2016 - Page 2 of 4

Recent Placements from Casey Accounting & Finance Resources

As a nationally accredited, best in class recruitment firm, our staff at Casey Accounting & FInance Resources is well networked in the Accounting & Finance community, tenured and industry certified. With our dedicated staff experienced in developing relationships, obtaining referrals, and sourcing candidates, we can locate top talent that you may not be able to find on your own. In addition to our outstanding recruiting practices, our team is committed to community service and philanthropy.

CASEY ACCOUNTING & FINANCE RESOURCES recent placements include the following:

Temporary Positions Filled:

A/P Supervisor
Sr. Financial Analyst
Payroll Manager
Sr. Accountant
Credit and Collections Clerk
Inventory Control Clerk
Payroll Administrator

Direct Hire Positions Filled:

Controller
Project Accountant
Plant Controller
A/P Specialist
Sr. Accountant
Payroll Specialist
Accounting Clerk

For more information on our recent placements: http://casey.appsnapnv.com/jobs-filled/

Do You Know Your Company’s Online Brand Can Be the Difference?

What people think about your company can make a big difference when you’re trying to attract the best talent. Bad reviews, negative ratings, and complaints from customers are easy to discover online and anybody searching for information about your company will usually find these statements and pages first. If you have disgruntled employees or employee satisfaction is relatively low, there’s also a good chance that some are posting negative reviews online or sharing negative information with friends, family members and future co-workers.

Here are some things to consider when monitoring your online brand.

What Does Your Company Look Like to Potential Employees?

Jumping on Google to do a basic keyword search and looking at the results on the search engines can make it easier for you to understand what a prospective employee might see if they were interested in your company. Negative reviews and ratings from employees on Glassdoor may appear at the top of search engine results pages, which means potential employees may have a biased view of what working at your company is really like. Take some time to disarm some of these reviews, if you can, by posting follow-up messages and making sure all profiles about your company are filled out accurately.

What Are You Doing to Promote Company Culture and Values?

Is your human resources department being proactive to promote company culture and values, or is it difficult for people to figure these things out from your website and marketing materials? Make sure you are taking extra steps to convey your core values and culture through your website, email marketing, and any correspondence related to the hiring process.

How Do People Learn About Available Jobs?

How easy is it for people to learn about available jobs with your company? If you’re not advertising jobs on your website or making updates on social media about available positions, you may be missing out on attracting a pool of quality candidates. Take the time to write up compelling job descriptions and information about your company that gets posted on all the major, reputable job sites and is also in the hands of a staffing firm. Staffing firms can be especially helpful for matching you with the right candidates and ensuring your company is presented in the best possible light.

What Are Employees Saying Online?

Websites such as Glassdoor, Indeed and Vault list information about different employers, including salary listings and responses from survey respondents. If your company has garnered many reviews from employees, this will attract the attention of prospective employees interested in learning more about the company from an insider’s perspective. Take the time to review what is being said about you in detail and consider making internal improvements, if needed. Encourage happy employees to post positive reviews to outnumber the negative posts.

Your company’s online brand can make a difference when trying to attract top talent. Working with a Chicago financial staffing firm like Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can help you find top talent and get you the professional representation you need.

Quiet Personality? Loud Workplace? Here’s How to Be Successful

If you’re an introvert by nature and prefer to work alone, finding the right fit in the modern workplace can be a challenge. People who are quiet, reserved, and introspective may seem like they don’t get along with others, but that is usually far from the truth. These types tend to thrive when they have their own space but can do well in a group setting with some self awareness and self confidence.

Use the following tips to be successful in the workplace if you are an introvert.

Be Prepared for Meetings

If the idea of being singled out in a meeting or having to give a presentation makes you nervous, make sure you’re prepared. Review documents and materials that will help you give an intelligent response if you do end up getting asked a question during the meeting. Ask for an agenda from the meeting organizer so you know what to expect. Being well prepared for meetings can make it easier for you to get through those few hours with minimal stress and anxiety.

Learn to De-Stress in Any Situation

Anxiety and tension can make your work days a little more stressful. If you have a hard time relaxing and staying focused at work, take the time to de-stress using natural methods and techniques. Take deep breaths before a meeting, make sure you get to work early so you aren’t getting anxious about being late to the office, and try and stay focused in the middle of workplace conflicts. If you work in a very loud work environment, use headphones or take breaks when things get stressful, so you don’t feel too stressed out all day long.

Be Confident in Your Abilities

Be confident in your strengths and continue to build your skill set, nurturing your talents and appreciating the unique qualities you bring to the table. People will see results no matter what your personality type may be — you don’t necessarily have to be the loudest or most visible person in the office to do a great job. Stay focused on what you do best, don’t feel threatened or intimidated by colleagues, and do what you can to contribute at your best level.

Get Connected

You don’t have to struggle all by yourself in an office setting. Build an alliance of people who have similar personality traits as you, so that you can spend time together and develop camaraderie with your co-workers. Share an encouraging word with other introverted co-workers and build trust. Make a sincere effort to get to know people and don’t be afraid to speak up and share your ideas. Your friend will be able to support you during meetings and may even put in a good word for you when you are looking for a promotion.

If you need help navigating the modern workplace or are looking for career opportunities in the accounting and finance field, talk to some of the top financial recruiters in Chicago by contacting Casey Accounting & Finance Resources today.

You Can Find Talent, but How Can You RECRUIT Them to Make the Move?

The internet and social media have made it easier than ever to recruit talent and network with potential candidates. However, you need to make an effort to sell the job effectively in order to attract and retain the right candidates. Getting the candidate interested and on the phone or in the office for an interview is an important first step, but you also need to make sure the candidate is truly interested in the position and has good interpersonal skills to handle the job. After that, you will need to position the company appropriately and share important information to keep the candidate interested.

Here are some important things to consider with your recruiting efforts.

Hiring During a Good Economy

When unemployment rates are low, it can be difficult to find people who are actively looking for a new job. Even if you have plenty of great positions to fill, there’s a chance that there just isn’t enough talent readily available to apply and fill those positions. Hiring during good economic times means you will need to be more proactive and creative with your recruitment efforts. You may also need to raise the bar on your offerings and attract high-quality candidates with higher-than-average salaries and benefits packages.

Identifying What Your HR Department Does Well

If your recruiting efforts aren’t paying off or you just aren’t able to tap into a large enough candidate pool, it may be time to review your hiring process. Take some time to identify what your HR department does well, and where it may be lacking. Consider which recruitment efforts are paying off and which ones are not attracting enough candidates. Whether it’s your social media and online job posting activities, or your efforts to attend career fairs and networking events, make sure you have a clear idea of what is working and what isn’t, so you can recruit higher-quality candidates consistently.

Learn From New Hires

If you have managed to recruit and retain a good group of new hires, consider sending out surveys about their experience, so you can figure out what you did right. Sometimes the best way to learn about your effectiveness with various hiring initiatives involves going straight to the source. Consider asking them what part of the selling process made them come to your company and what made them stay. Was it the way a job was presented? Was it how the hiring manager explained the role and followed up? Take the time to learn what worked — and what didn’t — from some of your best candidates.

Finding top talent can be a challenge, but there are several things you can do to improve your recruitment process and ensure qualified candidates make the move to secure the position. If you need help finding and retaining the right talent, let Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, a top financial staffing firm in Chicago help! Call us today for more information.

Prevent Buyer’s Remorse! How to Make Sure You Have a Smooth Transition into Your New Job

Changing jobs can be a stressful time in your life, and you want to make sure you are taking steps to make the transition just a little easier. Being careful about how you conduct yourself during those last few weeks on the job is important because you want to make sure you are leaving on a good note, and ensure you are in the mindset to take on your next opportunity. Whether you’ve been with the company for a few months or a few years, here are some things you can do to make your transition to the new job much smoother.

Share the news with contacts on your last day of the old job.

Your colleagues may already know you are leaving, but you will want to wait to share any updates on social media or LinkedIn until your final days on the job. Make sure to notify people and make changes before you start your actual job, so you aren’t worried about getting updates, notifications and emails all day long on your first few days at the job. You need to be focused and show you are dedicated to the new job 100 percent — so email and social media interruptions need to be kept at a minimum.

Don’t talk poorly about your former employer.

If you had a hard time with your previous boss or weren’t happy with the job, it’s tempting to speak poorly about the old boss. Make sure you are not going out of your way to talk badly about them with colleagues, your future boss, or anybody else that may be connected with the company. You don’t want to be known as the person who ended up badmouthing the boss just because of a bad working relationship. There are always two sides to the story, and you don’t want to burn any bridges.

Be friendly.

It can be intimidating to meet new co-workers and get acquainted with new people in your department or company. You will need some time to learn about your new role and get adjusted to the new work environment. Make it a priority to be friendly to people during this time, so that you can make some new connections. Stay positive even when you feel anxious or stressed about the job so you can develop a solid network of contacts.

Take notes.

Take notes during meetings and just jot down key things you learned during the day, so you can keep yourself organized and on track. Taking notes will help you settle in that much faster, and have some things to study as you get acquainted.

Be ready to participate.

The new company has hired you to contribute and your role may involve active participation in meetings, brainstorming sessions and other group activities where you will need to speak up. Be confident in your decision to be there and don’t be afraid to do your part and come ready to participate.

Transitioning to a new job can be stressful, but there are several things you can do to make the change more manageable. If you need help with your job search or career advice, consider working with a top financial staffing firm in Chicago, Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Contact us today!

Top Accounting & Finance Talent Recently Placed

We have been busy helping out clients find top Accounting & Finance talent in a very competitive labor market! How can we help you?

Recently filled positions:

Staff Accountant-Chicago, IL
Payroll Admin-Rosemont, IL
Controller-DeKalb, IL
Accounting Clerk-Schaumburg, IL
A/P Supervisor-Northlake, IL
Sr. Financial Analyst-Glendale Heights, IL
Credit/Collections-Wood Dale, IL
Accounting Clerk-Schaumburg, IL
Payroll-Chicago, IL
Sr. Accountant-Glendale Heights, IL
Plant Controller-DeKalb, IL
Payroll Manager-Batavia, IL
Accounting Clerk-Rosemont, IL
A/P Specialist-Arlington Heights, IL
Accounting Assistant-Schaumburg, IL
A/R Clerk-Chicago, IL
Financial Analyst-Waukegan, IL
Sr. Accountant-Mundelein, IL
Inventory Clerk-Buffalo Grove, IL
Accounting Manager-Wood Dale, IL
A/P Clerk-Lake Zurich, IL
Accountant-Chicago, IL
A/P Clerk-Chicago, IL
Payroll Clerk-Schiller Park, IL
Payroll Clerk-Palatine, IL
Credit Analyst-Glendale Heights, IL
Director of Finance-Mount Prospect, IL
Staff Accountant-Northbrook, IL
Payroll Manager-Schiller Park, IL
Sr. Accountant-Mundelein, IL

Has Your Company Prepared for the Upcoming Overtime Wage Changes?

Whether you are in charge of managing a small startup or a larger corporation, salaried workers and businesses will soon be subject to a change in laws of the Fair Labor Standards Act — the first change in 40 years. President Obama directed the Secretary of Labor to update overtime regulations so that workers who are working overtime are fairly compensated. The final rulings will go into effect on December 1, 2016, so your company needs to be prepared for the changes ahead. Here are some things you need to know about the upcoming overtime wage changes:

About the Overtime Wage Changes

The latest overtime updates are designed to extend protection to 4.2 million workers across the United States and the largest populations of these workers reside in California, Texas and Florida. Under these new rules, employees making less than $913 per week are now eligible to be paid overtime, wheras under the previous rules, employees making less than $455/week were eligible.

Employers are left to decide whether they want to increase the employee’s salaries above the new threshold or pay time-and-a-half for overtime work. All workers must not work more than 40 hours per week without adequate compensation and companies do have the option of modifying salaries and paying time-and-a-half for overtime.

Preparing for the Wage Changes

Employers still have a few months to prepare for the overtime wage changes which will effectually increase the number of workers at the company who are eligible for new protections. This means your company may need to review salary tables and job offers, restructure departments to accommodate for a new budget, and consider how they want to compensate workers who do end up working overtime.

One of the first things you can do is to classify all employees by salary and ensure that anybody making over the threshold is exempt from overtime pay if their primary job duties involve executive, administrative or professional duties as outlined in the final regulations from the Department of Labor.

Determining how many current employees at their current salary level would then be eligible for overtime protection will give you an idea of the potential changes in cost. Monitoring these employees’ hours and implementing measures of productivity can help to determine whether an employee’s position should be modified or salaries adjusted. You may realize that some accounting and finance roles will retire overtime — especially during tax season or other busier seasons — so the budgets will need to be adjusted accordingly.

If you need help with evaluating your staffing resources and exploring different types of positions in accounting and financing, get in touch with our award-winning team at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources for assistance. As a top financial recruiting firm in Chicago, we can help you prepare for any internal changes you need to meet the upcoming changes to the overtime threshold.

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Filling out an I-9 form

It’s more important than ever that you have strong Form I-9 procedures. On average, about half of all I-9 forms have some sort of errors. Most errors are fairly common and easily avoidable, including the most common:

Late completion of the I-9 form. Section 1 must be completed on or before the first day of hire. Section 2 must be completed by end of the fourth day of hire.
Using an incorrect version of the form. The newest I-9 version is dated 3-8-2013.
No signature or incomplete document information, such as missing the date employment began, missing the name and of employer or date of employee’s execution of the form. For electronic versions of this form, Section 1 cannot populate from other areas (like candidate software). The most common error in Section 2 is failure to complete the Document Title Issuing Authority, Document Number and Expiration Date (if applicable).
I-9 form not produced in its entirety — both sides of the I-9 must be reproduced.
Instruction sheet is missing.
Documents are accepted that contain deletions, like an unsigned social security card.
White-out is used on the form. White-out is not permitted. If a mistake is made, place a line through the incorrect information, place your initials next to the incorrect information and provide the correct information.

To avoid mistakes — as well as fines during audits — we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you have a strong I-9 procedure in place:

Don’t be afraid to help employees fill out Section 1. You can avoid a lot of errors by questioning employees if you see them filling out something incorrectly in this section.
Purge and destroy I-9s after the proper timeframe: after three years or one year after termination, whichever is longer. By keeping old I-9s, you are opening yourself up to additional liability and possible fines if you are audited.
Be sure to document your hiring procedure as it relates to the use of the I-9 form.
Do not keep I-9 forms in the employee file. This makes it harder to purge forms as they are no longer needed.
Be sure to make copies of supporting documentation.
For remote employee, oftentimes people hire an agent to complete Section 2 of the I-9. The person signing Section 2 must be the person who physically reviewed the supporting documents.
Do NOT ask for immigration status.
You cannot ask for a green card or social security card. Nor should you accept more documentation than is necessary or tell the employee which documents they are to provide.
You must treat each person the same: ask the same questions in the same way to everyone.

Thank you to Tricom (www.tricom.com) for providing this very helpful guide to avoid common mistakes when filling out an I-9 form.

4 Tips to Help You Negotiate the Best Salary

You’ve worked hard to secure that job offer and may be eager to sign the agreement and get started. However, it’s important not to miss the important step of negotiating a suitable salary for all the hard work you will be committing to in the upcoming months or years. Your salary requirements may be the deal breaker for many companies and you’ll want to avoid some common mistake when negotiating your wages.

Use the following tips to help you negotiate the best salary.

1. Be prepared.

Almost every employer will ask what your salary expectations are, and this usually happens during the screening process or the very early stages of the interview. Employers want to screen out candidates that they simply know would not be a good fit for their budget. It’s always a good idea to anticipate this question and be prepared to answer with confidence so you don’t end up getting nervous or suggesting something well below what you deserve. Do some research about the company and similar positions in the area so you have some realistic figures to work with.

2. Don’t lie about your salary history.

Many job seekers make the mistake of stating that they are earning more than they really are so they can get a high offer from an employer. However, this can get you in trouble when the employer checks in with your current employer or requests a recent pay stub of earnings. If you are caught lying or you even manage to start the job and then the company discovered you were lying, you may end up losing the new opportunity entirely.

3. Understand that the company will have salary budgets.

Employers are working with budgets and will try and maximize their human resources at the most effective cost. Even if you are applying for an upper management position, the financial or accounting department or a prestigious position with bonuses and other perks, you can expect the company to work within their compensation framework to bring you on board. This is why you do need to do your homework and find out what the salary would be for your position and go from there. Even if you have never earned that much before, be confident when asking for the salary and see how they respond. Working with a recruiter gives you an advantage because the recruiter will be able to negotiate the best salary for you based upon the company’s budget.

4. Always think about other benefits.

If your prospective employer simply won’t budge on their salary offer — or they are offering a lower salary than you anticipated — consider any other benefits that come with the job. Is the office within a short drive of your home so you don’t have a long commute? Do they offer an onsite fitness center or employee lunches? Do you have extra paid-time-off and extended vacation days? Does your employer offer comprehensive health and life insurance benefits? All of these extra benefits can offset some of the difference in salary expectations.

If you need help on your job search, consider working with a top financial staffing firm in Chicago in Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. We can position you in front of jobs with attractive salaries and benefits. Contact us today!

2016 Mid-Year Salary Survey for Accounting and Finance Available Now!

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources has compiled updated salary data for the fields of accounting and finance. In this job market featuring a shortage of qualified job candidates, this information on salary ranges helps job seekers and clients to find a fair pay range

With compensation trends changing every year, both sides need to be well-informed when negotiating job offers or even pay raises.

Arlington Resources can help human resources professionals who want to learn more about what salary expectations should be. We have compiled our salary survey list with updated facts and figures including job descriptions for more than 100 accounting and finance positions for the Chicago metropolitan area.

Email us today at FinancialSalarySurvey@caseyresources.com and we will be happy to share this with you. In the “YOUR MESSAGE” section, please enter “2016 Mid-Year Accounting & Finance Salary Survey”. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Yearly Archives: 2016