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Business networking has two main objectives. The first is to strengthen relationships with your existing contacts, and the second is to meet new contacts. After all anyone in business knows that people do business with people, not with companies. This is why networking is so important.

In fact networking can help with almost every aspect of your business. This includes everything from improving cash flow to business planning to improving sales. It is something that should be done consistently and frequently. And although it takes up a valuable resource – your time – you will benefit in the long run. READ MORE AT MODERN GHANA

International hiring has been a part of the recruitment industry for a long time but has become the center of attention as well as concern in the recent years. It is a known fact that foreign countries are outsourcing jobs at a higher rate and have also been hiring candidates from different locations all over the globe. Some employees are working from their respective local places in an international company whereas some have moved travelled overseas.

William Almonte, President of Titan Staffing System, brings up an interesting fact that international companies often need especially skilled candidates to fulfill specific criteria that would lack or be difficult to find in a native employee. At critical situations, recruiters and organizations also play a crucial role in settling traveling paper works for the particular candidate, in case of the individual faces trouble in obtaining a work permit.

1      Broadening company’s expertise circle and getting better contracts

Recruiters, as well as recruiting agencies, are obtaining various agreements from international companies for hiring talents from diverse parts of the globe. There are multiple reasons for which enterprises hire overseas, and some of them include, getting better service within limited revenue, crucial requirement specifications and one of the top purposes is enlarging the talent circle of organizations.

In the knowledge of William Almonte, Founder and CEO of Titan Staffing System, recruiters can provide organizations with several benefits which indirectly or roundly contribute to the recruitment industry again. They can help organizations get the same service from an employee in better quality and lower revenue.

•          Advantages of different languages apart from the default
•          Cultural diversification in an organization
•          A contribution of several hands
•          Greater chances of employee retention

2       Recruiters get to build a worldwide network chain

Recruiters are providing several candidates an opportunity to explore roles and responsibilities overseas. They need to perform ample amount of research concerning the current fashion of employment. Hunting for talents abroad helps the recruitment sector strengthen their skill detection skill as a whole and provide the best to both parties. The process of international recruiting involves higher strategies and often the hiring of external software is required which becomes a part of investment for the recruitment company. Therefore, via global network companies can expect a higher ROI on nearly next level numbers and figures.

3      The industry gets recognition, and more candidates follow up

Previous reports states, that, more than sixty percent of candidates are referrals from other candidates. The process of international recruiting improves reputation management for recruitment agencies and build better and higher connections with established industrialists and organizations.

Candidates also follow up later in the long run and keep agencies updated about specific specifications and also seek a second time service while changing jobs overseas. The recruitment industry in today's time serves more than placing a candidate; in fact, take complete ownership of the placement both before and after.

Moreover, international recruitment is much reliable when it comes to employee retention. When candidates travel overseas for a particular job position, much more value is invested in the organization, which is indirectly beneficial for the recruitment sector.

The drastic changes in the placement and posting system have shifted the gears of how the recruiting firm works. The recruiting firms are one of the essential mediators in the entire pipeline of the job market. There are not only tremendous and unpredictable changes in the recruitment and placement industry but the internal functioning system of maximum organizations, where the specific candidates are placed to have undergone massive changes. There are multiple reasons to the fact, and some of the most common hindrances faced by a recruitment agency shall be discussed below.

1. Dealing with increasing rivalry of skilled and able candidates

One of the most critical and budding issues with the recruitment agencies today is to assign and distribute an enormous load of talents altogether. Each nation possesses a large number of institutions and universities in the today’s century. William Almonte, Founder and CEO of Titan Staffing System,  brings to attention the fact, that, the number of institutions has, in fact, doubled up in the recent years producing a vast amount of fresh graduates per year. On the other hand, the ratio of job availability is fluctuating, and some locations have become a part of the downward spiral.  The particular hindrance is more seen in recruitment firms than that of independent recruiters.

2. Combining skill sets for organizational needs (Market division)

The market division is not a new occurrence but has been an old companion of recruitment firms and even independent recruiters. Since agencies have to perform multiple tasks and set specific benchmarks to find out the best par for the organizations, it is likely that they are exposed to the issues of market fragmentation. In the opinion of William Almonte, Entrepreneur of Titan Staffing Systems, one of the reasons includes, most organizations look for talents that are experienced or skilled in diverse tools, techniques as well as fields.

The contemporary trend of organizational functionality involves mixing and matching various skillsets together that might blend technical skills along with soft skills although the requirements differ from one business to other. It becomes tough for recruiters to hunt down the appropriate candidate from a particular corner of the globe. Apart from the mentioned difficulties, recruiters also find it difficult to follow up with multiple candidates for the same job position and to deal efficiently with the issues of market fragmentation.

3. Advertising job offers in a efficiently

Last but not the least, recruitment firms often faces issues with advertising positions the right way. A crucial part of this factor is that recruiters create certain job positions in order to get the attention of standard and quality candidates. The particular step needs to be taken in a tactful manner as it can often result in opposite consequences.

However, advertising job roles online is a great medium to call upon the right group of candidates depending on how the advertisement method is tackled. Poor advertisements of positions are often resulting in loss of firm’s time, effort, and finance. It is best to hire an external source to advertise on a larger scale and effective manner. And it is best to make use of the top online media sites as well as established job marketing strategies to obtain higher productivity.

Depending on where you live, there are career service centers located throughout the U.S. that can help you find a job. One of the best is the American Job Center (AJC) that has around 2,500 centers nationwide. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, AJCs are free-to-use resource centers that can help you explore your career options, search for jobs, find training, write a resume, prepare for an interview and much more. READ MORE AT THE SPECTRUM

For many two-year institutions, it didn't take a racist incident, protest or controversial guest speaker to jump-start efforts to promote more diverse and inclusive campus environments.

Many community colleges are heralded for having diverse student populations. But that perception hasn't made them complacent, especially as many go beyond their campuses and see cultural clashes happening in their communities.

Quietly, more two-year colleges are investing in cultivating an on-campus culture focused on inclusion, equity and diversity, and some are demanding that their employees fall in line. READ MORE AT INSIDE HIGHER EDUCATION

Hispanics in the U.S. are more optimistic about their financial situation and their economic conditions have generally improved in the first three months of 2018, according to a new national consumer sentiment index conducted by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI) in FAU's College of Business.

The Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index (HCSI), taken from January through March 2018, stands at 98.9, up 5.4 points from the fourth quarter of 2017, and the highest score since the index went to a quarterly count in 2016. The index is 2.5 points below the 101.4 score for the overall U.S. population for December, as published by the University of Michigan.

Hispanics are more optimistic about their personal finances in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the last quarter of 2017. Overall, 69 percent of Hispanics indicate that they are financially better off today than a year ago, up 4 points from the last quarter. READ MORE AT CISION

There are more than twelve industry-based recruitment methods which differ completely from all ends. The process of recruitment can hold crucial importance in case of each organization and even more when it comes to the type of businesses they carry out. Well, most of the company follows certain hiring process and keeps the best analyzed on the running list. But there are also procedures that are often personalized by today’s industrialists and even established in order to meet the exact set targets by the company

Use a job position marketing database management system

In perception of William Almonte, CEO of Titan Staffing Systems, any responsibility in the disciplined field gets simpler if a strategic approach is taken or followed. This is the most common and simple method but at the same time the most effective one to reach your short-term goals. There is no replacement for this particular method. You can always use a freeware or a spread sheet workbook to keep track of recent activities performed by you as well as the listed candidates. Keeping track on such occurrences will help you make close predictions and analysis which shall ultimately lead to exact estimation. It is great way of figuring out the areas that needs maximum attention for the time being. Some of the relevant ideas to work on with this particular process are listed below.

•         Track the locations from where you are receiving maximum responses
•      Evaluate the number of applicant’s per day basis
•         Categorize the types of applied positions and job roles
•      Keep track of the specifications and respective deadlines

2    Building a cordial rapport with the applicant group

Now, the above titled process is can be counted as not only one of the most effective but reliable procedures at the same. As stated by William Almonte, Goal Oriented Leader of Titan Staffing System, building a relationship with the candidates does not involve communicating informally extending work space but getting in touch with them and making an effort to know certain specifications through strategic interacting methods. As a quality recruiter, you can always follow up with candidates irrespective of joining and parting and conduct a brief survey to know about their core interest areas, additional skills and specializations. This method is also extremely help full for getting in touch with older candidates who have not joined for certain reasons for alternative job offers at any point in time.

3     Perform relevant categories of interviews and evaluations

Another quick and effective technique that can be used by recruiters is to carry out relevant interviews, meetings and confirmations simultaneously. It will also cut down a large amount of time that you would have spent on the lengthy process. All over, conducting compatible tasks simultaneously will help you make precise evaluation in a short amount of period.

However, you can make use of pre-existing templates in order to make the process of interaction much more effective. There are plenty of recruitment procedures and to mention a few it would be, whole cycle interviewing, outsourcing recruitment, internal and external recruiting often used by the HRM management. But understanding, analyzing and finally implying the method will help you align the process specifications with your set of requirements.

Take a moment to think about your handshake. When was the last time you shook someone’s hand? Why did you do it? Were you standing or sitting? Did the other person have a strong handshake? What impression did they make on you? Now, being very honest, rate your average handshake on a scale of one to five on the following criteria: 

Firmness (with five being very firm) 
Moistness (with five being very dry) 
Confidence (with five being very confident) 

How did you score? Some of you probably know you have a firm handshake because you have given this a lot of thought. But for those of you who haven’t thought about it, or who generally get creeped out by the prospect of touching another person's dirty, sweaty hands, you might find it much harder to rank yourself across these categories. READ MORE AT INSIDE HIGHER ED

The recent releases of movies like “Black Panther” and “Love, Simon” have allowed different groups to see themselves represented on the big screen and in the media. It’s taken years for minority groups and the LGBTQ community to see itself represented in a way they can be proud of.

There’s always been representation of different ethnic groups in movies, TV shows and video games but those representations haven’t always been a good one. Often time the roles they play are stereotypical. For that reason, it’s a big step for audiences to see themselves in a more positive light. While I'm aware of this progress, I've yet to see it happen for Latinos. READ MORE AT THE BREEZE

Black and Hispanic homebuyers have a harder time finding homes they can afford in Denver than in the rest of the country as a whole, according to a new analysis from Zillow.

The real estate website looked at median income data for several racial groups – white, Hispanic, Asian, black and all groups – and found that nationwide, the typical buyer could afford about 74 percent of homes listed for sale in 2017.

That number drops to 55 percent for black buyers and 65 percent for Hispanic buyers. White buyers could afford nearly 78 percent of homes nationwide and Asian buyers could afford 85 percent. READ MORE DENVER 7 ABC

Read biographies of feature guests for the Banking and Finance Networking Forum being held tomorrow Thursday, April 11 at Chicago Chop House.

Moderator

Antonio Lugo, President, Smart Wealth Strategies, Inc.
As President of Smart Wealth Strategies, Antonio’s role, supported by a team of professionals is to offer comprehensive financial planning while addressing the biggest financial threats impacting most Americans today. Our clients come to us concerned about how to efficiently plan a future, while recognizing increasing educational costs, higher health care costs, volatility in the stock market, and managing increasing tax liabilities year after year. Finally, As Americans plan a retirement lifestyle that one can enjoy, today’s entitlement Programs – Social Security and Medicare will be changing at a time
when most Americans are living longer than ever before.

As a fiduciary advisor, Antonio is properly licensed and regulated to advise clients on their best interest
at all times. His experience includes managing investments, taxable and tax-advantaged income
planning, social security and medicare benefits, health and life insurance, and property and casualty.

Antonio is a Lecturer at City Colleges of Chicago’s Adult Continuing Educational Program teaching a 2-
Part course on the Financial Survival in Retirement. Antonio has also been a featured guest speaker on
WGN Midday News, Fox Business, WCIU, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Money Smart Week.
Antonio received a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree from DePaul University as well as Masters of
Business Administration (MBA) from Loyola University Chicago.

Panelists

Kelley Conway, Financial Services North America Lead, Technology Advisory, Accenture
Ms. Conway is an advisor to financial services firms, specializing in large digital transformations for her clients, developing sustainable operating models that help them simultaneously improve efficiency while focusing on and enhancing the critical capabilities required to execute their strategy.

As a recognized expert, Ms. Conway combines strategy, operational best practices and information technology skills to design, implement and support enterprise transformations, advising clients across financial services.

A thought-leader on the practical application of emerging technologies to financial services, Ms. Conway is the author of numerous articles, most recently "The problem with centralization – and how financial services institutions can use capabilities driven IT to fight back (Strategy&, 2017)", "Payback time: Improving ROI from digital labor in financial services (December, 2016)" and "From theory to practice: Onboarding digital labor in financial services (August, 2016)".

In addition, Ms. Conway has been asked to speak at a number of conventions, including as a lead speaker for PwC’s Financial Services Institute top financial services industry issues of 2017 (Blockchain, Cost containment and Robotic process automation), NICSA Webinar on RPA (June, 2017), and the 2014 International Securities Services Associate (ISSA) in Switzerland on “Practical Applications of Technology to Address Regulatory Challenges”.

Ms. Conway received her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and holds an MBA from The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

Mario Farfan, Vice President - Market Manager, Associated Bank
Mario Farfan is the Market Manager for the Lake County region of Associated Bank. He has invested eighteen years developing his career in banking and finance. Developing and coaching his staff through a supportive and collaborative approach has been key to his success.

In addition to his banking career, Mario has held his commitment to the community in high regard. He has served on multiple chambers and community organizations to build strong relationships which are at the heart of the culture and values of every organization. Through this service leadership model, Mario noticed a profound need for Hispanic business owners in the Northwest Suburbs to unite, network and have access to common resources. This led him to become the founder and president of the Northwest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Mario's experience and community engagement have helped him to create some guiding principles that he believes are essential to leading during a culture of change in the financial industry.

Kevin Mintz, Technology Research Principal, Accenture
Kevin is the Innovation Lead within the Blockchain Practice for Accenture Operations, which works with most of the Fortune 100. He and his team are at the epicenter of blockchain innovation, its application to business processes, and the assessment of future implications as the technology takes hold. Kevin applies strategic and design thinking to help clients visualize the art of the possible and technical expertise to provide clear, impactful steps towards realizing this reimagined future. He is a sought-after thought leader, with several publications such as Unlock Trapped Value with Blockchain.

Prior to launching the Operations Blockchain Practice, he led innovation for the Accenture Breakthrough Ideas team, a.k.a “Tech Garage”, an intrapreneurship-based R&D lab where Lean Startup Methods were used to disrupt business operations. Additionally, he spent years as a consultant for a multitude of projects, with common themes of agile custom development using emerging technologies for diamond clients.

Second only to family, food, and music, Kevin has the passion to foster innovation and explore new tech trends, as well as the drive to deliver results.

Time is running out to register. The 2018 Banking and Finance Networking Forum is tomorrow. Don't miss out!

There might be thousands of myths about recruitment methods, but there are a defined set of procedures that are used in the most successful organizations. The processes under taken by top industrialists today are mostly kept confidential by organizations and their HR department. Although some of the top organizations did not hesitate to share their success stories that contribute to the recruitment techniques used by other industries today. Some of the crucial areas of utilizing industry-level recruitment procedures as well tolls shall be demonstrated further.

1. Why is it required to use industry-level recruitment tools

Almost all organizations are aware of the ever-increasing competition in the current market. Recruitment of candidates is the base of the entire business pipeline and makes the base for how things are going to work later in the process. The human resource experts have come up with plenty of recruitment methods, and you will find almost anever-ending list of it if you go through the internet.

But, there is only a bounded set of it that will turn out to successful with a certain level of assurance. William Almonte, Founder and CEO of Titan Staffing System, highlights the fact that, there is nothing unusually special about the mentioned set of procedures, but they have the potentiality to cope up your recruitment necessities with the ever-changing scenario out there. The reason they are referred as proven, due to the in-depth research that has been done by the human resource sector before recommending them for a company.

2. Do recruitment procedures vary from one organization to others

Well, this is one of the most interesting features of the recruitment methodologies. While you are into utilizing the best techniques, you will need to keep in mind the fact that not all best methods shall work the same way for you. This is why every organization have their human resource management sector, which decides the best for them. They take into consideration some essential standards while streamlining the procedures, such as job vacancy, freshly introduced positions, and specific duties.

3. Most efficient methods derived by the HRM team- Mindful recruiting

As per William Almonte Mahwah, to soak the best out of the hired group the human resource inputs adequate strategic planning and additional efforts. But when it comes to utilizing those plans, recent studies state that the further mentioned procedures are genuinely applicable for most organizations. The list of the most eminent and hands-on recruiting methods plus tools is,

• The complete cycle of interviews
• Screening with the help of AI
• Detecting the recruitment need
• Testing the key skillsets
• Psychometric tests
• Following up with references

The techniques mentioned earlier are a combination of selection regulation and standards that help in identifying a candidate’s behavioral attributes, ability to cope up with organizational requirements and well as predicting the performance capability to some extent. The psychometric test is one of the critical methods to find out the candidate’s peripheral attributes and overall mindset. Unlike regular interviews, recruiters are up to using several forms of interviewing techniques to know the candidate and test his knowledge in a better way. Lastly,recruiters often focus on following up with past references to validate the collected information.

Today’s youth culture believes in the online trend of the job hunt and leaves their resumes with ample amount of hope and expectations. The career-oriented bunch of bright intellectuals takes exceptionally sincere when it comes to a standard and quality long-term career graph. Well, the option of courses is extending regarding options day by day and so is the academic background of the candidates.

You might have come across a bright, chief ranked student disappointed on the fact why there are no calls or a deficient number of calls after the submission of the online application. Mentioned here are some of the crucial pieces that you will need to mindful about.

1. How online recruitment differs from traditional recruitment

As per the knowledge of William Almonte, President of Titan Staffing System, the above-titled factor might efficient and highly beneficial for recruiters; it still leaves the group of new students with some doubts. It is not applicable to all students but a set of survey displays, how a more or less vast percentage of graduates still linger on figuring out what exactly went so wrong.

It is not necessary for all students to be tech-savvy and familiar with the usage of computers. Therefore it is required to be cautious about the crucial necessitations an online resume needs along with the supporting documentation proves. It is necessary to meet the criteria for an applicator on which recruiters make their decisions.

2. What do you have to be informed about when you apply online

As fresh graduates, it is sometimes hard to understand the necessities and accurateness of the selection process, but it is of high concern when it is about online recruitment. Criteria such as name capitalization, using proper font and font size, neat and specified alignment takes over a massive role in making the most sense in a resume. According to William Almonte Mahwah, as an applicator, it is required for you to fulfill the mentioned criteria flawlessly and unconditionally. Some of the critical factors that you need to emphasize on while online application are as follows,

• Specification of position
• Statement of value
• Appropriate contact information

3. Based on what factors recruiters filter the resumes

It is for all candidates to know, that recruiters follow a highly strict and organizational procedure to source the best out of the mass. You will need to understand that this method is quite contrasting from the conventional way and your recruiter will not even get to see you in person till and after your date of joining. Recruiters are meant to follow a particular structure and are just doing their respective jobs. To mention a few but essential areas where recruiters focus on the most are stated below,

• Key strength areas
• Awards and honors
• Degree based educational background
• Maximum length of professional-experience
• Job stability

As gathered, recruiters underline the points as mentioned above ninety percent of the time and flatly hundred percent of the duration on working stability. Henceforth you will need to be crisp about your previous experiences and be ready to justify extended breaks from work if you have any.

When it comes to moving to a new city, there are so many things to take into consideration, including employment. Unless you are moving for a job that you already have, it can be intimidating to apply for jobs in a new city. After all, you are not there already, and you can’t just go to an interview on a moment’s notice.

So, what you need to do is find ways to convince potential employers that you are the person they should hire. READ MORE AT ENTREPRENEUR

Target Corp has agreed to review its policies for screening job applicants and pay $3.74 million to settle a lawsuit claiming its use of criminal background checks kept thousands of blacks and Hispanics from obtaining employment.

The preliminary settlement filed on Thursday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan requires a judge's approval. READ MORE AT YAHOO FINANCE

A few months after President Trump moved into the White House, a study conducted by the nonprofit research group Media Matters concluded that the morning shows on cable news channels continued to skew white and male when it came to guests.

According to the analysis by Cristina López G., of the 2,862 guests on the three major morning news shows (CNN’s “New Day,” MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and “Fox & Friends”) in January and February of last year, 85 percent were non-Latino white and 77 percent were male, with little difference among the three networks. Only 8 percent of the guests were black, and 3.5 percent were Latino; less than 3 percent were Asian. READ MORE AT AMERICA THE JESUIT REVIEW

It is not one of the unusual occurrences, that along with the arrival of contemporary technology incurring the ‘online conception’ has brought almost everything to transformation. Every process of functionality has been doubled up by it, and so have the recruitment industry metrics. The rapid motion in the way of functioning has affected the process of sourcing in recruitment.

William Almonte Mahwah brings to attention, how it has become very crucial for recruiters to know the upcoming roles and responsibilities as well; as drawbacks. You will now go through a couple of highlighted areas out of the broad subject, to understand the present-day-recruitment techniques and their benefits.

1. The overall impact of modern recruitment process on recruiters

The emergence of the contemporary technology has changed the professional life of most recruiters for better and worse. The reason to put up the mentioned statement that way is to highlight the equally affected areas of the hiring system. Even though the buzz of contemporary technology has taken over the issues traditional recruiters are still undergoing due to the abrupt changes, some of them are mentioned further,

• Data overburdening due to unlimited online recruiting options
• Technology becoming hostile to conventional recruiters’
• Aged recruiters are back to square-one to train them with high-end technology

It is to keep in the back of mind, that once recruiters are well-aware of using the tools and techniques correctly, they are likely to become high-fliers in the field. Some of how recruiters and large-scale enterprises are contributed to are stated below,

• Organizations are getting a global-scope of catching the best candidates
• Modernized technologies are proven to have raised recruitment productivity
• The usage of AI in hiring is far from missing out details and resulting accurate

2. What is the average demographic usage of modern recruitment technology

In the perception of William Almonte, President of Titan Staffing System, the high-end modernized technologies are still yet to be a part of many regions in today’s century. When the particular subject have been brought forward, it is to be remembered that most of the developing states including the third world countries contain a large percentage of small-scale business enterprises. Previous reports state that recruiters involved in fifty-percent of the small scale organizations are still deprived of the advanced tools. But they are gradually undertaking the technologies that are available on free web-services and are cost-effective for the business.

3. Take a look at the top recruitment technologies utilized and their benefits

Last, of all, some of the leading techniques that are cutting the edges of recruitment methodology are, the ATS, Mobile recruitment tools, online video interviewing software, and Gamification. These technologies have become a crucial part of the large-scale industry. Recruiters working with the organizations are facilitated with an appropriate and in-depth training of these tools. They are more user-friendly for the ones who are starting from the scratch as the base of knowledge will include the details of advanced recruitment technologies. Nonetheless, independent recruiters, along with time are progressively shifting to the same.

Networking is not going anywhere. In fact, it may be more important now than ever. According to this study on LinkedIn, 85% of jobs are filled via networking of some sort, a percentage that should cause anyone to think twice about their networking skills. To put it lightly, networking can be crucial when it comes to landing your dream job.

Having more connections is only going to help you when it’s time to find a new gig. READ MORE AT FORBES

Student loan debt weighs more heavily on students of color than on their white counterparts.

An estimated 86.8% of black students borrow federal student loans to attend a four-year public college, as opposed to 59.9% of white students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

With rising tuition costs outpacing inflation and wage growth, many students are struggling to afford college. In fact, about 44 million Americans owe over $1.48 trillion in student loan debt. READ MORE AT STUDENT LOAN HERO

Latino audiences had the highest rate of moviegoing last year among ethnic groups in the U.S., followed by Asians, according to a new report by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The trade group, which released the report Wednesday, said Hispanic-Latino filmgoers went to the movies an average of 4.5 times during 2017 while Asians attended an average of 4.3 times. African-Americans went an average of 3.4 times last year and Caucasians attended an average of 3.2 times.

The MPAA’s report showed that Latinos, who represent 18% of the total U.S. population, comprised 24% of “frequent” moviegoers. READ MORE AT VARIETY