OLMIS

by Kim Thompson
Published May-22-2012

Duties Have Changed Over Time Interview Skills are Important Wage Higher Than National Median High Growth Rate Expected Voluntary Certification Offers Advantage

As of February 2012, there were approximately 192,932 people looking for work in Oregon. With so many people out of work, how does an individual job seeker gain a competitive edge? The first step might include a visit to an employment, recruitment, or placement specialist. In 2010, about 2,532 people worked as employment specialists in Oregon (Graph 1). Although the numbers may seem small in comparison to the number of unemployed individuals, the occupation is growing in Oregon.

Employment specialists recruit and place workers. So, naturally, a majority of employment in this occupation is located within employment agencies. But, did you know that state government is one of the largest employers in Oregon? In fact, there are approximately 430 business and employment specialists recruiting and placing job seekers in our very own Employment Department each day.

At the Oregon Employment Department, employment specialists are involved in employment and recruitment services, connecting local job seekers to hiring businesses. The Employment Department uses a proprietary database called iMatchSkills® to match job seekers with open job listings. Job seekers register for work and search job listings on the website, www.workinginoregon.org.

In smaller firms, however, the duties of an employment specialist might be found within the job title, human resource specialist, which places this occupation in nearly all industries across Oregon. Current job postings include titles such as human resource clerks, corporate recruiters, and staffing consultants.

Employment specialists in the Oregon Employment Department say that technological advances make computer navigation abilities essential. In the 1980s and '90s, staffing or placement agencies used metal file cabinets to collect hundreds of paper job applications used in the job matching process. Candidates might even have been recruited by word of mouth or standing in line at the grocery store. Now, job listings can be posted quickly, candidates informed of openings as they happen, and a larger pool of qualified candidates can be provided to employers.

Knowledge of employment laws continues to be an important skill for employment specialists. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are also necessary to write effective job listings. Additionally, employment specialists agree that the ability to use effective interviewing techniques ranks very high on the list. Yet, overall, employment specialists feel that the most important qualification is the desire to work with people.

Skills Used by Employment, Recruitment, and Placement Specialists

ü Match applicants' qualifications to position requirements
ü Process records and maintain forms and files
ü Publicize and develop job openings
ü Recruit employees
ü Screen applications or resumes
ü Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling
ü Computer software knowledge
ü Use interviewing techniques
ü Excellent relationship building skills
ü Comfortable in a fast-paced environment

The median or 50th percentile wage in Oregon for an employment, recruitment, and placement specialist is $26.68 an hour. Since the median wage across all industries in Oregon is closer to $16.94, the wage for this occupation is very competitive. Oregon wages for employment specialists are slightly higher than the national median wage of $26.11 an hour. The highest U.S. wages for employment specialists are paid in California and parts of New York, Connecticut, and Washington D.C., at approximately $37 an hour.

This occupation can expect above average growth from 2010 to 2020. Within the minor occupational group of business operations specialists, employment specialists rank second only to cost estimators in terms of growth rate. By 2020, this occupation is projected to grow by 20.9 percent (Table 1). Across all occupations, about 18 percent growth is expected over the decade.

This occupation remained in demand throughout the recession years. Most jobs in this field require a bachelor's degree and related work experience to be competitive. At times, actual work experience in a similar field can be substituted for education. Bachelor's degrees can be found in Human Resource Management or General Personnel Administration. A link to schools can be found in the occupational information center on our website, www.QualityInfo.org.

There are no licensing requirements for employment, recruitment, and placement specialists. However, the Society for Human Resource Resources Management, or SHRM, offers a well-known voluntary certification. The SHRM certification process is a nationally recognized certification whereby human resource professionals or recent college graduates may become credentialed in the field of Human Resources. This certification can certainly offer a competitive advantage and is preferred in some human resource positions. For more information on SHRM certification, see the official website at  www.shrm.org.