brilliant™ q1 2015 accounting, finance and it hiring forecast

HIRING FORECAST

Accounting, Finance & IT

2015

CONNECTING PEOPLE AND OPPORTUNITIES

3 q1 | h ir ing forec ast | 2015

About BrilliantBRILLIANT is a search, staffing and

management resources firm that

specializes in the accounting,

finance and IT professions. The firm

has three locations, Chicago, Illinois;

Schaumburg, Illinois; and

Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The BRILLIANT name and logo come

from the Chinese translation for the

sun and moon and when combined

create a heightened awareness, or a

brilliant state of mind. BRILLIANT uses

that heightened awareness to meet

and exceed the expectations of its

clients, candidates and colleagues.

BRILLIANT candidates are high-quality

job seekers within the accounting,

finance and IT professions. Its client

base consists of hiring companies

within the manufacturing, distribution,

health care, professional services,

retail, and not for profit industries,

among others.

To learn, call 312.582.1800,

email [email protected] or visit

http://www.BrilliantFS.com.

4 Looking Forward by CEO Jim Wong, CPA (Inactive)

5 Forecast Overview: Strong Economic Growth Expected

6 Economic Improvement Continues

7 Hiring Decision Makers Demographics

8 New Hires Ease

10 Unfilled Accounting / Finance & IT Positions Increase

12 Length of Time Positions Unfilled

12 Type of Unfilled Positions

14 Reasons for Unfilled Positions

16 A Current Look at Temporary or Contract Professionals

16 Intentions to Hire Additional Temporary or Contract Professionals

18 Assessments of the Talent Pool

20 Successful Hires

22 Social Media Effectiveness

Contents

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As we enter into a new year halfway through another decade reflection is inevitable within

the workplace. Companies begin to reassess their strategies and goals while taking a deeper

look into their hiring and economic decisions, overall. Subsequent change can happen, or

some things can remain the same. Either way, plans continue to heed a healthy work climate

for accounting / finance and information technology professionals. The economic downturn

of 2007 and unemployment highs, seem a distant memory.

Just how much reflection and change can be determined for the coming quarter and the rest

of 2015? By simply asking professionals in leadership, human resources and other hiring roles,

we have gained insight into hiring trends and economic decisions affecting the accounting

/ finance and IT professions. In fact, we strive to stay on top of these trends by producing a

quarterly report, the Brilliant Accounting, Finance and IT Hiring Forecast, which examines

the hiring processes and economic factors among proprietary entities in the greater Chicago

and south Florida markets.

Since 2012, the Accounting, Finance and IT Hiring Forecast has been published by BRILLIANT

in conjunction with Dr. Richard Curtin from the University of Michigan, and continues to find a

steady improvement in the hiring patterns of accounting, finance and IT professionals. The Q1

2015 Hiring Forecast continues this trend. Youll see in this report that companies have fulfilled

their plans to hire more professionals as declared earlier in 2014, while additional job openings,

albeit fewer, are still popping up. Overall, it is a favorable environment for accounting / finance

and IT individuals seeking employment, both on permanent and temporary levels.

The Brilliant Q1 2015 Accounting, Finance and IT Hiring Forecast survey was sent out

to human resources professionals and managers responsible for the hiring of accounting,

finance and IT professionals between Nov. 11, 2014 and Nov. 25, 2014. The survey garnered

close to 300 responses. The primary industries surveyed included manufacturing, distri-

bution, health care, consumer products, financial services, professional services, retail,

real estate and non-profit organizations. Dr. Curtin analyzed all of the survey responses to

produce the report.

As with the previous Hiring Forecast, BRILLIANT asked survey takers to respond to questions

pertaining to the hiring of accounting / finance professionals separately from that of IT. There-

fore, you will see that accounting / finance is referred to as one profession while IT is referred

to as a separate, second profession. As a result, youll find varying outcomes between the two.

You will also see that there is only one previous quarters worth of data to compare the IT-spe-

cific findings. Please keep this information in mind when reading the report.

We are now pleased to share the following findings with you.

Regards,

James F. Wong, CPA (Inactive)

CEO, Brilliant

Looking Forward

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Forecast Overview: Strong Economic Growth ExpectedIn the Q1 2015 Hiring Forecast survey, human

resources professionals and hiring managers

anticipated that the pace of economic growth of

their companies would remain strong during the

year ahead. Human resources professionals and

hiring managers correctly anticipated the renewed

economic strength earlier in the year and had already

replenished their staffs. As a result, by year-end

2014, they had greatly lessened their unmet needs

for additional accounting / finance and IT staff.

Although unfilled positions were reported by about

one-in-three companies, a good deal of those

positions were only recently created or vacated

by departing employees. Traditional methods of

recruitment such as using search or recruitment firms,

personal referrals or internal promotions proved to

be the most successful in nearly two-thirds of all

the hires reported by the survey respondents.

Social media played an important but much smaller

role, with nearly all of the outreach coming via

LinkedIn. The types of accounting / finance and IT

positions that human resources professionals and

hiring managers are filling require specialized skills

and technical knowledge as well as the ability of

the potential candidate to communicate and solve

problems independently. This combination of skills

and qualifications require human resources profes-

sionals and hiring managers to skillfully use the best

resources available to them.


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Economic Improvement ContinuesNearly half of the survey takers thought that the

overall economic position of their company had

improved during the past year, and nearly two-thirds

anticipated continued economic growth during

the year ahead. Across all companies, 48 percent

reported that the economic situation of their

company had improved during the past year, just

below last quarters 54 percent and well above the

36 percent in the Q1 2014 hiring forecast survey.

Importantly, the small decline from the prior quarter

simply recognized that conditions had remained

largely unchanged at improved levels. When asked

about economic prospects for the year ahead,

64 percent of survey respondents expected better

economic conditions for their company in the year

ahead, just ahead of the 63 percent recorded in the

prior quarter and significantly above last years 43

percent. Most companies expected a steady pace

of gains during the year ahead as just 7 percent

anticipated significantly improved economic

conditions during the year ahead, just below the

8 percent recorded in the prior quarter. More

importantly, just 3 percent anticipated worsening

economic conditions, unchanged from the previous

two quarters.

Assessment of Overall Economic Conditions for Hiring Companies

BETTER SAME WORSE

Q32014

63%34%

3%

Q42014

64%33%

3%

PERCENTAGE OF EXPECTED CHANGE IN 2015

QU

AR

TE

RS

SUR

VE

YE

D

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Hiring Decision Makers DemographicsSurvey respondents were asked whether their duties

included the responsibility of hiring accounting

/ finance professionals, IT professionals, or both

accounting / finance and IT professionals for their

companies. Among all respondents, 79 percent

reported that they had the responsibility of hiring all

combinations of the abovementioned professionals, just

above the 76 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

The survey was designed to focus on accounting /

finance and IT separately. Most survey respondents

had the responsibility of hiring accounting / finance

professionals: a total of 74 percent (54 percent hiring

only accounting / finance; 20 percent hiring accounting

/ finance and IT) of all respondents. 25 percent had the

responsibility for hiring IT staff (5 percent hiring only IT;

20 percent hiring IT and accounting / finance). This was

above the one-in-five in the previous quarter.

Of the total human resources professionals and hiring

managers surveyed, the majority age range was 45 to

54 years old, with the second and third ranges being

35 to 44 years old and 55 to 64 years old, respec-

tively. This was followed by I prefer not to answer,

25 to 34 years old, 18 to 24 years old, and "65 years

old and over." The gender of the survey respondents

was close to being evenly split with males coming

in at just under half (49 percent) and females at

44 percent. 7 percent of the survey respondents

preferred not to answer.

The balance of this report is based solely on those

respondents (79 percent) who had the responsibility

of hiring accounting / finance professionals, IT profes-

sionals, or both accounting / finance and IT profession-

als. Note that this procedure limited the numbers of

responses dedicated to IT hiring decisions. Out of the

total number of survey takers, 24 percent responded

Hiring Decision Maker?

YES NO

79%

21%

Accounting / Finance only

Both Accounting /Finance & IT

IT only

20%

5%

54%


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to the questions regarding the hiring of IT staff (up

from 20 percent in the previous quarters survey),

and 72 percent responded regarding the hiring of

accounting / finance staff in total (slightly up from 71

percent in the previous quarters survey). Although

the numbers of survey takers increased in this survey,

the relatively small response rate must be kept in

mind when assessing the data, and especially, when

comparing the differences in hiring decisions between

the two professions.

New Hires EaseIn the year ahead, net increases in the hiring of account-

ing / finance and IT professionals can be expected,

although at a much reduced pace from last quarter.

Increased hiring was planned by 17 percent for account-

ing / finance professionals, down from 28 percent of

companies who planned to increase their accounting

/ finance teams in the previous quarter. Importantly,

just 5 percent planned reduced hiring of accounting

/ finance professionals. The same cutbacks in new

hires were recorded for IT staff. 16 percent planned

to increase their hiring of IT staff that is about half

the 34 percent that planned increases in their IT hiring

last quarter. Note: The data only indicates a decline

in the hiring rate as two-thirds of all companies kept

their hiring plans unchanged. Importantly, unchanged

hiring plans does not necessarily mean there will be

no additional hires, only that the number of additional

hires is expected to remain unchanged. The data does

indicate that many human resources professionals and

hiring managers correctly predicted their needs for new

staff, and hired accordingly.

When asked the size of the expected change in

their hiring plans, survey respondents indicated

that the number of IT hires was relatively larger than

for accounting / finance. Among those with hiring

responsibilities for accounting / finance teams, 10

percent planned staff increases of less that 5 percent,

and 7 percent reporting larger staff increases. Among

those who hired IT staff, the numbers were reversed,

with just 6 percent reporting planned gains under 5

percent and 10 percent reporting staff increases of

5 percent or more. Overall, the data provides solid

evidence that human resources professionals and

hiring managers expect growth in the number of

new hires during the year ahead.

Importantly, unchanged hiring plans does not necessarily mean there will be no additional hires, only that the number of additional hires is expected to remain unchanged. The data does indicate that many human resources professionals and hiring managers correctly predicted their needs for new staff and hired accordingly.

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Hiring Plans During Next 12 Months

ACCOUNTING / FINANCE IT

6%

10%

10%

6%

0%

1%

INCREASE:

Up to 5%

5% to 15%

More than 15%

DECREASE:

Up to 5%

5% to 15%

More than 15%

2%

3%

3%

1%

0%

1%

28%

34%

Q3INCREASE

67%

54%

Q3UNCHANGED

3%

0%

Q3DECREASE

2%

12%

Q3UNCERTAIN

17%

16%

Q4INCREASE

67%

69%

Q4UNCHANGED

5%

Q4DECREASE

5% 11%

10%

Q4UNCERTAIN



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Unfilled Accounting / Finance & IT Positions IncreaseThe recent survey found a larger number of companies

who reported unfilled staff positions. This increased

need reflects both recent gains in business as well

as increased employee turnover. 30 percent of all

companies reported vacant accounting / finance staff

positions (up from 28 percent in the previous quarter),

and 37 percent reported unfilled IT staff positions

(up from 33 percent in the prior quarter). Most of

the needs are rather small, from 1 to 3 unfilled staff

positions, although 14 percent of IT staffs were short

by at least 4 unfilled positions. While it may seem

inconsistent that unfilled positions have increased

while planned hiring has decreased, this is not neces-

sarily true. The vast majority of companies expected

their hiring plans to be unchanged. While that may

include some who planned for no new hires, most

would have planned a constant number of new hires.

Given companies in recent years needed to replenish

staffs from the downsizing that occurred during the

Great Recession, the fact that hiring has remained

unchanged at that same higher rate, is good news.

28%

33%

Q3 2014

30%

37%

Q4 2014

Have Unfilled Positions


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Have Unfilled Staff Positions?


NO 67%

YES 33%YES 28%

NO 72%

NO 63%

YES 37%YES 30%

NO 70%

Q32014

Q42014

How Many Unfilled Staff Positions?


POSITIONS:

1 to 3

4 to 6

7 to 10

More than 10

22%23%

2%6%

12%

5%6%


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Length of Time Positions UnfilledThe following data describes the length of time the

positions have remained vacant, and it is important

to note that the increase in business supports these

responses. Most positions have been vacant for a

relatively short period of time. Among those who said

they had unfilled accounting / finance positions, the

majority were relatively recent 24 percent of the 30

percent were vacant for less than three months. For

unfilled IT staff positions, virtually all of the positions

were vacant for less than three months 35 percent

of the 37 percent. Naturally, most companies can

not instantly replace employees. In fact, the hiring

process can entail a long series of steps that can easily

account for more than a months time, especially when

specific skills are needed in highly-technical fields of

accounting / finance and IT. The short period of time

that positions have remained unfilled provides con-

vincing evidence of the pressing needs for additional

employees to facilitate a growing business.

Type of Unfilled PositionsSurvey takers were asked to identify the type of posi-

tion that remained unfilled; in case of multiple unfilled

positions, the job title that had the most openings.

In response, the most common type of accounting /

finance job, reported by 20 percent, was in corporate

accounting, which includes financial analysts, staff,

tax and general accounting, and internal auditors.

In response, the most common type of accounting / finance job, reported by 20 percent, was in corporate accounting, which includes financial analysts, staff, tax and general accounting, and internal auditors.

Length of Time Positions Remained Unfilled


0 to 1

1 to 3

3 to 6

More than 6

MONTHS:

10%14%

14%21%

4%2%

2%0%

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Lower-level skilled jobs in operational support were

reported by 9 percent; these jobs included billing,

bookkeepers, credit, collections, etc. A distant third,

at just 1 percent of all companies, was for a Director

of Finance or Controller. The same type of split was

found for IT positions, with the more technical or

higher-skilled jobs more commonly unfilled. Of the

37 percent who had unfilled IT positions, 26 percent

were split evenly between database administration

(including data architect and data warehousing)

and network administration (including network and

communication engineering and management). Data

security, also a highly-skilled position, accounted for 3

percent of unfilled positions. Technical services, which

includes help desk professionals and desktop support,

accounted for 8 percent of the unfilled positions.

Overall, the high level of skills and technical know ledge

demanded by the majority of unfilled accounting

/ finance and IT positions certainly points to the

challenges of finding people with appropriate skills.

Of the 37 percent who had unfilled IT positions, 26 percent were split evenly between database administration (including data architect and data warehousing) and network administration (including network and communication engineering and management).

Operational Support

Corporate Accounting

Director, Controller

20%

1%

9%

Technical Services

Database Administration

Network & Communications

Data Security

Director IT

13%

13%

8%

3%

0%

Type of Unfilled Positions



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Reasons for Unfilled PositionsSince the costs of hiring and training are large,

human resources professionals and hiring managers

have made extra efforts to identify well-qualified

candidates for their unfilled positions. The main

finding is that survey takers did not find the available

talent pool too small as much as they found applicants

who lack the skills and experience required. For

accounting / finance positions, the number of respon-

dents that indicated having too few applicants fell to 5

percent, down from 11 percent last quarter. However,

responses that the applicants lacked the skills neces-

sary rose to 9 percent from 7 percent last quarter, and

the number that lacked experience inched upward

to 5 percent from 4 percent. The increase in other

reasons was mainly due to the job opening having

just occurred or not yet obtaining the budget authority

to hire additional accounting / finance teams.

For unfilled IT positions the biggest difference from

last quarter was the lack of sufficient skills among the

applicants. The combination of missing skills and the

lack of experience was mentioned by 17 percent, not

much above the 14 percent in the previous quarter,

although the emphasis on the lack of skills nearly

tripled. Overall, the data underscores the fact that

easily finding skilled and experienced employees is

long past, and the search for high quality and produc-

tive employees will only become more challenging in

the year ahead.

Overall, the data underscores the fact that easily finding skilled and experienced employees is long past, and the search for high quality and productive employees will only become more challenging in the year ahead.

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Reasons for Unfilled Positions


Too few applicants

Too many applicants

Lack of skills

Lack of experience

Lack of cultural fit

Other reasons

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

11%7%

5%7%

1%2%

1%3%

7%5%

9%14%

4%9%

5%3%

2%2%

2%4%

3%8%

8%6%


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A Current Look at Temporary or Contract ProfessionalsOf the human resources professionals and hiring

decision makes surveyed, half of the respondents

indicated they are currently using temporary or

contract accounting / finance professionals while 49

percent reported that they were not. With regards

to IT staff, 73 percent of the survey takers indicated

they were utilizing temporary or contracted IT

professionals, with 13 percent reporting they were not,

and another 13 percent reporting, I dont know.

Intentions to Hire Additional Temporary or Contract ProfessionalsSurvey takers were also asked about their plans for

hiring additional temporary or contract professionals.

This survey gave a clear indication that they do not

have plans to change their already employed tempo-

rary or contract professionals. 15 percent reported

that they planned to increase the number of tempo-

rary or contract accounting / finance professionals,

and 18 percent expected to increase their temporary

or contract IT professionals. Both of these figures

were nearly identical to those obtained in the previous

survey. The reasoning for hiring temporary or contract

professionals, rather than full-time employees, has

shifted somewhat. For accounting / finance teams,

more human resources professionals and hiring

managers mentioned that they only needed tempo-

rary or contract professionals given the nature of the

project and extent of the work. For temporary and

contract IT professionals, survey respondents noted

only 11 percent (out of 18 percent) needed temporary

or contract work. Also note that this reason increased

to 8 percent from 5 percent for accounting / finance

teams. Since regulations accompanying the Affordable

Care Act (ACA) are tied to work hours, it is of some

interest that more IT staff were hired as temporary

or contract professionals than last quarter, and more

than for accounting / finance staff. It is noteworthy

that the reasons for hiring temporary or contract

professionals has shifted from economic uncertainty

and evaluations for potential full-time hires to being

directly tied to project needs for only temporary or

contract work. This signifies that many companies have

the confidence and budgets to invest in projects.


Intentions to Hire Additional Temporary / Contract

NO 82%

YES 18%

YES 16%

NO 84%

NO 82%

YES 18%

YES 15%

NO 85%

Q32014

Q42014

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Reasons for Planned Hiring of Additional Temporary or Contract Professionals


Due to ACA

Economic uncertainty

To evaluate for potential full time job

Only need part time work

4%

1%

1%

0%Q3

Q4

Q3

Q40%

1%

1%

2%

Q43%

5%

Q36%

8%

Q411%

8%

Q35%

8%


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Assessments of the Talent PoolWhen asked to identify the biggest gap in the skills

among job seekers, survey respondents indicated that

the primary gaps for accounting / finance positions

were widespread, including problem solving skills

(25 percent), expertise (21 percent), cultural fit (18

percent), and communication skills (16 percent).

Every well-functioning company needs professionals

employed with these various skill sets in order to

produce at a high level on a consistent basis. One-in-

five reported in this survey and the previous quarters

survey that there was no primary gap in the skill sets

of accounting / finance applicants. In both surveys,

one-in-five reported that there was no primary gap in

the qualifications of accounting / finance applicants.

For IT applicants, the findings were similar, with the

exception that the lack of verbal and written commu-

nication skills was the dominant missing qualifications,

reported by 28 percent. Missing problem-solving

skills were mentioned by just 9 percent, down from

23 percent last quarter, although if lack of cultural fit,

which was not available last quarter, was added to

problem solving, both surveys equaled 23 percent.

Many would consider it part of the cultural fit for

an applicant to be able to work independently to

solve unexpected or unusual problems. The biggest

difference that could not be resolved by differences

in choices was the rise in the proportion of human

resources professionals and hiring managers that

reported no missing skills for IT applicants. In the

Q1 2015 hiring forecast survey, 36 percent reported

that there was no single biggest skill gap among IT

applicants, up from 23 percent in the previous quarter.

In the Q1 2015 hiring forecast survey, 36 percent reported that there was no single biggest skill gap among IT applicants, up from 23 percent in the previous quarter.

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Biggest Skill Gap Among Qualified Candidates


Problem solving

Communication skills

Expertise

Cultural fit

None

21%15%

32%23%

25%9%

17%33%

16%28%

21%13%

20%23%

20%36 %

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

18%14%

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4


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Successful HiresSurvey takers were asked how they find the majority

of their new hire successes. In response, the most

successful new employees in accounting / finance

came from search and recruitment firms, reported

by 37 percent (36 percent in the previous quarter).

And, search and recruitment firms were responsible

for 22 percent of all successful IT hires. Other per-

sonal contacts, via referrals or word-of-mouth, were

responsible for the most successful IT hires, reported

by 35 percent, up from 30 percent in the previous

quarter. Adding in internal promotions, these three

traditional methods of recruitment accounted for 60

percent of successful accounting / finance hires and

for 62 percent of successful IT hires. The next most

common means of successful hires was by the use of

online job boards, which accounted for a rising share

of accounting / finance positions (24 percent, up from

14 percent). Although job boards accounted for fewer

successful IT hires (18 percent, down from 22 percent),

there was a strong gain of successful IT hires from

social media (10 percent, up from 2 percent).

Although job boards accounted for fewer successful IT hires (18 percent, down from 22 percent), there was a strong gain of successful IT hires from social media (10 percent, up from 2 percent).

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Majority of New Hire Successes


37%22%

18%35%

24%18%

5%5%

5%3%

5%5%

4%10%

2%2%

36%26%

22%30%

14%22%

10%7%

10%2%

3%4%

3%2%

2%7%

Search and recruitment firms

Referrals; word-of-mouth

Online job boards

Internal promotions

Resumes via company website

Emailed resumes

Social media

Other

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4

Q3

Q4


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Social Media EffectivenessSurvey respondents were asked about their use

and the effectiveness of social media for recruiting

accounting / finance and IT professionals. Surprisingly,

the use of social media decreased slightly from the

previous quarter. Nonetheless, half of all survey

respondents reported using social media as a recruit-

ment tool. Social media was used by 53 percent to

recruit accounting / finance professionals, which was

just below the 60 percent recorded in the previous

quarter. For IT positions, social media was used by 48

percent of survey takers, below the 54 percent who

reported using social media in the previous quarter.

When asked to identify which social media platform

was the most effective, LinkedIn dominated all other

alternatives. LinkedIn was selected by 46 percent for

recruiting accounting / finance (down from 51 percent

last quarter) and by 41 percent for IT (down from 46

percent). No other type of social media was used by

more than 2 percent of respondents in either survey.

Note: Among social media users, the response that

social media was ineffective declined for accounting /

finance positions (5 percent, down from 9 percent) and

for IT professionals 3 percent, down from 6 percent.

Overall, the dominance of LinkedIn is not surprising

since the platform is the number-one professional

social network in the world and is relevant for hiring

decisions, personal evaluations and referrals. Given

these characteristics, the most effective social media

underscores the importance of personal referrals in

the hiring process.

Overall, the dominance of LinkedIn is not surprising since the platform is the number-one professional social network in the world and is relevant for hiring decisions, personal evaluations and referrals.

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60%

40%

Q3 2014

54%

46%

Q4 2014

53%

47%

Q3 2014

48%

52%

Q4 2014

Social Media: Use and Effectiveness in Recruiting Talent

ACCOUNTING / FINANCE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

YES NOIT USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

YES NO

51%

46%

0%

0%

9%

6%

0%

2%

46%

41%

1%

2%

5%

3%

1%

2%

Q4

201

4

Q3

201

4

MOST EFFECTIVE SOCIAL PLATFORM?



br

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About the Brilliant Accounting, Finance and IT Hiring Forecast

Since 2012, the search, staffing and

management resources firm BRILLIANT,

in conjunction with Dr. Richard Curtin,

Director, Surveys of Consumers at the

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has

published a quarterly Hiring Forecast

analyzing the hiring trends and economic

factors affecting the accounting, finance

and IT professions.

The comprehensive report comes from

data collected from human resources

professionals and other hiring managers

surveyed by BRILLIANT within the greater

Chicago and south Florida markets.

The majority surveyed are responsible

for hiring accounting, finance and IT

professionals within the manufacturing,

distribution, health care, consumer

products, financial services, professional

services, retail, real estate, insurance,

technology and non-profit industries,

among others.

The Brilliant Q1 2015 Accounting,

Finance and IT Hiring Forecast can

be accessed on the website:

www.BrilliantFS.com.

For more information,

visit www.BrilliantFS.com,

call 312.582.1800, email

[email protected] or

follow us on social media.

MEDIA CONTACT:Laurie Canning, CSMP

Digital Marketing Manager

BRILLIANT

(p) 312.582.1812

(e) [email protected]

w w w.br ill i antfs.c om

brilliant™ q1 2015 accounting, finance and it hiring forecast

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