Tag: Working with Whitman

Strategies for Hiring Remote Employees

WAI Staff

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the work environment has changed. Many employers are finding that allowing employees to work from home has many benefits. Whether it increases employee productivity or saves them money on overhead and other in-office resources, employers may want to continue hiring remote employees. 

If you’re an employer that’s just starting to explore the remote hiring process, you may need to change the way you normally look for candidates. At Whitman Associates, Inc., we can help you explore new hiring strategies that work best for remote job seekers. Check out what our staffing agency has to say about hiring remote employees.

1. Budget & Resources

From job boards and advertising to candidate assessment and external recruiting agencies, there are a number of costs associated with the remote hiring process. Make sure you’re setting an appropriate budget that takes your online needs into account. You may no longer have an office space where you can host interviews, so you should consider shared rental workspaces, offsetting phone interview-related costs and better internet connections for staff hosting video interviews.

2. Who Is Your Ideal Candidate?

While identifying your ideal candidate is an important strategy for all employers, operating in a digital space means you need to be even more specific about your candidate qualification requirements. Hiring remote employees means you may never meet a job seeker in person. How do you make up for the lack of in-person interaction to assess a candidate’s energy, personality and personability?

Make sure your job listing and application include formal qualifications, hard and soft skills, job-specific training requirements and information requests for prior work experience.

3. Niche Job Promotion

You want to attract quality candidates to apply for your job. While you can post on your social media platforms and on your website, you should also be using niche job promotion platforms to find job seekers who actually qualify for the position. Whether you use LinkedIn, Indeed or a staffing agency, make sure you’re filtering your job postings with as many specifics as possible.

4. Make Technology Work for You

Hiring remote employees means you’re already recruiting, assessing and interviewing online. Make every part of the hiring process more effective and efficient when you utilize all the available technology. Conduct virtual interviews, use learning management platforms for candidate screenings and streamline your entire process so that you can focus on better-quality candidates.

We Can Help

If hiring remote employees seems like a tough job, that’s because it is! At Whitman Associates, Inc., we can help you with any part of the recruiting process to ease the burden on your HR department and help you transition to a fully remote hiring operation.

Reach out to us today to learn more about what we can do for your company!

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Temp Agency Tips: How To Impress a Staffing Agency

WAI Staff
A businessman hiring a female applicant

With so many job seekers flooding the job market today, employers are seeking assistance from staffing agencies to help them sort through the market and fill open positions. When you apply for a job online, you are likely responding to a posting from a staffing agency or a recruiter. It’s more important now than ever to understand your options and knowing how to apply to a temp agency. 

When using a staffing agency during your job hunt, you should make an effort to impress staffing agencies. To do so, you need to know what to say when calling a temp agency and how to treat the person on the other end of the line. Considering questions to ask a staffing agency beforehand can be the difference between an impressive interview and a misfire.

Because the market is saturated with job seekers, employers are choosing to use staffing agencies to hire more temporary or temp-to-hire employees than to hire permanent employees directly. While staffing agencies can operate similarly to a typical human resources department, they specialize in finding the right person for the right job — and weeding through all the wrong resumes. Make sure you have what it takes to impress a staffing agency with these expert temp agency tips!

1. Speak With Respect

If you’re wondering what to say when calling a temp agency, you should let respect be your guide. Job seekers tend to believe that since they are not speaking directly with a hiring manager from the company they want to work for, they don’t need to turn their A-game on for their contact. Yet staffing agency interview questions can make up the bulk of interviewing experiences. To impress staffing agencies, you should treat every interaction like an interview.

A recruiter at a staffing agency serves as the initial screener for an open position. If you want to be considered for a job with their client, strive to make a good impression on the recruiter. When coming up with questions to ask a staffing agency, feel free to ask for clarity on any parts of the process you may be unsure about. Make sure you speak professionally, honestly and politely with any representative you encounter from a staffing agency. Treat them as you would any other hiring manager in a job interview. If you can’t impress the staffing recruiter, you’ll never get to turn your charm on for the hiring manager.

2. Follow Instructions

This is one of the most underrated temp agency tips and the most important. Hundreds of people can apply to the same job posting daily, so staffing agencies typically try to screen candidates before even viewing their resumes. For example, a job posting might say that all interested candidates must include a cover letter or a salary requirement with their resume. If you don’t include the requested paperwork or information, you could be immediately disqualified without your resume even being viewed. Following instructions is the bare minimum requirement to impress staffing agencies. If you have any questions about how to apply to a temp agency, it’s better to ask than risk making mistakes.

Whether you receive a response to your resume requesting more information or a recruiter asks you to call them at a particular time, the best temp agency tips dictate that you do your best to follow all the instructions you receive. Temp agencies and recruiters are busy — the best way to impress staffing agencies is to show respect for their time by following their instructions. Staffing agencies usually won’t waste time talking to someone about a position if they have proved they cannot follow basic directions. If you are choosing questions to ask a staffing agency, do not ask for information they have already provided in their application request.

3. Be Enthusiastic

For job seekers planning on how to apply to a temp agency, our next temp agency tip is to be enthusiastic. If you receive a call from a staffing agency and you are interested in the position they have, show them! Passion and excitement for a particular role are easy ways to impress staffing agencies. Staffing agencies won’t want to send a candidate on a job interview with their client if they don’t sound enthused about the position.

Some staffing agency interview questions are tailored to gauge the enthusiasm of potential applicants for positions. While you don’t want to be overly eager, what you say when calling a temp agency lets them know whether you want a position — passion will usually impress staffing agencies. Enthusiasm shows you are willing to commit to the interview process and would accept an offer if you received one.

It’s also a vital temp agency tip, to be honest with a recruiter if you aren’t interested in a position. They won’t want you to feign enthusiasm only to turn down an offer at the last minute. This may result in difficulty getting interviews if you plan on applying to a temp agency in the future. All staffing agencies prioritize trustworthy candidates who follow through. If you hope to impress staffing agencies, consider what questions to ask them to help you know if an offer or organization would fit your circumstances. Be straightforward with the staffing agency about precisely what you want and need in a position. The more honest you are with them, the more they can help you.

A candidate expressing enthusiasm

4. Be on Your Best Behavior

If you do end up temping with a staffing agency while you wait for a full-time position, treat each temp assignment as you would a permanent position. A positive attitude and taking initiative are two temp agency tips that go a long way towards impressing the staffing agency and employer you’re working for. You could potentially be considered for a full-time position should one become available.

Even if this temp assignment doesn’t help you gain a full-time position, you might do well enough on the job to impress the agency that placed you. As a result, they’ll want to continue working with you and put you on more assignments, saving you from having to keep planning on how to apply to a temp agency. The staffing agency will be more inclined to consider you for any permanent opportunities they have, emphasizing the importance of impressing staffing agencies.

On the other hand, if you treat a temp assignment as just a way to make money, and have no respect for the client or the agency you’re working for, they will be less inclined to work with you in the future. Take that opportunity to formulate questions to ask as you deepen your relationship with the staffing agency you are currently employed.

5. Making the Most of Staffing Agencies

Staffing agencies aren’t just an excellent tool for employers; they also help job seekers with successful employment. You can explore temp agency tips, guides to impress staffing agencies and employers, and tons of advice to help you find and keep a job. Ensure you take full advantage of an agency’s services because they could be the key to helping you find your dream job.

WAI at the CUA Job Fair!

WAI Staff

WAI CUA Job Fair table 2022

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In Person Job Fairs are Back!

We are so pleased to have participated in the Catholic University of America Spring Career Fair. Two of our recruiters, Chace Leuba and Diana Villegas, were able to meet and mingle with the undergraduate and graduate students of CUA to discuss temporary and permanent job opportunities.

There are many benefits to attending a job fair, whether it’s put on by a school, university or hosted by a staffing agency. Here are our three top reasons why you shouldn’t pass up the next career fair if you’re looking for work.

1. Access to Hiring Representatives

job fair interview

When attending a job fair, you are in direct contact with recruiters and hiring managers. There are not many other opportunities to connect with, and make a good impression on, this many HR professionals. While at the CUA Career Fair, WAI recruiters connected with many students both seeking temporary work while finishing their degree, and permanent work post graduation.

2. Learn About Different Careers

Job fairs, and staffing agencies, offer a wealth of knowledge about different careers. Many times people hear of a job or career path that they were not otherwise aware existed. With attendees of the 2022 CUA Career Fair, WAI discussed opportunities at a number of DMV based nonprofits and associations, and is excited to continue working with the students we met.

3. Networking

Networking is an invaluable part of attending job fairs. This maximizes a job seeker’s exposure to far more opportunities and connections than traditional job applications. To be well prepared, always carry several copies of your resume, have a digital copy saved in your email or on Google Drive for easy access and perhaps have your business card ready to hand out.

Whitman Associates is excited to return to the Catholic University of America next year and continue attending career fairs around the DMV. Placement options are available for students, recent graduates, in addition to mid and late-career professionals!

To work with WAI, please send your resume to resumes@whitmanjobs.com.

Temp of the Month March 2022: Santana Holmes

WAI Staff

Santana graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. While at Kent State, she was a Student Manager at Starbucks, her favorite coffee shop. She was also a board member for KSU’s Focus on the Future for two years.

In her spare time, she enjoys exercising, shopping, listening to podcasts, watching Netflix and talking to friends. Her favorite Netflix series is Bridgerton. Santana also enjoy traveling and was able to travel to another country for the first time in 2019.

Temp of the Month February 2022: Jeff Panosian

WAI Staff

Jeff has worked with various nonprofits, companies, and an association in D.C. Originally from upstate New York, Jeff graduated from Columbia University in New York City with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 2019. After graduation, he moved to the D.C. area and worked as a legislative intern for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer.

His experiences on Capitol Hill—together with his campaign volunteering, classes, and policy research at Columbia—have cemented his passion for working on tax and economic policy that tackles America’s income and wealth inequalities. He enjoys watching stand-up comedy and comedy TV. He is of Armenian heritage, and likes reading about Armenian history, as well as other cultures, and languages.

Temp of the Month January 2022: Meron Amare

WAI Staff

Meron has been working as an Operations Temp at a D.C. philanthropic association since September 2021. She graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Health Science, Public Health in 2014 and a Master of Public Health – Community Health in 2017. GO SEAWOLVES!!!

She moved from New York City in June 2021 and is excited to explore new opportunities in the DMV area. She’s most passionate about women’s health and wishes to pursue a career in women’s reproductive health issues. She’s enjoying her time with the association, developing skills and learning a great deal from an awesome team of experienced professionals.

Fun facts: Meron is trilingual, speaks fluent Amharic, French and English and is known as every kid’s auntie!

Temp of the Month November 2021: Claire Lauder

WAI Staff

Claire moved to Washington, D.C. and joined the Whitman team after graduating with a degree in Marketing. While working in commercial property management, she is pursuing an MBA with a concentration in Data Analytics.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and spending time outdoors. Claire is looking forward to continuing her career in property management in Washington, D.C.

Temp of the Month October 2021: Makaya Gittens

WAI Staff

With a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MA in Theater/Live Event Production from San Diego State University, Makaya has a professional interest in problem solving and logistics. This interest has led her to produce a number of events including corporate conferences, networking and social events, and a city-wide DJ Battle at the House of Blues in San Diego. Makaya hopes to continue growing her career in special event management.

During her free time, Makaya enjoys dancing and traveling. She has studied modern dance, west-african dance, hip-hop dance and acrobatics. So far, her travels include Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Senegal, St. Croix, St. Maarten, Trinidad and 22 states. A New York native, Makaya has lived in Washington DC for a total of 9 years and enjoys living in a city with so much to explore and learn.