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TA Staffing is proud to announce the Grand Opening of our seventh location in Clarksville, TN. TA Staffing has a reputable history of serving the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky regions for over 30 years. This expansion came as no surprise when the demand for talent rose in the Clarksville area.  Leading this endeavor was our Training and Compliance Manager, Avee Ismail, who helped smooth the transition to the new site. “We are excited to serve the great community of Clarksville. Starting a new location comes with its challenges, of course, but we immediately felt the warm welcome as we opened  our doors to our Clarksville Branch. We aim to build great relationships with our associates and entrench ourselves in the community.”  With a new location also comes new talent internally. TA Staffing had the pleasure of hiring two new faces to run the branch- Casey Avera (left)  and Jenn Olsen (right).  Casey Avera, Branch Manager, is a wife and mother from Orlando, Florida. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in economics and moved to Clarksville shortly after to be with her husband stationed at Fort Campbell. She is a former Veterinary Technician, huge animal lover and the owner of 6 backyard chickens. Avera has a huge passion for helping others and strives to always maintain a positive energy. Her goal is to take the best possible care of our associates and to help the Clarksville community however she can. Jenn Olsen, Placement Coordinator, is originally from Colorado, where she grew up raising buffalo on a ranch in the mountains. She has been in Clarksville for 5 years and has an extensive background in customer service. She is a proud cat lady and overall jack of all trades. Jenn has taken to the staffing world like a bird with wings. She is very driven and outgoing. Her aim is to establish great relationships with our associates, and she works tirelessly to do so. Whether you are looking for a job or in search of talent, please contact any of our 7 locations listed below.  TA Staffing Nashville 1100 Kermit Drive #105 Nashville, TN 37211 (615)-366-1100 TA Staffing Mount Juliet 151 Adams Lane Mount Juliet, TN 37122 (615)-773-7377 TA Staffing Bowling Green 2712 Nashville Road Bowling Green, KY 42101 (270)-904-6056 TA Staffing Franklin 1429 Nashville Road Franklin, KY 42134 (904)-693-4125 TA Staffing Clarksville 1604 Madison Street Suite F Clarksville, TN 37043 (931)-378-8400 TA Staffing Smyrna 599 Sam Ridley Parkway Smyrna, TN 37617 (615)-930-2933 TA Staffing Nashville (Second Location) 1100 Kermit Drive #201 Nashville, TN 37211

Nashville shifted into Phase Three of Mayor John Cooper’s reopening plan Monday. Public health officials will keep the city in Phase Three for at least four weeks or until July 20, with a chance of the restrictions being extended. The city’s 14-day case trend remains elevated, but the Coronavirus Task Force said hospital capacity is in good shape along with a continued increase in testing. Businesses permitted to open during Phase Two like restaurants, gyms, hair salons, and retail stores can operate with the same restrictions as Phase Two. Metro Public Health is requiring businesses to have all employees wear facial coverings when interacting with other employees or with the public. Open businesses are also required to have signage at every door asking people to wear facial coverings. The health department is encouraging businesses to make customers wear masks upon entry, but that is not currently a mandate. PHASE 3 GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES During Phase Three, all businesses open shall continue to: Screen daily all employees with symptom checks. Employees with symptoms or a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or greater must leave the premises immediately. Post conspicuous signage with information about health precautions for patrons, employees, and staff, including safe social distancing measures and practicing good hand hygiene. Advise employees with any symptoms of illness to be tested and to stay home until they receive medical clearance. Establish policies that make it possible for employees to isolate and quarantine. Require employees who interact with the public, or who cannot maintain a safe social distance from their co-workers, to wear cloth face coverings or masks. Social distancing can be accomplished through physical barriers between people or groups. Sanitize all items, supplies or equipment after each use on or by each customer. Bars Serving Food and Restaurants Bars serving food & restaurants may continue to operate at 75% capacity or to the maximum occupancy that can maintain social distancing, whichever is less. Bar areas may open to the public at 50% or less of the maximum seated counter capacity and adhere to proper social distancing. No standing at the bar is allowed. No parties of more than six people. Self-service food, beverage and shared condiments are not permitted. Restaurants are required to clean all surfaces after use by a patron. The use of disposable, virtual or no-touch menus is recommended. Take-out alcohol sales will remain. Live music or entertainment is allowed, subject to the conditions set out Public Health Order 7. No dance floors permitted. To the extent possible, tables can be placed on dance floors or the dance floor area shall be physically closed off. Ancillary or participatory activities including, but not limited to, arcade games, pool, football, darts, laser tag, or similar activities may open and should be cleaned between each use. Cleaning supplies should be provided alongside such participatory activities for customers to use between each use. Commercial and Retail Establishments Commercial and retail establishments may continue to operate at 75% capacity or to the maximum occupancy that can maintain social distancing, whichever is less. Sanitize shopping carts, baskets, and all other items after each customer’s use. No sampling or testing of food, beverage, personal care products, or similar product shall be allowed. Close Contact Personal Service Businesses Close contact personal service businesses may continue to operate at 50% capacity or to the maximum occupancy that can maintain social distancing, whichever is less. No sampling or testing of food, beverage, personal care products, or similar product shall be allowed. Gyms and Exercise Facilities Gyms, fitness & exercise facilities, including swimming pools and specialty fitness studios may continue to operate at 50% capacity or to the maximum occupancy that can maintain social distancing, whichever is less. Expanded social distancing requirements (10 feet) for more vigorous aerobic activities remain in place. Indoor and outdoor pools limited capacity is based on the posted maximum bather load limit, provided the pool facility adhere to proper social distancing. Sports and recreation leagues or sports tournaments may resume. All team members and spectators shall adhere to proper social distancing. Indoor facilities used for recreation leagues and sports tournaments are subject to the requirements and guidance for gyms, exercise, and fitness facilities listed in this section. No steam room or sauna shall be allowed. Modify or limit group fitness activities to facilitate proper social distancing, to the extent possible. Limit the use of shared exercise equipment (free weights, medicine balls, jump ropes, etc.) or pool equipment (fins, kickboards, floats, etc.), to the extent possible. Increase the frequency of sanitation of restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms. Close unneeded restroom and locker room facilities, to the extent possible. Close bath and workout towel services, to the extent possible. Museums Museums may continue to operate at 50% capacity or to the maximum occupancy that can maintain social distancing, whichever is less. Foot traffic control measures should remain in place. Interactive exhibits may open. Sanitize interactive exhibit components after each customer’s use. Install hand sanitizing stations near these spaces and provide cleaning supplies alongside such interactive exhibits for customers to use between each use. Guided tours may operate at 50% or less of regular capacity, provided the tour adhere to proper social distancing. Public programming may operate at 50% or less of regular capacity, provided the public program adhere to proper social distancing. No field trips or group visits shall be allowed. Smaller Venue – Minimal Touch Entertainment Smaller venue, minimal-touch entertainments may continue to operate at 50% capacity or to the maximum occupancy that can maintain social distancing, whichever is less. Ancillary activities (arcades, game rooms) may resume operation. Sanitize all shared implements (bowling balls, golf clubs, steering wheels, etc.) between each use. Ancillary or participatory activities including, but not limited to, arcade games, pool, foosball, darts, laser tag, or similar activities may open and should be cleaned between each use. Cleaning supplies should be provided alongside such participatory activities for customers to use between each use. Guided tours may operate at 50% or less of regular capacity, provided the tour adhere

The news broke today that the U.S. unemployment rate had reached 14.7% — the highest rate since the Great Depression. This information can be daunting as you realize just how much competition there must be for open roles. And while more Americans are actively searching for jobs than we’ve seen in decades, there are still companies hiring. If you’re smart in your search — both in the roles you look for, and how you present yourself — you can get a foot in the door at a company that hasn’t been brought to a halt by this pandemic. 1. Level up your skills. There is only so much time you can spend re-tweaking your resume and LinkedIn. One of the best ways to land a new job is to leverage your time to learn new skills or to improve upon your existing ones. Just Google “free courses during COVID-19” and you’ll find a plethora of options — including ones that previously would have cost you a pretty penny just a few months ago. This isn’t to say that anyone expects you to be at your most productive during this time of uncertainty, or to accept doing work for free indefinitely, but by taking courses and contributing to projects, you not only grow your own skill set and make yourself a more attractive candidate, you grow your network, too! You never know who you might meet when you drop into an online course or offer your skills to help with an open-source project. 2. Don’t knock on the front door, find ways to slide in the back. We all know that submitting a resume and cover letter online is frustrating even in the best of times — how many times do you click “apply” and never hear back? In not-so-great times like these, that only becomes truer. We recommend getting creative and finding ways to connect with folks at companies before you apply. Building a connection who could end up referring you to the company will dramatically increase your chances of getting an interview. 3. Don’t be scared to pivot industries. If you worked in an industry that has been particularly hard-hit by COVID, do not be afraid to pivot. You may be surprised by just how many of your skills are transferable (think to move from in-person events to a tech company that needs a virtual community manager). A pivot doesn’t have to mean a permanent shift. But it can help you land a job much faster by focusing your search on industries (think pharmaceuticals, grocery stores, tech, medicine) that are still actively hiring. If you’ve been contemplating making a career shift for a while now, this may be the perfect time to go for it, given that when the job market is tough, the opportunity cost for going back to school is actually lower. 4. Optimize your LinkedIn and leverage your network. 1) Uploading your updated resume to your LinkedIn. 2) Ensuring your LinkedIn is searchable to recruiters. At a minimum, you need “good keywords related to your industry/skillset listed in your skills section, ‘About Me,’ and/or in the areas where you describe what you’ve done in a certain job,” she says. Arguably the best way you can use LinkedIn is to ask your network for help. There is NO SHAME in admitting that you are on the job market right now, and more than ever before, people are looking for ways to help. Don’t be scared to say publicly what you’re going through, what you’re looking to do next, what your skills are, and what you need. You may be VERY pleasantly surprised by the responses you get. 5. Do your due diligence before you apply. You should be strategic in your approach. Applying to roles takes time, and rather than just uploading a resume to every open job you see that matches your skills, you can avoid investing time in less-than-promising prospects by doing a bit of quick research on the job/company before you apply. Ask yourself: How old is the posting? (If > 30 days, it may well be an old, inactive posting that a recruiter forgot to take down). How is the company doing? Google the company before you apply — if they have done mass layoffs, you will be able to find news articles reporting this easily enough. Have connections at the company? Reach out and ask them how the company has been impacted by COVID. How many open roles are listed on the company’s site? If they only have one or two openings listed, this may be a good sign. If you only see a couple, those may be considered ‘critical roles’ and so are worth applying for because those would be the ones they’d still need to fill.”

The black hole is a common phenomenon in the HR space-time continuum, and you may have one bending the fabric of your recruiting funnel. Having a black hole in your hiring funnel is toxic to your candidate experience. Organizations with black holes have longer time to hire, greater cost per hire, and poor employee engagement. A black hole is created when a super dense mass of resumes, unengaged candidates, and forgotten applicants pile up inside of your ATS. The best way to solve the black hole is through increasing engagement. When you pair your ATS with a candidate engagement platform like Text recruiting, digital interviews, or chatbots- you have all the tools you need to solve your black hole problem. Create more opportunities to engage Deploy chatbots or text recruiting on your job ads to engage job seekers and answer any FAQs they may have about your position. With chatbots you can place candidates directly in touch with a recruiter or chatbot. Stop the black hole problem from the beginning by creating more opportunities to engage. When candidates hear from your company immediately, they know that their application hasn’t entered the black hole. Eliminate redundant application questions Stop forcing applicants to rewrite their resumes into your application. Make it easy for applicants to submit their information with a simple resume upload. Then use a recruiting AI like Ari to send them meaningful screening questions.  Give your recruiters the tools they need to succeed Some recruiters are managing 30+ job openings with hundreds of candidates for each position all at different stages in their hiring journey. Without the right candidate engagement tools providing a transparent candidate experience becomes as difficult as summiting Everest without oxygen and crampons. With platforms like digital interviews, your recruiter can send a first-round interview to every candidate within ten minutes. Your organization will engage everyone in your recruiting funnel regardless of whether you intend to hire them. Survey and solicit feedback from candidates at every stage in your process Use platforms like SurveyMonkey to get feedback from job seekers, applicants, candidates, new hires, and employees. Measuring your processes will help guide your actions to produce high ROI on process improvements. Reinvent and educate your organization Your recruiters may have created highly efficient processes for sourcing, recruiting, and screening candidates. No doubt these current processes work and work well. After all, you’re still filling your positions. However, with your current processes solving the black hole problem may seem all but impossible. That’s because most recruiting processes ignore a powerful set of tools that are new to our industry.

Despite all the distractions of the holidays, if you really are committed to finding yourself the perfect job in 2020, you must take a proactive approach to job searching during at least some of your time off. Many job seekers will put off job searching over the festive period. Others will postpone job searching until the New Year, typically associating it with “new year’s resolutions” as opposed to holiday activity. Therefore, you can get a head start on the competition by updating and sending out your resume as soon as you start your Christmas break. While many departments will be starting to slow down, senior stakeholders, including hiring managers, will still be checking their emails.  These stakeholders will be feeling less busy, and therefore more receptive to the applications that are sent through. Therefore, this is your chance to grab their attention during their quietest period. January can also be the peak time for hiring the people to implement these new workforce needs, especially if companies have just been given their annual hiring budget. In addition, hiring decisions won’t get made if certain people aren’t in the office. January is when key decision-makers to return from their Christmas break; ready to lead the business into the New Year.

Whether you’re between jobs or looking to take the next step in your career, getting multiple job offers may seem like an absolute blessing—especially if your job search has been fruitless up to this point. And while multiple job offers is always better than none, it’s common for prospective employees to feel “paralysis by analysis,” especially if two or more offers are equally promising. In some cases, workers may even lose out on the offers they worked so hard to obtain due to taking too long to decide. Prioritizing Your Prospects It’s important to begin prioritizing jobs and ranking your interest in each one as you apply and interview. Although you likely won’t get offers from every company you interview with, it’s better to be prepared and ready to act quickly if you get multiple offers around the same time. A quick and decisive “yes” to the hiring manager at the company at the top of your job board not only ensures that you won’t be passed up for another candidate, it will also help set the tone for your entire tenure there. At TA Staffing, we recommend that job seekers with multiple offers take the following steps to ensure that they commit to the right position and the right company: Determine each company’s approach to work-life balance. Even if you’re a true workaholic, you’ll appreciate having plenty of opportunities to unwind and focus on your family and your hobbies when you’re not at the office. Different companies have different views of proper work-life balance, with some making it a priority/perk and others strictly adhering to extended Monday through Friday business hours. A company that strongly promotes work-life balance may ultimately lead to more job satisfaction than one with higher pay and greater benefits but longer hours. Consider who you’ll be working with and for. No matter what careers most workers have, they’re ultimately in a people business—and those people include their coworkers, supervisors, and managers. The people at a workplace can make or break a job. If you had a chance to meet your potential direct supervisor and/or team members you would be working with, take those encounters and conversations into consideration. First impressions are important, and if there was anything about a team at a specific position that stood out favorably, give that job extra priority. Decide which position most closely aligns with your career goals. It’s easy to fall into a comfortable routine in all aspects of life, including your career. And while a position that closely matches your current skillset may seem ideal at first glance, it could also prevent you from growing as a professional—especially if it doesn’t offer many opportunities for advancement or cross-training. A position that’s outside of your comfort zone can help you learn new skills, new processes, and new ways of solving common problems. These steps should always be weighed alongside more common pros and cons for jobs, such as pay, benefits, commute time, and perks. But in many cases, the obvious job perks aren’t what attract and keep employees in positions—it’s the opportunities for self-improvement, personal and professional networking, and career-advancement that keep employees engaged in their work and motivated. If you’re looking for the perfect position to advance your career, fill out a free contact form on our website or visit our Facebook page for more information about our most recent job postings and career opportunities.

In the never-ending quest for career advancement, many American workers find themselves faced with an all-too-common and tough decision at some point in their lives: should they take a new job or accept a promotion that will require relocating to a new city, state, or country? Changing jobs or positions within the same company can be both stressful and exciting, and the changes that workers experience are even more dramatic when they involve packing up their things and loading them into a moving truck headed toward a destination several hundred or even thousands of miles away. Jobs that require relocation can offer a fast track to higher pay, increased responsibilities, and a more prestigious title, but they can also lead to feelings of loneliness, relationship problems, and even regret. It’s important to be fully prepared for the consequences of making such a life-changing decision and to know when you should accept and when you should turn down such an offer. At TA Staffing, we recommend that all workers who are facing this decision should ask themselves the follow questions before committing to a new professional journey: How will the move affect your family? There’s a big difference between accepting a new job or promotion that requires relocation when you’re single and ready for adventure, and accepting when you’re married with kids, a mortgage, and roots in your local community. People who fit into the latter category can and frequently do take jobs that require relocating, but the decision must be made in the best interests of everyone, including your spouse and your children. Will your partner be able to find a new job or be happy in the new location? Will your kids be able to enroll in good schools and thrive in their new environment? Will your moving expenses be reimbursed? Don’t be wooed by a signing bonus or higher salary without first considering the costs of moving. Packing up your home and toting your possessions across the state or across the country can cost up to $20,000—especially if you pay movers to do all of your packing for you. Most companies offer some form of relocation benefits for employees, but not all do. Make sure that the move will be worth it financially and that you’ll be able to keep your head above water if you have to pay for the big initial hit of moving expenses out of pocket. What will living in your new city actually be like? If you hate cold weather, it doesn’t make much sense to move to a frigid climate unless the job offer is simply impossible to turn down. It’s also important to make sure there are enough activities to keep yourself and your family occupied, especially if you’re used to living in a big metro area with plenty of attractions. Finally, consider the cost of living. Even big salary increases can be heavily negated and even result in net losses when moving into areas with high income taxes and expensive housing markets. How stable is the company? Committing to an offer that requires relocation always requires a leap of faith, but that leap should always be made with as much information as possible. Whether it’s a new position with your current employer or a new company altogether, make sure the company’s finances and management are stable and that it’s committed to its workers. Checking online reviews, stock performances, and connecting with current and former employees can help you gain insight into an office culture that could be your launching pad to success—or your biggest regret.

How do you get a job when you can’t shake hands? While interviews online via HireVue, Google Hangouts, and other platforms are growing in popularity, making an impression may seem impossible. We’re giving you five best practices for digital interviews, so you can feel more comfortable and make a better impression. 1. Check your background. While conducting an interview, keep in mind what shows up in the background. Employers will form an impression about you before you’ve even opened your mouth. Kevin Marasco, HireVue’s Chief Marketing Officer, “You want to make sure their attention is solely on you and your responses to their questions, not something that is going on behind you.” 2. Don’t dress casually. Just because you’re sitting at home for your interview doesn’t give you the excuse to wear a sweatshirt. You’re still trying to impress a potential employer. You obviously don’t sit around your house in a full suit, but you still want to look presentable. Here’s one caveat: if only the top half of you is visible on camera, shoes can be optional. 3.  Test your connection. Whether you conduct your video interview over a computer, tablet, or smartphone, it’s important to make sure your connection isn’t spotty. Marasco suggests checking your connection before you begin so you don’t look unprofessional if the video comes in choppy. 4. Practice your answers. If you’re interviewing through HireVue or a similar service to record answers to interview questions, it may be strange talking to yourself. Focus on engaging the people who will watch your interview. Maintain “eye contact” with the camera. Marasco suggests: “If you’re new to the camera, use the practice question built into HireVue and you can practice on your own device.” 5. Check your lighting. Sometimes you may think there’s plenty of light in the room for your webcam, but the viewer may not be able to see your face properly. Marasco suggests a check of the lighting: “Run a couple test shots to ensure there are no dark spots on your face.”

As a business owner, you may be wondering whether using a staffing agency is the best move for your company. Whether you are seeking direct hire or temporary talent, there are several advantages to partnering with a reputable staffing agency. If you are considering partnering with a staffing agency or recruitment firm for the first time, here are some advantages to consider: 1. We have vast networks of skilled candidates: Staffing agencies can find employees proactively. At TA Staffing, we use networks of both active and passive candidates from our talent networks to ensure you receive the best employees possible. With multiple locations, we have recruiters looking for the best candidates that will fit your needs. And, since they’re interacting with candidates all the time, their database of resumes becomes their go-to recruiting tool 2. You will save time: According to Glassdoor, when you figure in the time you spend posting the job, reviewing resumes, and scheduling interviews, it equals up to roughly 22 days. When you place these tasks in the hands of a staffing company, it allows you to spend more time on your business and put the hiring process in the hands of staffing professionals. 3. You will save money: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost of a new employee is over $57,967.88. When you add in the overtime that other employees put in during the vacancy of the position, recruiting costs, and screening and testing costs, that number continues to grow exponentially. Businesses can reduce the costs and time of recruitment, screening and hiring new employees by using a staffing agency. 4. You have a guaranteed hire: 84% of new hires don’t live up to the expectations of their employer. After you have spent your time and money on a new hire, you want them to live up to your expectations. Staffing agencies know how to find candidates that are the right fit, both in terms of skills and culture. 5. You get to try before you buy: With staffing agencies, you can have the person work on a temporary basis first. This allows you time to evaluate the person’s performance and whether they will fit in with other employees and the culture before you hire them. If either the employer or the employee do not see that this is the best fit, then it stays temporary instead of being a permanent deal. We want the fit to be the best possible and want both parties to be happy with the working situation.  Staffing agencies allow companies to focus more on your business. We allow you more flexibility for staffing, by providing temporary staffing solutions that help your business grow. At TA Staffing, we deliver exemplary service that will help relieve you of your job searching stress!

What makes a candidate stick out on a resume? The short answer is nothing, it’s a pdf. Resumes don’t reflect fit, personality, communication skills, and so much more. In many cases candidates either game the system by overstating skills and experience, or clog the system up by sending resumes to job postings they are woefully unqualified for. It’s not uncommon for a job posting to receive more than a hundred resumes with less than 5% meeting the requirements. It’s become a colossal waste of time and detrimental to the ATS. Since the resume process hasn’t changed in years, many or most HR Managers have become so comfortable in the process they don’t even question if there’s a better way, but with today’s technology, a better way is emerging. Social media, big data, digital interviews, and even artificial intelligence is making their way into the screening and hiring process. A Growing Trend – Grace Swanson, vice president of human resources at fast growing precision parts manufacturer Accumold, says she’s not a fan of resumes. Many of the resumes she encounters are filled with irrelevant, and often false information. It’s just not a good vehicle. As for Nathan Hughes, with Detroit Labs, a 130 employee tech start up, his position on resumes is crystal clear – he doesn’t accept them. A recent survey by Korn Ferry Futurestep confirms that resumes may not be as critical as they once were. Resumes came in dead last when HR managers were asked what was the most important part of the job search process. Networking was first, followed by interviewing and social media presence. To make matters worse for the resume, The Ladders, an online job board for six figure placement, found that recruiters and hiring managers spend on the average less than six seconds per resume. Can your career be summed up in six seconds? I hope not. With resumes, “we’re judging people more on their ability to summarize their career than their ability to actually do the job,” says Kevin Parker, CEO of HireVue, a digital interviewing platform. The resume also works against those that are self-taught, a group that includes a sizable chunk of today’s software developers, says Vivek Ravisanker, CEO of HackerRank, who predicts that 2018 will be the end of the resume for developers. It’s believed that Leonardo da Vinci wrote the first resume in 1482, and the process hasn’t changed much since. There has to be a better way.