From time to time we get emails from those who visit our site asking what the final results are of our Questions of the Month, so without further hesitation, here is how YOU, our loyal audience, have responded:

DECEMBER 2007 QUESTION (That’s right, December of last year, this is the story of my life, 7 months ago and I am finally getting around to putting up the results – my wife can verify this, just ask her how high the pile of clean laundry is on my rocking chair just waiting to be put away; I will get around to it, eventually):

Through what source did you find your current employer?

OTHER*                                                                                             24.4%
REFERRAL                                                                                       22.2%
DIRECT CALL FROM A CORPORATE RECRUITER                17.8%
EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM/AGENCY                                         15.6%
JOB BOARD                                                                                      15.6%
NEWSPAPER/PERIODICAL/TRADE JOURNAL                          4.4%

*Anyone care to share what this 24.4% might be?  A billboard, a little birdie?

JANUARY 2008 QUESTION:

Are you a member of any of the following networks:  Linkedin, Jigsaw, Ning, ERE, Facebook or MySpace?

Yes             89.7%
No              10.3%

And of course there is FastPitch, Plaxo, Twitter, Meetup, Orkut.  There is even a social network for all of then knitters & crocheters from around the world called Ravelry.com – no joke, check it out.

FEBRUARY 2008 QUESTION:

Have you ever accepted a counter-offer?

Yes             57.6%
No              42.4%

As a Search Consultant, I am pretty surprised at that rate.  This has been a topic of discussion on our Forum and I most recently saw a question discussing this very issue on Linkedin.  All the research and all the evidence makes a compelling argument to NEVER accept a counter-offer.  I guess all those folks who responded “yes” are not reading our Forum or learning about this topic on Linkedin…they must be getting mis-information on Ravelry.com !

MARCH 2008 QUESTION:

What is your opinion on Public Private Partnerships (P3) as it relates to the US infrastructure?

For P3’s           40%
Against P3’s    40%
Undecided       20%

There is a very informative paper on the P3 Topic.  It was written in 2006 by Benjamin Perez of PB Consult along with James March of the Federal Highway Administration. The paper is titled:  Public Private Partnerships and the Development of Transport Infrastructure:  Trends on Both Sides of the Atlantic (Click on the title to see the paper).

APRIL 2008 QUESTION:

Which do you consider to be the greater civil engineering achievement?

The Panama Canal               54.4%
The Channel Tunnel              28.1%
The Golden Gate Bridge       17.5%
The Empire State Building    0.0%

Personally speaking, my biggest civil engineering achievement was the sandbox I built for my kids in the back yard – it’s a square shaped frame made out of equal length railroad ties…with sand dumped inside.  I’m serious.  BIG achievement for me.

MAY 2008 QUESTION:

Has your organization purchased AND fully integrated a 3-D cad program?

Yes     65%
No      35%

Do these 3-D programs come with the cardboard 3-D glasses, or are they sold
separately?

We will likely post the results every six months.  Please make sure you visit our site each month and cast your vote.  Feel free to reply to this blog submission with any of your comments in regards to the responses above.

FYI, don’t forget to vote for this month’s QUESTION OF THE MONTH IS:

When do you believe the land development market will pick up?

No one wants to be rejected.  When it happens, we take it personally, going through stages of hurt, anger and resolution. When employees leave your firm, you may well travel the same path. However, employees typically make a decision to “fly the nest” only after careful deliberation. Therefore, these soon-to-be ex-employees should not be treated as defectors or traitors, but rather as potential future candidates. When I interview candidates, one of the first things I do is review their professional history with them. Often they tell me that they would like to return to a past employer, but their managers were so angry when they resigned, that they are afraid of being rejected. They would rather work for a different company than be rebuffed. Don’t overlook past employees who realize that sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side! In this tight labor market, no company can afford to miss out on a great employee. Try to remember the reasons you didn’t want your employees to leave. Treat their resignations with dignity. Do not insult the decision-making processes that lead them to these difficult choices. Instead, go through a brief but critical process of letting go:

1. Tell them that you respect their decision to leave.

2. Make sure they know if they change their mind, you would be happy for them to stay.

3. If you would welcome them back in the future, tell them.

Just as they caution not to burn your bridges as an employee, neither should you do so as an employer.

Carol Metzner is President of The MetznerGroup, LLC, a professional search firm specializing in the search and recruitment of engineering professionals nationwide. To contact Carol directly, call 301-293-4206, email: carol@themetznergroup.com, web: www.themetznergroup.com.