As Morton Consulting has continued to grow over the past 6+ years, we recognize that our employees, partners, and clients have played an important part in this growth through referrals.  Morton Consulting is committed to connecting our clients with the most talented technology and business professionals in the marketplace.  In order to stand by the commitment we have made to our core values, we are looking for prospective candidates who can represent these values well, whether working directly for Morton Consulting or for one of our partners.

A full listing of all of our current jobs can be found by following this link.  Of course, we encourage you to visit our site weekly for your own job search, but if you see a position that would be a better fit for someone else you know, we would love the referral.  If you would like credit for the referral, please email the candidate’s details to our Recruitment Lead at megan.johnson@mortonconsulting.com.   Please indicate “CANDIDATE REFERRAL” in the subject line.

Anyone who refers a qualified candidate to Morton Consulting can be eligible for a $500.00 Candidate Referral Bonus which will be payable upon completion of that candidates first 30 days of employment with Morton Consulting.  The following terms and conditions apply:

• Candidate must successfully complete the first 30 days of employment before the Referral Bonus is payable
• If the referred candidate has an existing record in the Morton Consulting database and a Morton Consulting representative has communicated with that candidate in the past 90 days, the referred candidate isn’t eligible for a Candidate Referral Bonus.
• Referred candidates will remain eligible for the Candidate Referral Bonus for a period of 90 days from the date of the referral.

The team at Morton Consulting is very excited about this Candidate Referral Bonus program.  We are hopeful this program will allow us to continue delivering the best candidates to our clients while staying focused on outstanding customer service.  Some specific areas where we can use referral support include:

• .NET Development (C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET)
• Java/J2EE Development
• Business Analysis
• Project Management
• Citrix Administration
• Quality Assurance
• Network Administration / Engineering
• Oracle Developers / DBAs
• SQL Server Developers / DBAs

Happy referring!

David Borovatz

Director of Operations

Morton Consulting

The staffing business has also seen a number of changes throughout history.  When I started in this business, emailing resumes was fairly new which probably sounds crazy to most that just entered staffing within the past few years.  Before email, staffing companies were faxing or using the US Postal Service to mail resumes to clients.  WOW, pretty hard to believe right?  I also remember when clients would call on a Friday and request resources to start the following Monday.  Really, no interview, is that crazy or what?  Additionally, we’ve seen the number of Staffing Firms grow at an aggressive pace over the past 10 years which has created competition, challenges, and a significant need to differentiate your staffing business from the rest.

So you might be asking yourself, why is it March Madness for Morton Consulting?  Well, in the Staffing business, Q1 is the most critical quarter in maximizing the end of the year result. The push to finish the quarter strong is significant and the Morton team is doing whatever we can to hustle for our customers (both clients and job seekers).  We have seen new requests from clients increase significantly since the beginning of March which is great news.

The team at Morton Consulting is available and ready to speak with talent seekers and job seekers.   Please visit us at http://www.mortonconsulting.com to see our most recent job listings or check us out on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.  If you are ready to hire the most talented IT resources or if you are ready to consider your next opportunity, please call us at 804-290-4272 and we’ll direct you to the right team member.  Even though they say, March Madness tends to lower worker productivity, the team at Morton Consulting is receiving new opportunities daily and we’ll be here to help throughout this crazy month of March Madness.

David Borovatz

Director of Operations

Morton Consulting

In an article I read just this morning on Wired, only 12% of businesses today have planned social media strategies beyond next year which in my opinion, leaves a ton of opportunity on the table.  In attending SIA Executive Forum conferences over the past couple of years, I’ve heard loud and clear about this opportunity in Social Media and therefore, have made it a part of our business.  Morton Consulting has, for some time now, had a Twitter account, Facebook page, and LinkedIn company page but there is a major difference between having the page and then actually leveraging that social media outlet to drive business.

So, why Facebook and what value is there in a “Like” for our business?   Well, we all know Facebook has over one billion users and after reading an article from VentureBeat I learned Facebook also has over 15 million pages dedicated to specific brands like Morton Consulting.  If you haven’t noticed, almost everyone has a Facebook page, so we have started to leverage the Morton page to post our jobs.  Every time we post a job, those that “Like” our page you will receive an update in their News Feed with a link to the details for that job.  As it stands today, we have 376 people who have “Liked” our page which is up 100 “Likes” over the past month.  Each time we receive another “Like” we increase our audience.  As our audience makes it way closer to 1000, we are constantly building our brand and, in effect, a community.

For those of you that want to see the Power in a Facebook “Like” go check out some of your favorite different brands out there to see what they have created.  The TV show Duck Dynasty is a great example with almost 4 million likes on Facebook or you could check out Amazon with a just over 17 million likes.   Can we agree there is something pretty powerful about these pages?  Where are you at in implementing your Social Media Strategy and are you leveraging Facebook?

Our primary goal in leveraging Facebook is to build our brand and community on a platform that is widely accepted.  As we receive new opportunities, we can quickly send the details out to a large audience in hopes of connecting with new candidates, customers, and partners.  Do you want to stay updated with Morton Consulting and all of our new job postings?  Well, go ahead and “Like” us on Facebook!

David Borovatz

Director of Operations

Morton Consulting

Throughout my career and in my current role at Morton Consulting, I have always been a strong believer in the Work Hard / Play Hard mentality.  This past week the team at Morton Consulting had our pictures taken to refresh some of the photos on our website and we took advantage of the opportunity to have some fun with it.  As you can see from the picture I’m including in this blog, we were having a blast together.

For those of you who have worked in the staffing or services industries, you know that in order to be successful, you must work hard.  Personally, I love the afternoons where you get slammed with new client requests that sometimes require recruiters and account managers to work a longer day.  Early in my career, my team and I often ordered dinner into the office or came into the office on Saturday’s to make sure we were delivering the service we promised.  Here at Morton Consulting, we have had our fair share of those days that require us to put in a little extra time in order to meet our goals, whether in the office or at home.

At Morton Consulting, we definitely work hard however we do enjoy celebrating success and rewarding hard work.  We try to be as creative as possible whether it’s a gift card to dinner and a movie, a team outing at the bowling alley or G-Force Karts.  Every year we take employees and clients to a Flying Squirrels game and then throughout the year, we have fun with clients and employees over breakfast, happy hours, fishing, hunting, skeet shooting, and even cookouts with families.  The important thing to consider is the value you will add to your employees, clients, or partners in doing something a little outside of the ordinary.  These kind gestures and events will come back to you in loyalty, appreciation, and relationship building.  Furthermore, having fun at work will result in better collaboration, teamwork, communication, productivity, and results.

What are you doing to have fun in the workplace?

David Borovatz

Director of Operations

Morton Consulting

In Staffing and Human Resources we are all very familiar with the concept of providing two weeks of notice to an employer.  Providing two weeks of notice is the respectful and professional thing to do after making the decision to transition into a new career.  Leaving a position without notice, in most cases, will put your employer and co-workers in a difficult position.  I’ve been in this business for over 10 years now and it’s still shocking every time an employee leaves a position without notice.  Now this is rare, but it does happen and I’m sure many of you can relate here.  Not providing adequate notice is unprofessional and is definitely a behavior that can have a negative impact on all parties involved.  Here are three reasons why providing two weeks of notice is the right thing to do:

1. Transfer Knowledge – as a member of an organization, whether large or small, you develop a unique knowledge to perform in that role.  This knowledge is valuable to your employer and their business so do whatever you can to transfer the knowledge you have so that as you transition out of this role, your employer can continue to operate without interruption.  Whether documenting processes or training a coworker, this is of high value to your soon to be ex-employer and a great way to bow out professionally.
2. Transition your Workload – you never want to leave any position and put your employer in a bad spot to continue operating without you.  In some cases, I’ve had employees provide 30 days of notice to adequately transition their workload or to even deliver on a critical project.  This transition could be to an existing team member or it might even be your replacement.  If you do what is necessary to properly transition your workload, you will be remembered as a great teammate and you might even retain some strong references.
3. Exit Gracefully – it’s important to leave in a professional manner as it’s a small world and you never know when you might cross tracks with your former employer or co-workers in the future.  References, referrals, testimonies, relationships, and friendships are only a few of the many reasons to exit gracefully.  We all say Richmond is a small world because it is.  It’s amazing how often I run into someone I’ve worked with or done business with in the past, even when you think it will never happen again.  Your career will benefit in multiple ways when you exit gracefully.

I’m sure it was difficult for Pope Benedict to make this decision to resign just as it isn’t always easy for any of us to decide to take the next step in our career.  At the end of the day, I always say, it’s up to you to take ownership of your career. My recommendation is to give the proper two weeks of notice, don’t burn bridges, and maintain the relationships you create throughout the life of your career.    

David Borovatz

Director of Operations

Morton Consulting

Healthcare has been an industry where change isn’t and shouldn’t be anything new.  For years now, Morton Consulting has seen a significant increase in requests from clients in the Healthcare and Insurance industries.  The demand for candidates with healthcare or insurance focused experience has substantially increased.  With significant change forthcoming, there is also opportunity for staffing in what has been more commonly known as “Obamacare”. 

1. An opportunity to strengthen the employee / employer relationship – one trend that we have seen is healthcare’s continuously increasing cost which is a trend that will continue.  We have learned that most candidates or employees care most about compensation and healthcare benefits.  With the ever-changing climate in healthcare, especially the changes outlined in the ACA, there will be an opportunity to show your commitment to both current and prospective employees in providing a strong healthcare benefit program which could become a major differentiator. 
2. An opportunity to strengthen customer partnerships – as staffing experts, it is part of our commitment to be a master of our craft.  What I mean is, whether it is employment status, sponsorship, or healthcare, our clients count on us to provide them with guidance into their staffing strategy.  It’s important to be well educated on ACA which will create opportunities to act as a partner and perhaps advisor as employers across this country begin to navigate towards compliance.
3. An opportunity to strengthen revenues with increased staffing demand – with the ACA, there should be an increase in staffing requests from clients.  The increased demand will come from organizations who are managing headcount according to ACA, and from companies looking to implement technologies to support the significant changes in healthcare.  We’ve seen this time and time again with Health Information Technology, Electronic Health Records, CMS changes, HIPAA, and the many other changes we’ve seen through history in healthcare.

The team at Morton Consulting is committed to ensuring that we align ourselves with the experts and professionals who can guide our organization through these healthcare changes.  We are also committed to doing everything we can to educate our customers – employees, clients, and candidates – while being a partner in support of achieving your business goals and executing your staffing strategies. 

David Borovatz

Director of Operations

Morton Consulting

Our team, whether Sales or Recruiting, often talk with clients or candidates who are experiencing issues with resumes being submitted for client openings without clear “Permission to Present”.  In some cases, double submittals are unavoidable but submitting a resume without clear permission is unacceptable.  For candidates, we recommend that while in the job market and throughout your career, you should manage your career pursuits in one place.  We often suggest something as simple as a notebook or an Excel spreadsheet where you can detail the positions you’ve applied for directly and then those that you are being submitted to through agencies.  It’s very important to know what agency or staffing provider is representing you to different opportunities as there are many out there and more than likely, as a qualified candidate, you are going to receive more than one phone call for new job openings.  I also believe this level of organization will provide you with a strong game plan to manage your career pursuits and an opportunity to stay ahead of your follow up.

It’s frustrating to hear from clients that vendors actually present resumes or candidates without clear “Permission to Present”.  I’m a big advocate for the Staffing Industry and I’m very confident in the value Morton Consulting and other firms can add to the staffing strategies of companies, whether large or small.  However, when resumes are presented without permission, it really gives our industry a bad name.  We have one client who for many years has called all candidates submitted before passing them to the hiring manager to validate information including “what vendor submitted your resume”.  If the candidate did not answer with the vendor that actually presented them, they were then taken out of consideration.  Not having clear “Permission to Present” a candidate to a client opening is irresponsible so at Morton Consulting we are committed to having very clear permission to associate our brand with a candidates resume for a client opening.

In an effort to stay ahead of this trend, in May of 2010 Morton Consulting started leveraging Survey Monkey to help us manage the “Permission to Present” process for the requirements we support.  Recruiters and Account Managers cannot submit a resume to one of our clients without first having a record of the candidate completing the “Permission to Present” survey.  It’s pretty basic, we send the candidate a link, they complete a 7 question survey, and once completed we submit the resume to the client.  In almost three years of utilizing this process, we’ve had nearly 3000 candidates complete the survey.  We’ve even taken it a step further and we leverage the survey to also validate other possible conflicts or road blocks around background investigations, credit checks, and non-competes.  The process works well for Morton Consulting and it’s another example of our commitment to customers, both clients and candidates, along with a testament to our core values in making sure we do the right thing.

David Borovatz

Director of Operations

Morton Consulting

The entire internal staff at Morton Consulting gets involved, and is accountable, for developing and maintaining these partnerships.  Our phone lines are always open, and whether it’s the President, a recruiter, Alice in Human Resources, or one of our finance team members, we are here to support and serve our customers.

The relationships we develop with our clients and consultants are critical to the success of Morton Consulting, and we work hard to remain top-of-mind when it’s time to transition to a new opportunity, or when resources are needed to deliver on a critical project. Furthermore, our partnerships create situations where candidates refer their friends and family, employees uncover new opportunities with employers, and clients call Morton Consulting before contacting our competitors for the high level of service we provide.

One of the ways we develop strong relationships is through constant communication. We encourage the team to bring candidates to the office for face-to-face interviews, to have clients or consultants drop by our office to visit, and to meet candidates out for coffee or lunch.  In addition, we spend considerable time on the phone, whether interviewing a prospective consultant or checking in with an employee of a customer in Roanoke.

While it is critical to spend time building relationships, in reality not every conversation is one where we are just “checking in” or seeing how things are with the family.  In many cases, we are on that initial phone call to capture critical information from a prospective candidate – perhaps details about their current situation, gaps in employment, compensation expectations, eligibility for employment, company targets, or availability just to name a few.  In many cases, a “Morton Match” is found and further investigation and detailed interviews are required. This initial call and information captured gives Morton Consulting the opportunity to develop and foster a new customer relationship.

We work to go above and beyond the call of duty to develop these relationships, and we invest significant time really getting to know our employees and consultants.  A short time ago, we had an employee involved in a serious car accident and we brought his family dinner from Maggiano’s to show our support.  Another employee recently mailed us an autographed album from his sister in Taiwan after she topped the music charts.

We’ve noticed that the focus on relationships at Morton Consulting creates a two-way street and an opportunity for both parties to be successful.  This focus on partnerships is a key differentiator for Morton Consulting and is one of our Core Values that we take very seriously.  Can we have the opportunity to develop a partnership with you?

David Borovatz
Director of Operations

According to The Register, most of Richmond’s new IT jobs have not come from tech industries but rather Government and Services. As a recruiter, I have definitely noticed the market getting better in the Richmond area. While we still have a good amount of candidates to choose from, we are definitely seeing that candidates are receiving multiple offers from various companies. While this is great for our candidates, it does pose new challenges in the recruiting space.

Gone are the days of sending candidates resumes to a customer and have them request to start a week later without even interviewing. Nowadays, we are seeing candidates who are receiving multiple offers for varying pay ranges. This typically results in a game of “who’s going to offer me more”.  Just a few weeks ago, I had a consultant start and after being onsite with our customer, accepted another position where she would be receiving $20,000 more in salary plus a potential $20,000 bonus. In that specific case, there is only so much you are able to do but it does make securing candidates and retaining employees that much trickier.

At Morton, we have quickly realized that to remain competitive we have to continuously differentiate ourselves from other employers in this market to further secure the most talented candidates. With that said, it is important to offer strong benefit packages and incentives to ensure that candidates are fully committed to both you and your customer. How are you differentiating yourself and your organization to secure candidates?

Ryan Campbell
Associate Recruiter
Author of Spicy Richmond

The majority of the requests we are seeing from customers have been in three primary areas – SharePoint, Java Development, and .NET Development.  There has been significant demand in these spaces over the past year as SharePoint continues to be adopted into many organizations and as Java / .Net remains the primary framework for business applications.  The high level of demand in our business certainly isn’t isolated to these areas, and is also seen in WebSphere Commerce, BizTalk, Informatica, Web Development (PHP, CSS, LAMP), and Cognos.  We’ve even seen some demand in older technologies like Kronos.

The supply of qualified candidates has been the primary challenge Morton Consulting and the staffing industry constantly face.  While in Las Vegas for the Staffing Industry Analyst Executive Forum, I heard a MIT PhD Economist tell a crowd of over 500 staffing executives suggest that if you have young children, their education should focus heavily on math and science programs, as there is a serious shortage of technically trained professionals in the United States marketplace.  This shortage in supply has led to a situation where candidates who are in the marketplace with in demand qualifications (Java, .NET, and SharePoint among others) are being aggressively pursued by every employer/agency looking for those skills.  If you are the buyer or organization in need of this specialization or expertise, these are my recommendations to ensure you land the talent you need:

1. If you see a resume or a candidate you like, MOVE QUICKLY!  Candidates with .NET, Java, SharePoint, WebSphere Commerce, and LAMP Development do not and will not continue to stay on the market for very long in pursuit of their next opportunity.  There is high demand in these areas, and if you want a shot at landing the resource, as I always say, you must be the first to the cheese.
2. If you can’t pay competitively, someone else will.  Money isn’t everyone’s primary motivator to consider making a career move, but it is important to provide candidates with the right opportunity and compensation to keep them excited about accepting your job.  Rates and salaries continue to climb, and if you want the best talent, you have to keep up.
3. Be willing to think outside the box.  Sometimes you run across a candidate with only 70% to 80% of the experience required, but who has the potential to quickly learn everything.  You should consider engaging this person and building your team for the future.  If there is a hiring freeze, perhaps consider engaging contractors to make sure deadlines and projects continue to be delivered on time and within budget.

At Morton Consulting it is our goal to work with our customers through strong partnerships, staying ahead of your needs so that we are ready to deliver as they arise.  High demand and low supply continue to benefit firms like Morton Consulting, and we remain committed to ensuring that our customers have the talent they need, when they need it.

David Borovatz

Director of Operations