• The official blog of Abacus Group — a place to share our knowledge and thoughts on trends in recruiting •

The candidate-recruiter process works well because executive recruiters wear many hats in their multifaceted profession. They are career advisors, matchmakers, brand spokespeople and—perhaps most importantly—skilled salespeople. Consider the characteristics of an outstanding salesperson and those of an exceptional executive recruiter; there is an extraordinary amount of overlap.

Abacus Group announced today its placement on the 2017 list of America’s Best Professional Recruiting Firms. Abacus, which specializes in executive search and temporary staffing for Accounting, Financial, and Administrative positions across all industries, earned an impressive ranking of 25 on the list of 250. In addition to its distinction as one of the top 10% of recruitment firms in the nation, Abacus Group is the highest-ranked company headquartered in NYC.

Abacus Group’s recruiters have seen an acceleration in “job-hopping”—holding a relatively high number of positions in a short period of time. Is it smarter for hiring managers to favor candidates with a diverse background in multiple companies and industries? Or should candidates who exhibit stability receive priority?

Tomorrow, April 26, marks Administrative Professionals Day. The holiday is the pinnacle of Administrative Professionals Week, celebrated annually since 1952. This year, remember to show gratitude to those individuals who keep your workplace afloat each day. Take a look at a few ways to celebrate.

In the complex process of hiring new employees, cultural compatibility can be easily overlooked or deprioritized. A deeper dive into job seekers’ personality traits and working style are often lost, resulting in hiring mistakes. Employers will see better results if they are able to classify their workplace as a type and find professionals who perform best in it.

If a hiring manager wants to identify the best available candidate for an open requisition, with how many recruiters should he or she partner? Your gut might answer, “I should work with as many recruitment firms as possible to quickly receive the best available selection of candidates.” This response can be very destructive, however. We encourage hiring managers to select a primary or “go-to” agency.

Certain character traits are highly desirable in every job applicant. They need to be part of the profile of a hire at any level, with any company, and in any industry. Our recruiters meet hundreds of candidates each week, which has enabled their identification of the most important personal qualities of a job seeker. You’ll increase the likelihood of hiring someone exceptional by screening for qualities like these.

There is so much buzz around LinkedIn’s utility for job seekers that the platform’s value for employers gets lost in the chatter. For hiring managers, HR professionals, and other business leaders, the social network is often underutilized. The website or mobile app is one of the first destinations that candidates visit to learn more about a company.

Every executive recruiter is different. Some recruiters meet their candidates face-to-face, but others limit communication to phone or email. The latter poses a danger to your hiring process. There are risks associated with a recruiter who does not meet his or her candidates in person.

The latest jobs report shows strong U.S. employment growth. 235,000 jobs were created during the month of February, greatly exceeding economists’ expectations of a mere 190,000. Additionally, the total number of employed Americans reached its all-time peak at 152.5 million working people. Employment in Professional and Business Services added 37,000 jobs in February and 597,000 over the year.