G.A. Rogers & Associates

Hear from local leadership on what's what. And maybe pick up some SHRM continued ed credits along the way :)

In contradiction to the CNBC report put out earlier this week, BLS is reporting a negative jobs report for February. "Total nonfarm payroll employment edged down by 92,000 in February, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment in health care decreased, reflecting strike activity. Employment in information and federal government continued to trend down. " "Health care employment declined by 28,000 in February, following a large increase in January (+77,000). Offices of physicians lost 37,000 jobs in February, primarily due to strike activity. " "The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down by 65,000, from +48,000 to -17,000, and the change for January was revised down by 4,000, from +130,000 to +126,000. "

Via CNBC: Private sector hiring was a bit better than expected in February, though most of the job creation came from just two sectors, ADP reported Wednesday. Companies added a seasonally adjusted 63,000 workers during the month, an improvement from the downwardly revised 11,000 in January and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 48,000, according to the payrolls processing firm’s latest update. Though the total beat expectations, the issue of breadth continued to be a problem for the labor market. Education and health services, an industry that has been the primary driver for job creation, added 58,000 jobs for the month, easily leading all sectors. After that, construction contributed 19,000, with the two industries offsetting stagnant growth across most other sectors. Professional and business services saw a decline of 30,000 positions, manufacturing lost 5,000, and trade, transportation and utilities was off 1,000. Other than a gain of 11,000 in information services, there was little movement elsewhere

43% of workers want to change careers this year, survey finds — but few may actually do it What's up with that? The old formula for a successful career — “pick a track, work hard and follow it upward” — isn’t working for many people anymore, said executive coach Megan Hellerer. “The advent of AI has accelerated the collapse of linear career paths,” Hellerer said The survey, conducted in early February, included over 4,000 U.S. respondents. But changing careers can feel daunting, and data show that most people are still reluctant to leave their current employers. “Many people know they want to leave their current job, but haven’t fully defined the role they want or how their existing skills translate to a new field,” Spencer said. “Without that understanding, it’s easy to lose confidence and motivation.” Joseph Fuller, a professor at Harvard Business School, said the quit rate — government data that measures the number of people who have voluntarily left their jobs in a given month — was 2% in December, compared to 3% in Nov. 2021 during the so-called great resignation. “Forget trying to find your purpose — that question is too big and too paralyzing,” she said. “Instead, follow your curiosity. Notice what you’d read about for free, what problems you find yourself drawn to.” More at: https://lnkd.in/e9eeu-Ku

One of the fundamental disconnects we see in the hiring market right now boils down to companies and candidates disagreeing on what is or is not relevant experience. An example; Most accountants believe that accounting is accounting is accounting. Could be for a 25k person, enterprise company, a 50 person construction business or a VC backed SaaS company. Math is math, aka accounting is accounting. Most companies only want to hire people from their industry though. Meaning they do not believe accounting is accounting is accounting. Companies are reluctant to hire from outside their industry, which means they think the nuances of their industry are the thing that matters most; not the overlap with other industries. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Maybe accounting is 70-80% the same across industries. What matters today is the gap though, and the onus is on the individual candidate to highlight how their experience maps onto what a company does. This is where Chatgpt (or Claude or whatever flavor-of-the-month ai we are using) comes in. Ask about the nuances of an industry and make sure you can tell an honest story of the overlapping experience before applying.

Deschutes County is in rare company across the US for education. Over 45% of people over 25 have a Bachelor's degree and over 15% have a Graduate degree. If you're in the western half of the US and looking for a hiring hack, here it is. G.A. Rogers is well positioned to be your bridge to the Deschutes network.

Calling all Central Oregon Do-gooders. Excuse the ask on LinkedIn. Please help lift up our local Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend by having an amazing dinner and experience at ladybirdbend.com. This is a locally owned restaurant and they are helping our local club to support families and youth in our region. Makes reservations ASAP as this will fill up.

January marked the highest number of layoffs since 2009. Number of job openings full to their lowest level since 2020. New hires in January were the lowest since 2009. What can be done here? - Hiring managers, lose the question "please explain the gaps in your resume" -Job seekers, stay focused on what your most recent experience points you to. Find the competitors and industry peers to your most recent employer. In this market, recent & relevant experience is what gets the most attention from those who are hiring.

The Pope was chosen in 2 days. Your remote hire doesn’t need 5 rounds of interviews. Just sayin.

The Bend G.A. Rogers team is kicking off a search for an experienced EPC Manager / Director. If you've got experience in the Solar development space doing some of the below, let's connect. · Work with outside counsel and external resources/SMEs to negotiate EPC contracts for generation facility and high voltage facility construction · Review and approve schedule updates and change orders · Be the nexus between commercial and contractual obligations of projects (i.e. PPA milestones, pricing considerations, etc) with the EPC contractors and construction considerations of the project · Ensure compliance with obligations under EPC contract, including reporting, certifications, etc · Track and control project budgets · Work with internal team, consultant, and EPC to come up with project designs, looking to maximize economic benefits · Be the primary point of contact with EPC contractors · Attend site visits with contractors and subcontractors, as needed Quinn's on point. Send a note his way at; qhanson@ga-rogers.com