Burnett Specialists/Choice Specialists Blog

Did you work with Burnett or Choice Specialists sometime during 2017? Awesome!  We want to know about your work experiences and preferences as a valued staffing employee!  Your feedback on this quick survey is completely anonymous, but gives us the opportunity to get to know what we can do to improve our employees' experien...

Our hearts are heavy this week as we try, as a community, to start putting the pieces back together from this terrible disaster.Hurricane Harvey has dumped over 14 trillion gallons of water up and down the south Texas gulf coast and rescue efforts are still currently underway as we speak.Many families have lost everything and will feel the wrath of...

We're at an interesting crossroads here in Houston, Texas .  The 2015 – 2016 market was a rough one, especially for anyone laid off with 20+ years of experience and for those graduating with no experience over the past two years. Though the plight of the more experienced worker is one we champion often, that is another subject for another day....

The highest ROI management tool I know is one that is available to everyone, costs essentially nothing, and is a proven driver of workplace productivity. That tool is gratitude. As obvious as this may sound to some, it is oftentimes overlooked, particularly in companies and among teams for whom seemingly no results are good enough and no bar is eve...

Each year, the Houston Business Journal compiles a list of Houston's Top Direct-Hire Placement Firms and Houston's Top Temporary Staffing Firms and for the 5th year in a row, Burnett Specialists is #1 Largest Direct Hire Placement Firm and #3 Largest Temporary Staffing Firm in Houston.   This is our fifth consecutive year to be #1! -Sue Burnet...

For many job seekers, finding a good career at the right company can be more challenging than planned. Whether you're looking to pop in and out of the workforce on temporary jobs, or hoping for a direct hire position, sometimes candidates need a partner, someone who can connect them to the opportunities they really want. That's where a recruiting f...

Some managers come up through the ranks, while others have been brought in because of their education or experience managing people and projects. Regardless of how you became a leader, here you are, and your job has two major priorities: getting the most out of your team and getting the project done right. When you're trying to inspire, encourage a...

Think of your resume like a story – your story, in fact. It is the tale of your professional experience, your personal achievements and work ethic. You want that story to be compelling, as it conveys your potential value to a hiring team or prospective employer. A professional resume opens the doors to possibilities. However, sometimes when a job s...

The first time you really get to shine with a new employer happens during the interview. You're going to be asked all kinds of questions, from understanding your strengths to picking apart your weaknesses. The most challenging questions, however, tend to be more abstract. One of the most difficult ones in this group: Why do you want this job? While...

Wouldn't being an owner of a company inspire you to work hard to make it a success? This motivation is one of the driving forces behind companies opting for employee ownership. There are several ways to accomplish employee ownership. Employees can buy stock directly, receive stock options, or through a profit sharing plan. Stocks can even be given ...

When trying to address issues of retention and productivity, a lot of tried and true options usually get tossed on the table. Some companies, however, are taking a bolder, out-of-the-box approach that has been shown to work, now more than ever. An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is an employee-owner method that provides a company's workforce w...

For nearly five years in a row, Google's corporate offices – all of them across the globe – rank as the number one best place to work. It isn't just that their offices look like living rooms or that Ping-Pong tables line the break rooms. This billion-dollar company attracts and retains top performers because their company culture shows temporary an...

If you're not attracting the top performers in your industry that means your competitors are. The first step to catching the eye of a game-changing candidate is to build a strong and engaging personal brand online. Keeping your company information consistent and informative, while ensuring the conversation on social media stays exciting and visible...

Your posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram could be getting you more friends and followers, but they might just cost you a job. More and more potential employers are checking social media sites for applicants; sometimes even before they interview. With access to these sites on both computers and smartphones, it's more important than ever that yo...

More than one-third of all new marriages start with an online introduction. If social media is a valid place to meet your mate, you can bet it's also an ideal spot to meet your next big client. Using LinkedIn to establish your brand is a lucrative way to expand your network of possibilities. You can connect with customers, build your brand image an...

List your top 5-7 goals for the day and break the list down to 3. It's good to get in the habit of making lists; it's bad to make long lists. If you've got more than 5 items on your list, break it down to the top 3 things (you can always go back and edit in another task or two). But with a list of 20 things, how can you not be overwhelmed? Three is...

Proceed cautiously to prioritize other people's "urgent" requests. When someone asks you for help to do a project or to meet some other urgent need, practice saying "What's your deadline on this? or When do you need this done?" Then schedule for completion for that day. Most people when asked one of those questions realize it's not as urgent and wi...

When an interviewer asks a question and you blank on the answer, the silence can seem louder than a scream. You might not know how to answer or, more commonly, nerves get the best of you and your brain freezes up. Whether applying for a permanent job or a temporary position, many job seekers find themselves in this situation at one time or another....

Sometimes, the door to our success is the one we open for ourselves. Standing out from the crowd by working smarter – not harder – at applying for jobs can do the trick. It's time to clean out the stale job-hunting tactics that aren't producing results. Rewriting your cover letter can give you an edge. Write a hard-hitting opening line Your cover l...

Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama has been outspoken about his desire to raise the national minimum wage. Since 2014, at least 10 states voted to increase their minimum wages, with many more state legislatures seriously discussing the issue. Some are poised to raise their minimum wage in the coming years. A report from the White House claims ...