How Recruiters Can Help Candidates ‘Have It All’

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)
Not so long ago, many people felt compelled to choose between their career or family.  Now, as buzz phrases like “work-life balance” take over the workplace, the focus is on “having it all.”

While having it all may sound great in theory, it’s hard to come by in practice.  Juggling a full-time job and family responsibilities (which for many workers includes caring for children AND elderly parents) is not for the faint of heart.

That’s why, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, many skilled professionals are turning to contract staffing.  In what the article calls “a major shift,” temporary/contract placements of college-educated professionals has outpaced those of clerical and blue-collar temps.

In fact, placements of contractors in healthcare, technology, engineering, science, law, and accounting are expected to make up 52% of the expected $100.3 billion staffing industry revenue in 2012, according to the article, citing Staffing Industry Analysts statistics.

The article states that the reason for this shift is that workers are trying to find work with a more flexible or part-time schedule.  Contract/temporary work is a viable route to flexible work, particularly for those with in-demand skills such as engineering, IT, programming, and social media.

The article further states that these workers make between $20-$200 an hour, but typically do not get benefits.  This is where you, as a recruiter, can really make a difference.  Lack of benefits is a major factor that often holds candidates back from considering contract work.

But you could place your highly skilled candidates as contractors and outsource their employment to a contract staffing back-office, such as Top Echelon Contracting, that provides them with benefits.  That way, they can enjoy the flexibility that is possible through contracting without missing out on the benefits they can gain through traditional, full-time employment.

As a recruiter, your job is to provide your clients with the best of the best.  By providing candidates with the opportunity to “have it all,” you can attract the highest caliber talent and, as a result, attract the best placement opportunities.

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