For Firms That Are Hiring, Talent Pool Is Deep

More than five million people have lost their jobs since the recession began in December 2007, and while that’s a pretty sobering statistic, it’s a boon for firms that are hiring.

“Right now is a good time to hire A-level people, as there are so many,” said Jeri Bartunek, owner of Bartunek Technology Group.

Bartunek started her staffing agency back in 1989 and specializes in high-tech personnel in IT and engineering.  She says her focus is putting together teams of talent -- and she says now is the right time to pluck smart people with good experience out of the unemployment pool as there are so many out there right now.

Ross Baltick, with Mercury Partners, recruits for Wall Street banks and hedge funds.

“Are we seeing a large abundance of very qualified people? Absolutely,” said Baltick.

Baltick says he seeing a lot of people waiting it out to get the right job, and even looking outside of their industry.  Recently, one person from Wall Street went into the Treasury, while another went from a hedge fund to Facebook.com on the West Coast.

As a recruiter, Bartunek feels that too often hiring managers are focused only on filling a job, and really need someone that has specific experience.   But they may not ask what are their goals and aspirations, or how they feel they can contribute to the company.   By asking these types of questions, she says it creates a win-win situation. 

But with the economy slowing down, managers are not hiring, and doing much less interviewing. That’s where Bartunek’s firm comes in.

“Right now we are doing a lot of interviews, talking to people about what they have done in the past and what they want to do in the future,” said Bartunek.  “We are looking into different growth areas and A-level people.”

“The fact is that when you have a looser labor market as you have now, you will get more qualified people in the market looking for jobs,” said Adam York, economist with Wachovia.

Yorksays the labor market will be loose for at least another year and expects nonfarm payrolls to be down through this year and through the second quarter of next year.

Bartunek believes the next round in this economic cycle is coming soon.

“When the economy starts popping and hopping, firms will hire us to work on specific projects.”   And she’ll be ready with the talent. 

“It’s not all doom and gloom,” said Baltick, “there are still firms that are willing to deploy funds for the right manager.”