Staff Source recently received the “2013 Best of Northwest Indiana Business” award as voted by the readers of Northwest Business Quarterly Magazine! This is the second year in a row Staff Source has won this award.

Category: Best Professional Employment Staffing Agency

Winner: Staff Source, Hammond IN

“I am extremely honored to be a partner in this great organization that has been voted Best Professional Employment Staffing Agency in Northwest Indiana,” says Dan Kesic, a partner in Staff Source.

“My partners and I are proud to have a successful business helping not only the local community we were raised in, but the entire Northwest Indiana region. Our 15 years of experience and commitment to fellow businesses and job seekers is what makes us top choice for staffing needs,” Kesic said. “It is our passion and commitment to match the right candidate with the right employer so that both parties succeed.”

“We are proud to have such a positive impact on the local economy. We love helping businesses grow and individuals grow their careers. Staff Source has an amazing team, clients and employees that have all made the company as strong as it is today,” Kesic said.

Thank you to everyone that voted for us!

As a staffing agency we conduct a high volume of interviews every day. We like to see people succeed which is why we want to share these interview tips to help prepare you for your next one!

Tip #1: Be On Time

The very first part of our screening process is if the candidate shows up on time for their interview. This can be tricky because many people think the earlier the better, which is correct to a certain extent. We appreciate when people are 5-10 minutes early, however if they show up 30 minutes early our schedules may not allow us to see them until their scheduled time. Our schedules also do not accommodate for candidates that are more than 10 minutes late. This is also an example of how well they can follow instructions. If candidates can not show up on time for an interview with us, we do not feel comfortable sending them out to interviews with our clients.

Tip #2: Be Prepared

Being prepared for an interview includes a number of things such as being dressed properly, bringing an UPDATED resume and being ready to describe your past experiences, work history, etc.

Make sure you dress for success! If you go to an interview wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt with holes in it nobody will take you seriously. Even if the interview is for a general labor position you still need to dress to impress.

Bringing an updated resume is also very important–key word being updated. We like to see your most recent experiences because many of our clients require recent experience meaning experience within the last 6 months to a year.

Tip #3: Be Sure to Listen

Although a big portion of the interview is the candidate talking about their past work experiences, skills, strengths, etc. another important factor is to listen to what questions the employer is asking you. It is very important to answer the questions that you are being asked instead of talking in circles. Listen to everything the employer is telling you about a certain position, company, etc. because you don’t want to have to call back and ask questions that have already been answered.

It is also always good to have a couple of questions prepared about the company you are interviewing for a position at. Do your research about the company before your interview and have the questions ready for them to answer. This will show the employer that you are interested in working there and dedicated your time to learn more about them.

Tip #4: Be Focused

Sometimes an interview takes place in a room where other things are going on such as phones ringing or other people talking that can be very distracting. Try to stay focused on the conversation between you and the interviewer because that is the only one that matters. You can’t control some distractions like other people talking however you can control your cell phone going off in the middle of the interview. Always remember to turn it off before the interview to eliminate it from ringing so you won’t have to use the common excuse “I thought it was on silent.” Be 100% sure it won’t go off by turning it off!

A way to prove that you are focused during an interview is to maintain eye contact throughout the interview. Again, there will be distractions but if you keep good eye contact it will show that you are committed to getting the job and will also make it easier to avoid the other distractions in the room and stay focused.

I hope you find these tips helpful when trying to land your next job!

Next year could bring more local hiring in manufacturing, logistics and business services, according to people watching labor market trends.

However, some recruiters remain concerned about a dearth of skilled workers to fill positions that will be open.

About 23 percent of employers nationally plan to hire full-time, permanent employees next year, which is largely unchanged from a year ago, according to a survey CareerBuilder released Wednesday. However, the survey of more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resource employees said they continue to wait to see how the economy shakes out before ramping up hiring.

“There are certainly signs from what we’re hearing from our customers that there’s hope for the year ahead,” said Paul Shanahan, regional vice president at staffing firm Adecco in Chicago.

Dan Kesic, president of Hammond staffing firm Staff Source, said employment in the automotive industry and warehousing and logistics is poised to improve next year. Improved economic activity at Ford Motor Co. buildings in the Chicago area is part of boosting production volumes of components and finished vehicles within the sector.

“Anyone that’s supplying Ford is doing well right now,” Kesic said. “They’re adding a third shift. What that means is everyone is going to follow that lead.”

In the past 12 months in Indiana, the number of jobs in manufacturing has grown by 1 percent and in construction, 8.1 percent, according to seasonally adjusted data the Indiana Department of Workforce Development released last week. A report released earlier this year from the Center of Workforce Innovations described region employment as growing at a rate of 1.3 percent in 2011, 1.7 percent in 2012 and 1.5 percent in 2013.

Adecco’s Shanahan said employment in professional and business services; education and health services; and trade, transportation and utilities should see improvement in 2012. While the unemployment rate falling at local, state and national levels is a good sign, there still is a significant number of people who remain underemployed or have been without work for long periods of time.

Jeanette Tithof, owner of three Sedona Group locations in the region, said employers will be cautious about hiring in 2012 in light of it being an election year and changes including health care costs and workers’ compensation. Tithof and Staff Source’s Kesic said clients in Lake and Porter counties are expecting to hire people to boost their packaging businesses next year.

Tithof said one thing she sees in the labor market is a desire for diverse talent pools so employers may choose the best candidates. CareerBuilder said in its survey that other employment trends expected in 2012 include compensation becoming more competitive for skilled positions, a rise in voluntary turnover and employers proactively attempting to tackle gaps in skills.

Kesic said a division of Staff Source, CSG, has seen the effect of dealing with people who aren’t able to make it through the hiring process. CSG is a supplier of seating subassemblies to Hammond’s Lear Corp., which sends finished seats to Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant to install in vehicles.

He said a number of people aren’t able to make it through drug screenings and aptitude tests — even if they are able to do the work.

“The auto industry is looking for drug-free, energetic, willing-to-work people that can do anything from assembly to forklift (driving),” Kesic said.

Sharp employment growth helped Indiana’s unemployment rate fall to 8.7 percent in January, state officials said Tuesday.

The jobless rate fell 0.2 percentage points from a December figure of 8.9 percent, which reflected revised data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nonfarm payroll employment, accounting for seasonal employment changes, rose in January by 12,200 to more than 2.86 million from December. Employment in the public sector and financial activities were the only two sectors that showed month-over-month declines.

The state gained 38,700 jobs between January 2011 and January 2012, according to seasonally adjusted, revised data.

“January was a strong month for Indiana with excellent job creation,” said Mark Everson, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “The new numbers from BLS show job growth in Indiana has been much better than the feds have been letting on.”

In a statement, Everson said called for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to modify its processes to ensure data given to states is more accurate.

Ball State University economist Michael Hicks said the 13,000 private sector jobs added in January was the largest monthly increase in a year and is good news for Indiana. Hicks, director of Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research, said at the current pace, Indiana could return to full employment by winter while the nation is more than three years away.

The improvement in the unemployment rate also means Indiana residents will no longer be able to collect up to 20 weeks of federally funded extended benefits after April 16. Extended benefits are the sixth and final tier of unemployment benefits and allowed people to be able to earn up to 99 weeks of compensation.

The federal government pays for extended benefits if the state’s three-month average unemployment rate is 110 percent higher than it was three years ago. About 10,000 Hoosiers currently receive extended benefits, according to the Department of Workforce Development.

The unemployment rate in Illinois in the first month of 2012 was 9.4 percent, down from 9.7 percent in December.

The nation’s jobless rate declined to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in January and remained at 8.3 percent in Februrary.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected from an earlier version. Final extended unemployment benefit payments will be made April 16.

HOBART | A food manufacturing plant will be opening soon and bring with it nearly 120 jobs.

Staff Source, a staffing and recruitment firm based in Hammond, will be accepting resumes for the plant during an open house from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 23 at the Hobart Community Center, 705 E. 4th St.*

Staff Source President Dan Kesic said the plan is to hire 22 employees to start in positions that include packers, batch makers and forklift and machine operators.

Elida Sanchez, Staff Source Executive Employment Coordinator, said food manufacturing experience is a plus, but not required.

The plant’s goal is to have three shifts in operation staffed with more than 100 employees.

“It’s going to be a great operation,” Kesic said. “It’s just going to take a little bit of time. It’s going to take that first launch to get that production going and put in the second and third shifts. The goal for this company is that they’re staying for the long haul and hopefully there’s going to be people retiring from the facility.”

Kesic said his client, which has not yet been disclosed, plans to open the first week of June in an area “close to the where Costco and Menards are.”

A Hammond automobile parts supplier plans to add a third working shift as a result of Ford Motor Co.’s plans to do the same at its Chicago Assembly Plant.

Contract Services Group President Mirko Marich said Monday the company is looking for between 35 and 40 people to fill automotive parts assembly and quality inspection positions. He said the hiring boost is the result of improvements in automobile activity and production.

CSG is a supplier of seating sub-assemblies to Lear in Hammond, which sends finished seats to Ford to install in its vehicles.

In connection with the planned employment boost, CSG is working with Staff Source to field a pool of applicants for the full-time positions. The recruitment fair will be from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the StaffSource office, 2500 165th St., in Hammond.

“Our main customer is Lear Corp.,” Marich said. “So Ford hires a third shift, Lear hires a third shift — we’ll hire a third shift to support that.

“It’s a function of reducing overtime. We have people working five and six days a week, 10-hour shifts; it’s not sustainable.”

Marich said the wage for employees depends on the working shift and location. Applicants have to pass a pre-employment drug screening and have the flexibility to work overtime and weekends.

New hires will be brought into CSG at the lower wage of a two-tier wage scale, which is about $8.50 an hour, said Jaime Luna, president of United Auto Workers Local 2335. Luna said workers were really busy at the plant, and there is a lot of new employee-training activity happening.

Luna said there are about 160 union workers at CSG now, which is about three times the number of workers employed there 18 months ago.

The union local represents workers at the CSG facility and at Lear’s Hammond seat manufacturing plant. Luna said by the time Lear completes hiring employees for its third shift next month, there could be nearly 700 union workers at that plant.

PORTAGE | Businesses in Portage, Hobart and Valparaiso are looking for people later this month and next month to fill entry-level positions.

Hammond-based staffing firm Staff Source is holding recruiting efforts at the Portage WorkOne office to field candidates for jobs as batch makers, machine operators, quality control technicians, packers, and forklift operators.

The recruiting effort will happen at the WorkOne office in Portage, 1575 Adler Circle, from 9 a.m. to noon Friday and on March 23, March 30 and April 13.