ATS systems are designed to look for a “believable use” of the terminology.

There is no rule that requires a one page resume. One page resumes can actually hurt when you are applying to an ATS if you cut out critical information. A resume can be several pages long as long as the information is relevant and current.

Ideally your resume should specify where your work experience begins by calling that section of your resume “Work Experience”. Make it easier on the system by putting company names first and then the dates employed. Don’t break down one job into multiple “dated” jobs.

Conclusion

So, in the end why is this important and relevant to you? In a study by a California based research and consulting firm; Bersin and Associates created a resume that was an ideal match for an open position. When the resume was parsed into the ATS, much of the work experience was lost and not pulled in for ranking because the dates of the experience were before the job and the formatting was not “standard”. This one small issue with formatting caused the resume to only show a 43% match to the role. We’ve seen in our own business dealings with clients that operate on ATS systems that great people are often screened out because they didn’t pull their buzzwords and technology down into their work experience or they leave specifics out of their resume. Often people assume that anyone who looks at their resume will understand what they’ve done and that they should have to detail it out. But first the computer must understand what they’ve done before your resume can get read by a person.

The Right Connections are the Sparks of Greatness.

In theory, professional recruitment is a simple concept: An empty position exists. An eligible person fills the spot.

At Walker Elliott, we offer recruitment services that go beyond that theory. We are relentless in our pursuit of participants who are not simply willing, but impeccably suited for each other, meshing in terms of goals, talent, environment, culture, and expectations for the future.

We get to know the Company

Companies are much like people in that they each come with their own personalities: big, small, formal, casual, serious, fun, etc. It is important for us to know the company so that we can find the right people for their environment.

We get to know the Candidates

To find that perfect candidate we need to get to know them as a person and not just a list of buzzwords. We are looking for that strategic person, the game changer, or that critical fit.

Speaking of buzzwords

We speak the language of our clients; we work tirelessly to keep up with the technology of our industries. We invest time and money in attending conferences, continuing our training, and refining our knowledge of our core markets. So whether you need a DBA that has SQL SERVER and PostgreSQL, or a Reservoir engineer that has experience in the Marcellus Shale play, or a HealthCare IT professional that has Cerner experience you can trust that we will know what that means.

The Result

We have a high rate of employee retention. This is because we look at the picture as a whole so that we can meet the needs of the employers and candidates—making that Right Connection.

Good business manners pay off.
After any interview with a prospective employer, you’ll go a long way toward making a lasting impression by sending a thank-you letter promptly. We can’t overemphasize the importance of its being thoughtful, relevant, and, of course, grammatically and typographically correct. Here’s a sample letter to get you started.

Sample Thank You Letter

*The paragraph regarding applications and expenses would be applicable to your Human Resources thank-you only. Delete from all other letters.