Are you experiencing degree inflation? It’s a tough job market out there and the changing landscape is peppered with changes. If your clients are asking you to fill a position and request certain characteristics, you’re going to do your best to meet those standards, aren’t you? So, you will search through your staffing software to find the ideal batch of job candidates that meet the listed requirements.

However, have you ever stopped and taken a second glance at the “requirements”? Evidence of degree inflation could be present. And that means that your customers may be specifying job credentials above and beyond what the job really entails.

For most professions, a college degree has become the corner stone of getting a decent job in the United States. It’s become harder than ever to find a job and the college degree is in the process of becoming the new high school diploma because it is often viewed as the minimum requirement now for any job. Take for example, the fact that many receptionists, administrative assistants, file clerks and office runners are now required to have a four-year degree to be considered for jobs in cities that have a well-educated populace and yet are only paid $10 an hour. The New York Times reports that these metros include areas like New York City, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Yes, degree inflation is making its mark on the American job market. Across industries and geographic areas, college graduates are finding that their degree is no longer going as far in the market.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers who held a bachelor’s degree in 2012 had a median weekly income of $1,066 and an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent. In contrast, workers with a high school diploma earned $652 per week and had an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent. Yet despite these rosy numbers, there are long-term social impacts that are now becoming clear.

“A growing number of scholars believe that the vast expansion of higher education in the United States has been unhealthy for society and academe alike,” Noel Weyrich wrote in The Pennsylvania Gazette. “Sociologists contend that higher education has gained vast public subsidies by promising to increase workplace productivity and improve social mobility – while failing at both tasks.”

Some researchers are claiming that the nation is over-investing in education. What do you think? Are we as a nation placing too much emphasis on education and creating this “degree inflation?” And are you seeing your clients request that all workers hold a college degree, even if they are administrative assistants or file clerks?

It’s an interesting time to be in the staffing and recruiting industry. The face of the nation’s workforce is changing and we’re seeing the future develop before our very eyes. After all, is the industry now anything like it was 30 years ago?

As we look into the future of the staffing and recruiting industry, it’s important to identify some trends that will likely take hold. As is the case with many other industries, recruiting will likely be – and already is being – revolutionized by the cloud.

In this field, we’re already seeing it affect staffing software solutions being used by recruitment agencies, and the advantages of cloud software solutions are becoming clearer and clearer by the day. Most importantly, cloud-hosted recruiting and staffing software can increase the efficiency of front and back office operations, which ultimately leads to greater productivity and a more streamlined recruitment process.

Staffing Industry Analysts recently explored the topic of the future of recruiting, and noted that the idea of the “cloud” is one that will take on an even greater meaning.

“Work will expand from “supply chain” to “human cloud” models,” offered Staffing Industry Analysts President Barry Asin. “The human cloud includes online staffing as well as crowdsourcing where a large task is broken down into several smaller micro tasks that are farmed out to online workers.”

In October, ERE Media’s Matthew Jeffery wrote that the cloud is changing your recruiting process in general. Jeffery offered the example of staffing agencies potentially receiving job applications and weighing a plethora of data based on the individual’s cloud footprint. This data would include the basics like skill sets and experience, but also delve deeper and possibly even explore things like behavioral patterns and the strength of a candidate’s social media networks.

With companies’ budgets stretched and hiring strategies becoming more critical every year, Jeffery’s suggestion may ultimately stick. As cloud technology continues to improve, staffing companies will have access to greater amounts of data in a more streamlined fashion.

For the first time ever, four generations are working together and having to blend their individual talents and the general qualities that typically mark each group. As you can imagine, there’s now a lot of age diversity in the workplace!

You have the pre-baby boomers, sometimes referred to as “traditionalists,” who may have experienced World War II rationing and then the baby boomers who were born between 1946 and 1964 and lived through post-war consumerism. Up next is generation X who were born between 1965 and 1985 and saw the beginning decline of U.S. manufacturing due to outsourcing and technology. Generation Y or Millennials were born after 1985 and were the first to relate their entire lives through technology.

Most developmental theorists believe that shared events will define and influence a generation and how they act in the workplace. Certainly every baby boomer is not the same, but the commonality of experiencing significant events together will create shared values and behaviors, according to a University of Minnesota paper titled, “Generational differences in the workplace.”

Those very same differences in shared experiences that make us interesting as individuals can lead to friction in the workplace. Older generations like baby boomers may be either mildly confused or outright dismayed or angered by Millennials, according to the whitepaper. In contrast, Millennials are often either openly or silently railing against typical office infrastructure and are sometimes bewildered or angered by older generations’ lack of flexibility or high expectations.

Of course, these differences or scenarios are not perfect and not every office is the same. However, there is an overall trend in the workplace that workers of all ages are experiencing either outright disdain or confusion.

Work ethic
One of the most talked about generational divide topics is the perceived decline in work ethic among younger workers. According to the paper, generation X was largely labeled the slacker generation, while boomers were considered workaholics. However, there is no concrete evidence that this is true. One Tang and Tzeng study from 1992 found that as age increased, reported work ethic actually decreased and these results were backed by further research. However, studies are conflicting on this. Because there is no clear cut answer on whether a worker’s productivity decreases as they age, businesses are creating long-term strategies that compromise between the advantages and disadvantages associated with workers of all generations. For example, the Work World Journal reports that companies are creating varying incentives for workers to choose from because not all people will be motivated for the same reward – especially across generational divides.

Loyalty toward an employer
Another disparity between the ages comes across in perceived loyalty toward an employer. Most baby boomers are perceived as highly loyal to their company and will only have one to three employers during their lifetime. Generation Xers will often have twice the number of employers and more particularly, feel loyalty to their peers and coworkers over the company. This variation results in greater job hopping for the younger group and demonstrations of fairness between the employer and employee is seen in example situations of providing two-weeks notice before leaving an organization. In contrast to both of these groups, Millennials are expected to have 15 to 20 jobs during the course of their working lives and only stay at an individual employer for less than three years.

After all those years spent dismissing frequent job hoppers, your staffing firm may be looking at this trend on an applicant’s resume as a plus or just a generational norm. What a change!

The disruptive changes that occur in the workplace due to personnel leaving can be leveraged for good. By creating a flexible office that thrives on changing dynamics, a cohesive department can pick up the slack that is created when one person leaves a position until another is hired and ramped up to pace.

Respect and authority
When discussing the differences and attitudes in the workplace between the different generations you can’t forget the issues that are cropping up regarding respect and authority. Traditionalists and baby boomers largely were brought up with the concept that an employer should always be respected and authority is created by age and time spent at a workplace. Boomers are comfortable with a top-down approach to management and regard those in authority positions with a certain level of mystique. However, younger generations, especially Millennials interact with authority figures in a more natural and casual way and don’t find it unusual to question upper management.

Because ageism in the workplace is both illegal and can harm productivity, it is important for a business to create the systems in place that will better support a clean more collaborative environment between various generations. Staffing and recruiting companies can play an important role in helping business’ achieve a highly productive, generationally diverse workforce. While staffing and recruiting software cannot help select candidates or employees by age BY LAW, it can enable staffing agencies to select by experience, qualifications, and other criteria important to business success.

How you’re perceived by others has a lasting impact. Impressions and credibility can go a long way toward determining whether you will receive that job offer, a promotion or get selected for a new development group. And unlike in high school, how you are perceived by your professional peers is more than just about who you hang out with and what you wear (luckily!).

Your ability to succeed in the workplace can often come down to your professional credibility. If your peers, colleagues, managers and clients feel as if you can deliver them an exceptional product or service, you will most likely feel confident in your abilities. However, gaining this gold star on your professional report card isn’t as easy as showing up to the job and completing assignments. You have to work to develop a reputation as someone who can consistently perform.

A recent Yahoo News article observed that your credibility is made up of three main components – your behaviors, your values and your reputation. As a result, it will take a three-pronged attack for you to build up your credibility. You can’t just walk into your office and hope people recognize what you can bring to the table if you haven’t developed a professional reputation of credibility and accomplishment.

Clients are looking up professionals on social media networks and using the crystal-ball abilities of Google to try and see into individuals’ past. It’s now a lot harder to hide those inappropriate tweets or embarrassing Facebook photos. Research has found that more than one-third of companies are using social networking sites to check out job candidates – that’s in addition to the 37 percent who are using social media to make their hiring decisions, reports CareerBuilder. If companies are doing this research about job candidates, they most likely are also researching the staffing firms and professional recruiters they are dealing with.

“Because social media is a dominant form of communication today, you can certainly learn a lot about a person by viewing their public, online personas,” Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuiilder, told the news source.

Your behaviors in and out of the office will impact your ability to create a professional reputation of credibility. You may be thinking to yourself “But, that’s not fair!” One of the unfortunate casualties of the increasing digitalization of our lives means that the house party you went to in college or a flippant comment could come back to haunt you. Just as your staffing software compiles the details of candidates and how they appear on the web, your own past may be used to determine your strength as a team member. However, you can’t just start to erase your entire presence online. First off, it’s not going to work. Second, your online profiles are an asset that can help you achieve professional credibility. Posts, papers, comments and forum discussions where you contribute ideas or resources can demonstrate your staffing industry knowledge and expertise.

In the professional sphere, behaviors that can boost your credibility include only promising what you can successfully do, instead of overselling. Overly sales-oriented communication can leave a hollow feeling between you and the other person, and that’s never good!

Another key practice: try and maintain honesty in your communications. Similar to the last point, people are much more forgiving if projects don’t make a deadline or something is lackluster if you were up front with them from the beginning.

You know what is really going to help set you apart? Facts and figures. Research and knowledge about the trends that are impacting the staffing industry show your colleagues and recruiters that you actively ensure you’re up-to-date about what’s going on. When talking to potential clients, research and know their industry in detail so that you can offer a quality service. Instead of resting on your laurels, you’re educating yourself about things that can contribute to the development of new products or services – and that’s what businesses really want!

Are you salivating at the idea of getting your hands on one of those shiny, new tablets? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Tablet envy is a real thing – Dr. Phil may even do an expose on it soon (just kidding!)

The versatility, the speed and the all-around attractiveness of those digital devices are making everyone consider just how they can justify putting a request in for a tablet. However, businesses may be wary of investing in the technology and then determining how it would effectively incorporate itself into workers’ daily tasks.

Business managers don’t have to worry that outfitting their workers with tablets will result in a decline in office productivity. After all, those Angry Bird competitions can’t last all day, or can they?

It’s safe to say that tablets are going to become a permanent fixture in the business world. There are a number of different characteristics that give tablets a definite advantage in the office.

Portability
There is no greater benefit of a tablet than how easy it is to carry. I don’t know about you, but when I’m in the middle of walking down the office corridor and someone needs a question answered, I don’t have my laptop in my hands and if I do I am not setting up shop right there. However, with a tablet I can access my staffing software right there and deliver the information my colleague needed without time lag.

And if I need to blast an email off or send a quick social media update? Not a problem! A tablet allows me to easily hop online and accomplish a task.

These devices are also large enough so that you can read an article or look at a spreadsheet without having to minimize or scroll constantly, which is often a problem with viewing things on a smartphone. Tablets typically have a display screen that ranges between 7 inches and 10 inches and they are usually less than 1 pound. Despite that size, data storage is typically not a problem.

Lack of moving parts
According to ZDNet, one of the features of a tablet that excited IT professionals more than anything is the lack of moving parts. The number of IT requests can significantly decrease when there are no hinges, latches or other hardware to break. Large companies will especially learn to find this feature helpful because it will decrease operational expenses by a substantial amount.

Performance and battery life
Because of their size and the evolution of modern technology, tablets have an incredible battery life in comparison to most traditional office equipment. Many tablets have a battery life that extends 8 to 10 hours long, which is significantly longer than most laptops. In addition, these pieces of technology don’t have a long boot-up time. Instead of facing the frustration of waiting for the computer to turn on just to check an email or two, you can swipe your tablet and easily find the information you need – no muss, no fuss. This will also help staffing firms decrease time waste that can lead to periods of low productivity. Think about how much time you waste having to go back to your desk from a meeting to look up a piece of information, or having to wait for a computer to boot up for a simple task? You can get rid of this!

Consume media faster
At a staffing firm, you’re using your employment software constantly to check and double check facts. You’re most likely checking candidates’ Twitter feeds, their blogs, resumes, cover letters and any other materials that are necessary for the job. The touchscreen will make browsing for the right document easier and faster – letting you get back to other work quicker.