If you want some reliable facts and figures to help your recruiting efforts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a wealth of data about U.S. jobs and industry growth.
For example, did you know that the medium salary in the U.S. for C-level executives is $168,000? That number can come in handy when you’re looking to recruit someone for a chief executive role, and you need to assess whether the salary being offered is appropriate, exceptional or way under market.
Here are six other ways you can use the Bureau of Labor Statistics to help you on the road to talent acquisition:
1. Shift your focus to a high-growth industry.
The Bureau of Labor statistics regularly produces a list of the fastest growing industries in the country. As a headhunter, if you’ve been focusing on an employment sector, such as the Federal Government, that’s expected to shrink over the next ten years, it might make sense to start gearing your efforts toward one of the higher growth industries, such as Technology or Health Care.
By staying abreast of market trends, you can attempt to shift your client niche toward a higher growth industry to increase your career prospects.
2. Gain insight into regional salary expectations.
Accountants in Oklahoma City may not make the same amount of money as CPAs in Boston. When you’re working with either an out-of-town corporation or a remote candidate, you can read up on Metropolitan wage data statistics to see what a candidate from a specific region might expect when it comes to compensation.
3. Persuade a candidate that a career move will up their earnings.
Job-hopping doesn’t always pay off, but statistics show that workers who change jobs voluntarily in the first eight years of employment after college, receive higher earnings than those that don’t actively look to leverage their job experience. By staying current on employment figures and reading the Monthly Labor Review you can get data to help bolster your recruitment strategies.
4. Figure out how picky you can afford to be.
What if you just found out that you have to fill 20 spots for sales executives in Atlanta, but you have no idea whether that’s going to be a breeze or a nightmare? By reading up about unemployment rates and underutilized labor in the region you’re working in, you can better calculate your prospects of quickly finding a lot of candidates in a different part of the country.
5. Convince a prospect that a benefits package is better than average.
Say you’ve got a candidate that is close to accepting a position, but they’re teetering on the fence. By taking a look at the benefits that are being offered by the company and comparing them to the average benefit packages offered around the country, you may be able to increase their enthusiasm for a job.
By the same token you can use these statistics to go back to a client with a stingier package and ask them if they might sweeten the deal, by comparing what they’re offering to other companies across the country.
6. Help inspire a radical move.
Let’s imagine you have a candidate who’s working in an executive management position for a publishing company, and you think they’d be a great fit for a similar role at a tech company.
If you check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics fastest growing and most rapidly declining wages by industry stats, you’d find out that the tech industry is on a growth curve when it comes to salary increases, and publishing is going down. Try taking this factual ammunition directly to your candidate to help them figure out whether making a jump to a new industry might be a better move for their long-term success.
* image by U.S. Bureau of Labor
Topics: Recruiting tips
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