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Anyone competing for one of the limited jobs available today understands the dilemma that arises when a less than favorable job offer comes your way. But there are times when it definitely is in your best interest to turn down a job offer that makes you uneasy.

Here are a few times when it’s actually a good idea to pass on the job offer that has been presented.

1)   An unfavorable commute. Commutes can be the bane or bonus of a job, depending on the circumstances. Some people enjoy long commutes. It’s their opportunity to listen to music or audio books, and mentally prepare for the day ahead. But other people view the commute as yet another hour on the clock. Make sure that your commute is not going to prove to be problematic for you and directly impact your overall job satisfaction before you take the job.

2)   The company and/or the job offer itself seems to be disorganized. Unless you’re the type of person who thrives in a chaotic work environment, it’s unlikely that this is going to be a good situation for very long. More importantly, it’s a sign that there are problems within the organization that go much deeper than the hole you’re going in to fill.

3)   The pay isn’t going to be adequate to meet your needs or worthy of the demands of the position. Sometimes companies want to see how little they can get away with offering, and are expecting the first offer to be turned down. However there are times when the company isn’t willing to raise the initial offer. It’s a risk, to some degree, to turn down a job because of an inadequate salary—especially in the current job market, but it can be an even greater risk to find yourself stuck in a job that doesn’t meet your basic financial needs.

4)   The company tries to make changes just before you sign the offer or come on board. This is a huge red flag no matter how desperate your need for a job may feel. It’s important to know what’s going to be expected of you before you take the job. Otherwise you may find yourself unskilled in the job specifics or stuck in a job that’s hard to fill because it’s tedious or miserably boring.

5)   When the job offer feels wrong for you. There are countless reasons a job offer may feel wrong to you. It’s time to learn to trust your “gut” on matters such as this. You can’t always put your finger on what is wrong, but if the job feels wrong at the interview stage, it’s unlikely that things will change for the better once you’re gainfully employed.

The fact that this is a highly competitive job market doesn’t mean you have to take the first offer that comes your way. As tough as it seems, there are times when it’s better to continue the job search than to take a job that’s going to cause more harm for your health and frame of mind than good.  For support with finding a job offer that will lead to a great career, be sure to check out the latest contract jobs at Advance Staffing Solutions today!

For many industrial employees, having the most up to date skills and training is critical to doing a good job. The problem is that getting that education may mean taking time off to go back to school. This is not feasible for most people and when e-learning comes into play. E-learning provides a simple and effective way for individuals to get the information, education and skills needed to do their job without having to travel or invest in full time schooling. For employers and for employees, it makes sense in the industrial arena.

Key Benefits to e-Learning

When it comes to e-learning, there are benefits to the entire industrial workforce, including both the employees and managers. This method of learning, which is conducted online rather than in a traditional school setting, poses a few advantages to everyone involved, making it the go-to solution in nearly all situations.

• It is a cost effective model. Overall, e-learning is more affordable than paying any company to come in to train staff or employees. It is also far more affordable than sending individuals to school or paying for schooling on your own through a college program.

• It is far more convenient for everyone involved. In some industrial positions, the need for advanced training is great but having the employee out of work for several weeks or longer to learn the new skill set is just too difficult. With this model, the employee is able to work and dedicate a portion of his or her shift to the training with little to no interference in the work schedule.

• New hires get hands on, specific training from an e-learning format rather than using a skilled worker to train the employee. This means that the highly trained professional already working and vitally important to the business can remain on the floor working rather than training someone new. This increases overall productivity.

The utilization of e-learning in this method can only gain these benefits if and when the process is completed properly. In order for that to occur, it is important to implement a customized program designed for the industry or the company specifically. Measurable objectives must be put into place and there should be an evaluation of the training programs to ensure they are highly effective and working properly. There is some trial and error present in the process but in the long-term, any business can benefit from the investment in e-learning.

What to Expect Going Forward

In the industrial workforce, e-learning will become the best solution for training employees, management and even owners on new applications and systems. It will also become the most important resources for the ever changing climate in today’s industrial sector. Educating older workers who have had full careers in the field using e-learning still makes more sense in terms of productivity and cost effectiveness.

Get the scoop on the latest in career technology and temporary staffing topics here at the Advance Temporary blog. Looking for skilled industrial employees? Advance Staffing Solutions has the resources your company needs to grow.

Advance Staffing is hosting a job fair in our Monroe office!

Tuesday May 8th from 9am-2pm

35 E. Front St. Monroe Mi 48161

734-457-0056

Accepting Applications for the following:

• Production Workers

• Warehouse

• CNC Operator

• Machine Assembly

• Electrical Panel Builders

• General Assembly

• Insurance Clerk

• Customer Service Representatives

• Welders

• Administrative

Please bring 2 valid forms of ID and a resume. Candidates must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED, felony convictions and able to pass a pre-employment drug screen.

Darlene LeCroy, Branch Manager of Advance Staffing Solutions - Southgate location

Darlene joined the Advance Staffing Solutions team in March of 2011 as Branch Manager of the newest location in Southgate, Michigan.  Her background includes 17 years in the staffing industry bringing experience with recruiting for a variety of skill sets including, but not limited to manufacturing, administrative, customer service and logistics positions.  Through Darlene’s career she has established and retained a vast amount of clients with her high quality of customer service and ability to build solid relationships by offering viable solutions and suggestions that stand out amongst her competitors.  As a member of the American Staffing Association, Darlene just recently obtained her 2^nd certification ensuring her expertise in labor and employment laws.

Darlene and her family live in the downriver area, are active in the community and stay busy supporting their son who is pursuing a career in the film industry, so yes, that means that she is an actress during her time off!

Darlene is excited about the expansion into the downriver area and looks forward to developing and maintaining solid, long standing relationships with both the clients and field employees.

All manufacturing companies experience a shortage of qualified workers from time to time, due to various challenges that can include poor staff management, lack of educational support, and high-demand for specialized skills. However, when this occurs, HR departments are put into overdrive, trying to compensate and oftentimes falling short of project needs. This is when they turn to management to come up with a solution to proactively address the staffing and development needs of the company – to prevent this kind of scenario.

At times, HR managers may be asking if the problem is due to manufacturing employee skills gaps or something within the management skills that are lacking? There are a few ways to determine this.

When There is a Skills Gap

One of the ways you can determine if the problem exists among your staff is to conduct a skills inventory to determine how well your job descriptions match up with the actual duties and skills of your employees. This will tell you if you are accurately hiring the kinds of people you need to be successful in their roles. If you see marked gaps in skill levels, it’s time to revamp your recruiting efforts.

Then you need to take the time to visit local educational centers to see if they are offering programs to prepare the coming generation of workers to meet the demands of your industry. New graduates can be a valuable source of new employees so it’s important that the schools you recruit from have the updated skill development programs you need from future candidates.

Your in-house staff have already proven to be valuable assets to your company, that is if you are taking the time to develop their skills to higher levels and promoting from within. Set up the time to find out where skills are lacking, and then either hire a trainer to come in to teach these skills, or provide employees with learning incentives to get this education on their own.

When Poor Management is to Blame

There is a common saying among HR people: “People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers”. This is certainly true in the manufacturing world, where there may be little time for managers to foster positive relationships with employees on the job. However, if there is a continual turn-over issue present in a specific department, it can mean it’s time to evaluate the people skills of that department manager.

One of the best investments any manufacturing company can make is in its management, at all levels. This means from your newest to your most seasoned managers, everyone should be continually getting trained and updated on industry topics. This includes training on tough personnel issues, like onboarding and employee development.

While a manufacturing skills gap can be caused by a little of both aspects, there are ways to manage staffing within manufacturing in a more positive way.

One is to bring on quality staff who have the right skills to do the job well. This can be accomplished by working directly with a manufacturing staffing agency, to provide pre-screened candidates suitable for all levels of manufacturing work.

The second is to give management the support needed to become better at their jobs, by offering management training and development initiatives. Back this up with incentives to cut down staff turnover and build more engaged teams.

Job searches have come a long way in the past decade. The more prevalent mobile phones and devices are becoming in society, the more the job search is evolving. Of course there are quite a few different contributing factors to the ever-changing job search process.

Here are a few things to keep in mind so that you can take advantage of these changes.

1)   Technology. This is perhaps the biggest change in the way job searches are performed. Technology has brought many powers to our fingertips through mobile devices and the power of the World Wide Web. Whether you’re using a laptop at home or your mobile phone (or tablet device) at the neighborhood coffee shop, the power of the web has made the job search a much more streamlined process than it was in the days of circling “help wanted” ads in the newspaper.

2)   Scope. The other difference is that your job search is no longer limited to a certain zip code on the map due to the logistics of long distance interviews and assessments. This is once again thanks to the power of technology but the ability exists now to interview, at least initially, across long distances. This opens a whole new world of positions for job seekers and talent for business owners.

3)   Competition. The “great recession” has had a massive impact on jobs and how the search goes. Today’s job search is much more aggressive than those in years past. Job seekers really have to get out there and market themselves in order to get the jobs they want. It’s a common expression that a job search is a full time job in and of itself. Today that is an undisputable fact.

4)   Leverage. In order to get the “cream of the crop” jobs that everyone is in serious competition for, it’s necessary to leverage the power of the web along with social networking sites to really make your presence felt by a company. Social networking, personal branding, and even blogging – as long as it is professional blogging that shows off your talent and expertise – are all necessary components in the process of finding quality jobs in today’s competitive market. The more tools you leverage to assist you in the search, the better your odds of getting hired are.

5)   Customization. Resumes were once a one-size-fits-all-jobs proposition. That isn’t the case today. You need to do your homework on the company and make sure that your resume is specifically tailored for the specific job that’s available with that company. Every company seems to have its own wish list of strengths and weaknesses from employees. Find out what they are and create a resume that highlights your strengths according to the company’s desire. It will make a huge difference in the hiring process and make you more likely to be called in for the all-important interview.

6)   Interviews. In the past, interviews were typically yawner affairs. That’s not the case today. The interview today requires you to be at your best, alert and ready for anything that’s thrown your way. These aren’t the softball questions your grandfather answered. These are hard-hitting questions worthy of an experienced reporter looking for the barest hint of grit in the story.

The job search has changed in many ways. Many of them are definitely for the better. Keeping all of these aspects in mind will help you to be more competitive in this competitive market during your job search.

Job Fair

Looking for work or know someone who is?

We have openings for Industrial, Administrative and Professional candidates for temporary, contract, temp – hire and direct hire

opportunities throughout NW Ohio.

75 New Jobs to Fill Now!

Friday April, 20th from 9am – 2pm

Please bring 2 forms of ID and your resume to our Sylvania, Ohio office.

Advance Staffing Solutions

5800 Monroe Street, Building F

Advance Staffing Solutions participated in the Kilometers for Kidney Walk in downtown Toledo on April 1^st. This was a 5k walk in effort to support The Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio, and to give back the community. The team members were able to raise $600. The Kilometers for Kidneys is an inspiring local fundraising event to support direct financial assistance for their patients and prevention of kidney disease. The walk presents an occasion for dialysis patients, kidney transplant recipients, medical professionals and our community in Northwest Ohio to celebrate life and create support for patients. We enjoyed a day of team bonding, giving back and all of the fun activities they had present. The Advance Team is looking forward to participating in many more events such as this one!

Advance Team members: Alicia, Lisa, Janelle and Brenda

There are many advantages to using an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) model in several industries, including technology and manufacturing. Likewise, there can be some setbacks that can occur. There are two typical methods of supplying large numbers of skilled staff: one is by partnering with a specialty staffing agency, the other is by working with a systems integrator or consultancy firm.

When considering using an ERP system for bringing on quality staff, it’s natural to use the approach of trying to manage this on your own with your meager HR team. However, it becomes quickly apparent that your company needs the support of a technology or manufacturing staffing agency to bring on qualified candidates to fill key assignments.

In this article, we will review some of the pros and cons of the ERP model, so you can make the best decision for your company.

Pros of the ERP

An ERP system can give you fast access to a larger candidate pool of pre-screened talent who are ready to fill critical positions within your company. This can give you the ability to grow faster, and take on more rewarding projects.

ERPs are managed by a team of skilled technology and manufacturing recruiters who understand your industry’s unique needs. There’s no substitute for this experience when it comes to sourcing great candidates for assignments, because you need the best skillsets among your contract employees.

You can choose to bring on temporary staff to support large projects or short term growth initiatives. Most ERP’s provide this service in an affordable way, with no long term commitments. You can even have some contractors replaced if you are unsatisfied with their initial performance.

When working with a consultancy type ERP, you can be assured that the agent has the skills, experience, and credentials to do the job well. This is often backed by years of previous work and references from other similar companies.

Cons of the ERP

What some see as a potential negative in the ERP model is that you may not have the ability to meet with contingent staff who are assigned to work for your company in advance, due to time and project constraints.

With an ERP system used on a large scale, costs can also add up over time if not carefully managed. For example, bringing on 50 full time contractors from a staffing agency in one period can bring with it a significant contract rate. The good news, however, is that you can control costs by using pre-vetted candidates staged out over the life of the project, who do not burden your company with recruitment or screening costs – this is all handled by the staffing agency.

Another potential setback to  using an ERP is when you are dealing with a private consultancy firm that comes with a hefty price tag. You can offset this by using a specialty staffing agency to send contract workers who have the same skills, but at a much more affordable rate that guarantees a profitable project.

When making the decision to use an ERP to staff your project needs, it makes best sense to use a contract workforce managed by an industry specific staffing company. Find out more about how ERPs work by contacting Advance Temporary Staffing today.

Who, or what, is working next to you? Sooner or later, it is likely to be a robot rather than a human. In the eyes of many, the use of robots is long overdue. In fact, even ten years ago, people in the industry were warning that people would soon be doing far less work and robots would be doing much more. Keeping that in mind, individuals may need to take into consideration how robotics will play a role in the manufacturing industry going forward.

Robotics Isn’t New

It is important to keep in mind that the use of robotics in the manufacturing industry is not something new. In fact, robots have been in the business since 1961. That’s when General Motors introduced Unimate into their production lineup. This 4,000-pound arm did a great deal of work that would have taken humans much longer to do. Dangerous and boring tasks are no problem for Unimate. These machines are not late for the job and they perform without needing to take breaks. That makes them better, you would think.

However, these systems are not always the best option. In fact, robotics is not always a good option in manufacturing. In any task requiring decision making, it takes a human brain to make it happen. This also includes tasks where creativity is important or where the need for adaptation is critical. In some situations, a simple task is just not what needs to be done. That’s where these robots become limited.

What Robotics Does Offer

Keeping in mind the limitations, there are still many situations in which robotics make sense in manufacturing.

• Productivity is never higher than when a robot is doing the work. Program them, turn them on and let them go.
• Quality improves as well, especially when precision in each piece needs to be spot on. There’s no mistakes made in this process.
• For businesses that need to increase productivity and decrease costs, the hiring of these robots, instead of paying unskilled workers, makes sense. It makes these manufacturing businesses able to compete with the low cost of labor in countries like China.
• New machines are able to learn and expand on their skills. Though they are unable to make decisions without some level of input, it is now possible to apply robotic technologies in more applications, even in more complex processes requiring decision making.

The effect of robotics on the manufacturing industry is nothing short of profound. With 60 percent or higher increase in productivity, there’s no doubt the use of robotics is here to stay. Yet, that does not mean the human’s job is on the line, at least not yet. For many businesses, there is still plenty of time to move beyond the limitations in the manufacturing process and to push forward with the aid of robots.