How’s the Market Doing & What Do You Do Exactly?

Frances Moreno, Vaco Los Angeles

2012 is in full-swing! I am often asked what sort of services I provide and also "how is the market doing?" This blog is to give you my 30 second (ok maybe five minute) elevator speech, and also share what we are observing about the marketplace in Los Angeles from my perspective.

Recession-proofing Your Skill Set: The Dodgers Know!

Frances Moreno, Vaco Los Angeles

Vaco Los Angeles recently facilitated the career development workshop for the Financial Executives International members interested in the topic of hiring trends and how to make their skill sets "recession proof." We explored the past decade of hiring trends, observing that we are still in an all-time high unemployment rate today over anytime since 1999. However, unemployment for specialized roles in accounting and finance personnel remains lower than the overall national unemployment average. After breaking out into three different groups of executives for optimal participation, we competed on which team could create the most helpful tips and comprehensive list of "how to recession proof your skill set." Here's what they came up with ...

The Role of Technology Professionals in Today’s Economy

Devon Zopfi, Vaco Los Angeles

Devon Zopfi here. I head Vaco's IT and technology consultancy and there is a lot going on in this sector hiring-wise. As the economy wavers with reversal and recovery, we asked leading IT professionals among our client base for their perspective on the current state of the market. What are the prospects and requirements for IT professionals and the companies that hire them? Here's what our IT experts had to say.

A Reminder That We're Making A Difference

Joslyn Osborn, Vaco Los Angeles

Recruiting is a demanding profession, which frequently requires early morning coffee meetings, after-hours phone calls, and "putting out fires." Sometimes we get caught up in the day-to-day aspects of our job and forget that we really are making a difference in people's lives. Here at Vaco, we are in the business of helping people with their livelihoods. And it's a good business to be in. Here are two recent stories of how we've impacted the lives of others, and in turn, have been reminded of how their appreciation is just as impactful to us.

The Growth Path to the Top for CPAs

Frances Moreno, Vaco Los Angeles

This blog post is focused on CPAs and the skill sets that these professionals need to excel and get ahead in their careers. For those of you who aren't CPAs, we hope the post will give you guidance on capabilities and talents to look for when hiring or contracting a CPA and how to best manage your CPAs' professional growth. This post comes from VACO senior partner Frances Moreno, a former CPA herself, who obviously knows what it takes to get ahead in this profession.

CPAs Talk Current Market Challenges and Opportunities

As the economy slowly recovers, companies are seeking guidance from their accounting executives on how to best capitalize on possible opportunities, while keeping risks and threats at bay. Since VACO partners with the top CPAs in the area, we reached out to them to find out how their clients are managing and responding to the current market. Quite candidly, here's what they said.

CFOs Offer Insights on Current Market Environment

As economic indicators demonstrate cautious recovery and experts predict slow, steady improvement, no one is more at the heart of the economic twists and turns of the marketplace than CFOs. Because VACO specializes in recruitment of finance professionals, we have the privilege of working with some of L.A.'s leading CFOs. Consequently, when we wanted to know how companies are responding to and recovering from the economic downturn, we asked some of our clients.

Hiring in Today’s Market - Partner to Uncover the Less Apparent Choices

Joslyn Osborn, Vaco Los Angeles

When headlines declare that unemployment percentages are still close to double digits, employers with a need to hire sometimes feel that they should be able to pick and choose from dozens of highly qualified candidates. This is not always the case.

Contract Consulting as a Path to Success

This post is at times talking specifically to women, but guys find equal advantages as contract professionals in the financial arena, so don't stop reading if you have a "Y" chromosome.