Hired by Matrix, Inc. has taken an exciting new turn and is elevating the company to new heights.  Not only has the name changed to Hired by Matrix, Inc., but the logo, the tagline, and the overall look of the brand has been re-designed to reflect the sophistication and professionalism of the new Matrix.  Sharon Olzerowicz, President, CEO and founder, has owned and operated Hired by Matrix, Inc. since 1986 and has made a name for herself in the IT Staffing Industry.  In addition to IT, Matrix now provides consultants in sales, engineering, R&D, clinical, finance and marketing.  And after 25 years of success we have added two new business lines – Permanent Placement and our Social Media Practice, evaluating and creating collaborative on-line communities.

As a Hired by Matrix client you will continue to receive the benefits of our traditional recruiting tools as well as our proprietary database, social media and internet-based recruiting technologies.  This multi-tiered approach guarantees that we will find you top talent quickly, efficiently and without pain or hassle.  Hired by Matrix; Right people, Right job!

I get it, it can feel daunting and scary competing with fresh-faced college grads and peers that stayed on the career track. (I believe the new terms are now “off-ramping” and “on-ramping”.)

Well I’m here to encourage you to on-ramp Moms! Maybe you feel out of touch with all the new technology and advances made in your fields. But the fact is, if you were able to land a job before you had kids, there’s no reason to think you still can’t. Your degree does not have a shelf life and those companies that hired you before thought your personality would be a good fit. In fact, a lot of the bigger Fortune 500 companies have diversity agendas and are looking specifically to put more women on their payrolls.

Listen, anybody who can change their kid’s outfit while preparing lunch and discussing the details of your home addition with a contractor clearly knows how to multi-task! Perhaps you manage your own retirement fund, use spreadsheets to manage your renovation project or use accounting software to balance the family budget.  I’ve seen Moms organize amazing fundraising events, come up with creative marketing promotions, and sell ad space.

Moms learn how to communicate quickly and concisely with pediatricians and teachers who have limited time for you. Perhaps you are a master at bargaining down the landscaper by promising a higher volume job. Or maybe you are a whiz at using the internet as a research tool to get the best prices or run due diligence on a babysitter.

Dealing with kids all day you have probably learned to hone your negotiation skills, deal with cranky individuals and work around irrational requests. This defines you as a “people person”.

Own it Moms – you are CEO’s of your own family. Don’t be afraid to put your projects on your resume as work experience. Perhaps you will need to take some courses and not expect to be able to re-enter with the same title or even in the same industry. The idea is   to reevaluate your skills and be open to marketing them in a different way. So get out there and start getting paid for your time again!

However, companies that are looking for the right professionals to spearhead their social media initiatives are not aware of these industry changes.  Furthermore, they don’t understand the right mix of social professionals that are needed for one type of campaign versus another —they just want support, and they want it now. 

That is why recruiters are now blending their business know-how to support companies that are looking to implement social media programs within their organizations.  More specifically, they are helping organizations staff the right blend of temporary and permanent social media professionals necessary to help organizations efficiently launch social media programs within their organizations. 

 In fact, below are the top 5 reasons why one should utilize a specialized social media recruiter in order to build the right blend of professionals for a team. 

• Practical Social Experience.  Although recruiters may not have full social media understanding, most recruiters have technical knowledge regarding its use and can help companies qualify individuals based on hands-on experience.
• Practical Business Experience.  Many organizations are not only looking for candidates who know how to maneuver through social media platforms, but ones that can help translate its activities into practical business terms.  Successful recruiters are usually savvy business professionals that can apply their business acumen to the qualification process. 
• Vast Databases.  Recruiters have a tremendous database of individuals and, whether looking for temporary or full-time help, can usually close positions faster than any in-house hiring team. 
• Negotiation Abilities.  Social media recruiters can better negotiate terms and compensation with the candidates as they know the continuously-changing yardsticks and measures used in the social media industry.  They can usually get a company the best talent at the best rate.
• Practice What They Preach.  Recruiters make social media hires by often utilizing social media. They leverage the power of social media along with other channels to get the right choices for the social endeavor of their clients. 

If you are trying to staff a high-visibility social media initiative, explore working with a recruiter. These individuals/entities can apply their business and social media experience to help you build the best possible team and, concurrently, set you and your efforts up for success.

First and foremost, if there is ever an aspect of a job application process that you, as a job seeker, don’t feel comfortable with, don’t do it.  While the economic climate might not allow for an overabundance of choice, it is important to have peace of mind regarding your personal information, and it is also possible that if you enter into a process you don’t feel comfortable with, that feeling may come across in an interview situation, to your detriment.  On the other hand, if you are on the fence about whether or not to give out your social, or your DOB, take a moment to think about where it is going.  Both recruiters, and the employers we represent, are in a business that requires handling a great deal of sensitive employee information on a daily basis.  Both have safeguards that have been in place for years, and are updated regularly, set up specifically to protect all of the employee, and candidate, information that we handle.  This is not to say that human fallibility doesn’t exist, but it is an inherent risk that you take every time you sign up for a credit card, or apply for a loan.

As always, we encourage questions and all useful discourse, whether it be in the course of a recruitment by someone interested in our procedures, or via Twitter, Facebook, or comments here on the blog.  Let us know what you think!

These days most companies are inundated with resumes for every job opening they post.  That is why so many companies are turning to recruiters to help them source and identify the ideal social media candidate based on the specific needs of the company.  Furthermore, the business acumen that many of these recruitment agencies offer helps companies identify candidates that understand the business forces that drive an organization (and need to be positively influenced by social media programs) versus those that are familiar with social media at a more superficial level.

To help guide your conversation with your recruiting agency, here are some important elements both parties should consider when developing job descriptions as well as sourcing and interviewing potential candidates.

• Social Media Basic Expertise – Candidates should be familiar with most common social networks, be knowledgeable of their use of each, and understand how to optimize participation within these platforms.
• Social Business Strategy – Candidate should be able to create a social business strategy to solve a particular business problem. Their ability to intertwine a company’s objectives with social solutions is key to making a successful and measurable program.
• Content Development – Candidate should have excellent written and communication skills.  A proactive and reactive content development strategy is critical to all social media programs.
• Web Integration – Candidates should have working knowledge of web development, design and relevant technologies.  A social program that integrates existing technological and social programs (internally and/or externally) usually yields the highest results.
• Metrics – Candidates should understand the metrics that define success for a specific program, that are important for the organization, and that can be measured manually or via social media tools.
• Analysis – Candidates should be able to gather data, analyze it, and be able to present is importance in business terminology that speaks to senior management.  T

The selection process for a social media professional can be overwhelming —particularly given the enormous pool of candidates with different degrees of experience.  Recruitment agencies offer a tremendous opportunity to help organizations, looking for business-focused social media professionals, intertwine their own business sense with to find the ideal candidate.  Hopefully the bullets listed above will help guide your conversation next time you are looking for a social media professional for your organization.

“Matrix demonstrates the kind of expertise and leadership that makes them ideal to manage contingent workforce programs using Consol,” said ProcureStaff President Allen Rittscher. “Their reputation for quality and integrity in the industry makes them a very attractive partner for us.”

“We’re very excited to be working with ProcureStaff Technologies,” said Sharon Olzerowicz, President/CEO of Matrix. “Their industry leading vendor management system is ideal to support the kind of high-touch workforce management we offer our clients.”