Bringing on Some New Faces!

Comrise is doing it again!

We're looking to hire some new faces for the next iteration of our Leadership and Mentorship Program! We're looking for aggressive folks, probably relatively recent graduates (or December 2011 grads), for entry-level Account Executive and Recruiter positions! We want some energetic and enthusiastic people to come in here and sweep us off our feet - really prove that you want this opportunity and you're going to take it and make the most of it!

See below for the official job description. Anyone interested can send their resume as an attachment to Campus@Comrise.com to apply!

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Our Leadership & Mentorship Program is designed for recent college graduates (Spring 2011 or December 2011) who are interested in pursuing an opportunity within a challenging, collaborative, fast-paced, and entrepreneurial environment. We’re looking for highly motivated self-starters that want to grow with our business and will be committed to our mission.

Comrise will be interviewing recent college graduates for immediate hire. Individuals hired will:

• Work full-time in our Hazlet, NJ office


• Be self-motivated and be able to multi-task


• Possess a strong work ethic and be very career driven


• Have the opportunity to earn up to double their base salary in additional commission and bonuses


• Be trained in the Business Development and Recruiting operations of the company


• Possess excellent interpersonal and written communications skills


• Have a BA/BS Degree (all majors considered, IT or Technology related majors are a plus but not required)


• Be enthusiastic about having regular contact with clients and building client relationships


• Be proficient with the Microsoft Office Suite

Applicants selected for our Leadership and Mentorship Program will be trained and mentored by members of Comrise’s Team including Senior Technical Recruiters, Sales Account Executives, and Comrise Management.

Hired associates will begin with technical recruiting and working alongside Senior Technical Recruiters to get a hands-on overview of the core Comrise’s business function, and will have the opportunity to grow into multiple positions within the company, including both Account Executive and Technical Recruiter positions.

The Power of eMarketing....Conference

With the week coming to a close, I wanted to let the members of the Comrise Community know that Mohamed Ali, Director of SEO for Comrise Technology, Inc., will be moderating two panels during next week’s “The Power of eMarketing” Conference which is being held in Providence, Rhode Island on October 12^th and 13^th.

The first panel which will be moderated by Mohamed Ali is focused on "Search Marketing - Best Practices," and the topic for second panel is "Key Elements to Organic Search Results." The panels which Mohamed Ali is moderating will be held on separate days with the Search Marketing panel on day one of the conference and the Organic Search panel to be held in the morning of the second day.

The eMA is an association of emarketing professionals. Members include governments, companies, professionals, and students involved with the emarketing arena. The eMA provides marketing resources, services, research, certifications, educational programs and events to its members and the marketing community. The eMA works with a number of organizations, companies and governments on issues related to eCommerce, multi-channel marketing and legislative issues. The eMA has members in over 40 countries around the world, and sponsors or manages over 30 events a year. 

If you or know of anyone who has plans to attend, let us know! In the mean time, have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Too Much Data to Handle?

If that's the case with your organization, we cordially invite you and your team to an upcoming meetup in your area to learn more about LexisNexis's HPCC Systems. 

HPCC Systems™ from LexisNexis® Risk Solutions offers a proven, data-intensive supercomputing platform designed for the enterprise to process and deliver Big Data analytical problems. As an alternative to Hadoop and mainframes, HPCC Systems offers a consistent data-centric programming language, two processing platforms and a single architecture for efficient processing. Customers, such as financial institutions, insurance carriers, insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, federal government and other enterprise-class organizations leverage the HPCC Systems technology through LexisNexis® products and services. 

Over the next month, Comrise will be sponsoring a couple of meetups for LexisNexis HPCC Systems in Dayton, Ohio and Washington D.C. to provide a comparison between Hadoop and LexisNexis HPCC Systems. Specifically the presenters will discuss the four key factors that differentiate HPCC Systems from Hadoop, followed by and ending with an open discussion regarding solutions (oh and did I mention there will be food and drinks?)

Click on the link(s) below to see further details and the agenda for the meetups! 

LexisNexis HPCC Systems - Dayton, Ohio Meetup 

Wednesday,September 22nd, 2011

LexisNexis HPCC Systems - Washington D.C. Meetup 

Thursday, October 5th, 2011

Thanks for stopping by! And let us know if you plan on attending!

Summer Picnic 2011 Video Recap

We can't believe that the end of the summer is already here and that it is over 2 months since we held our annual summer picnic!

Well with the summer coming to an end, we wanted to pass along our memories of Summer 2011 with a video recap of our Summer Picnic which was held in mid-June at Black Bear Lake in Millstone Township, New Jersey.

Although it was not the sunniest of days, we had a blast with our families and members of the Comrise Community from across the country. Thanks again to everyone who attended the picnic and we hope you enjoy the video below! For those who were not able to attend this year, we hope to see you at next year's picnic! (And if you want to see what you missed at this past year's summer picnic...check out the video below!)

Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable labor day weekend! Enjoy!

At Comrise Diversity Makes the Difference

As a leading minority-owned IT staffing company, Comrise has always been committed to the principle of diversity as a core part of our operations and mission. It is this commitment that sets Comrise apart and allows us to serve our clients around the world.

Comrise celebrates diversity, and recognizes its strength for our employees, clients, and suppliers. We continue to seek new opportunities to work with companies that value our minority status in forging new business relationships. And Comrise is also committed to passing on the same benefits to its own network of suppliers through our Comrise Supplier Diversity Program.

This is why were especially proud to be recognized as an industry leader on diversity when Staffing Industry Analysts—the global advisor in contingent work—included Comrise on its 2011 Diversity Staffing Firms list.

For more information on the announcement, please visit our website to read the full press release.

Comrise is a people-oriented and relationship-driven company. We attract and retain quality and talented professionals because we value and appreciate their contributions. Our team operates with the highest standards of integrity when it comes to our clients, consultants, and employees.

Become part of the Comrise difference by joining our winning team today. To view the latest open opportunities, visit our job board today.

The Era of Big Data Is Here

We live in a constantly evolving IT landscape, and one of the most exciting recent developments is undoubtedly the complete explosion of data.

With the emergence of ever-more sophisticated and powerful technologies, businesses and organizations of all types have access to an unprecedented amount of raw data. The ability to efficiently process and analyze these massive amounts of data and to implement applications previously thought to be impractical has enormous implications for addressing some of science and society’s most pressing challenges.

Yet many organizations are struggling with their inability to process all the information available to them in order unlock its full potential. They must first implement the tools that will allow them to manage their data in useful ways. They must first confront what has come to be known as the Big Data Problem.

Comrise is poised to be part of the solution. That is why we are especially excited to announce a new partnership with HPCC Systems, a leading open source, high performance computing cluster platform used to solve customers’ Big Data problems. HPCC’s unique architecture and simple yet powerful data programming language (ECL) makes it a very attractive solution to companies worldwide.

As an HPCC Systems Partner, Comrise is leveraging its global network of talent and resources to provide HPCC-based business solutions to our domestic and global customers—allowing them to unlock the full spectrum of HPCC-related services, such as HPCC Consultation, ECL Training and Implementations, and 24x7 HPCC Support.

For more about HPCC and how Comrise can provide you with the tools and talent to help you unlock its full potential, visit our new partner page at http://www.comrise.com/asp/hpcc.asp.

To Consult or Not to Consult?

The decision to pursue a consulting opportunity versus a permanent position is often accompanied by a host of questions and concerns. There are a number of factors to consider--including opportunities for career advancement and training, compensation, and career mobility and flexibility--and job seekers must weigh the pros and cons carefully based on their own particular needs and priorities.

As a firm with nearly 30 years of experience in putting people to work, we hope to share the benefit of our expertise to help you in this decision-making process. That is why we are especially pleased to offer our new white paper--"Weighing the Benefits of Consulting vs. a Permanent Position"--at no charge. We hope it will be a helpful resource when considering the next step on your career path.

You can download this white paper for free by clicking here.

At Comrise we are always looking for ways to assemble the latest research and information on contemporary issues facing the staffing industry and to share these resources with hiring managers and job seekers alike. This new white paper marks the first in a series that will appear at our new Comrise White Paper Resource Center. We hope you will check back frequently as we continue to add new resources.

And--as always--we hope you'll continue to visit our job board for the latest openings. There you can easily apply online or set up personalized email alerts to make sure the positions that best fit your skills and interests are delivered to your inbox as soon as they become available.

At Comrise, we look forward to being your partner—not just in a specific job search but in charting your desired career path!

Layoffs

It's all over the news. HSBC is planning on laying off 30,000 people worldwide. Merck has announced plans to lay off about 12,000. Whether due to actual budgetary issues or perceived threats imposed by changing economic climates, companies are shedding jobs left and right. And of course, all the while U.S. economic growth is still slow, the market is still recovering from the downturn, and all too many American workers are unemployed or undemployed.


While Comrise is always working to find appropriate jobs for qualified job-seekers, 42,000 newly laid-off job-seekers is too much even for us to handle all at once. Folks who find themselves in this unfortunate situation (or fear they may shortly) should remember to check out Comrise's Career Advice Center, full of handy (free!) tips for job-seekers. If it's been a long time since you've had to update your résumé, don't worry - you can find plenty of information and advice regarding résumés, interviewing, and the job search process in general. And for those who're still working currently, it never hurts to have your resume up-to-date.


We sincerely hope that everyone reading this never has to worry about "cost-cutting", "downsizing", "restructuring", or any of the like. But if you're looking for your next opportunity, voluntarily or otherwise, Comrise is here to help. Good hunting!

The Heat Is On....

Like the temperature outside, the competition for the top IT talent continues to heat up this summer.

A recent survey of hiring managers and HR professionals shows an increase in the percentage of employers who plan to engage contingent workers to meet their hiring needs in the second half of 2011--up to 12% from a reported 9% one year ago. Moreover, a full 50% of employers pointed to a current shortage of skills within their own organizations--citing the most acute needs in the areas of information technology, customer service, and communications.

The race for the most skilled IT professionals is on. And Comrise is poised to help you navigate this marketplace to find the best fit for your skills. Whether your expertise is Java, SEO, or .Net, our seasoned team of recruiters can help you find your ideal job today.

Visit our job board to see all the latest openings for IT positions such as these--among many others. We look forward to working with you to take the next step on your desired career path.

What's In A Name?

How much do job titles matter, anyways? A Systems Administrator by any other name would do just as much work.

Think back, think of your most ridiculous title. Almost everyone can think of a title they've had (or seen) that was downright absurd, or had no relation whatsoever to the job's actual functions. Sometimes job titles are so vague as to be meaningless. Others are simply meaningless inflation, either to assuage workers in want of a raise or to mask the fact that there is no room for upward movement. It's not a rare occurrence that someone is "promoted" from Senior Director to Executive Director with no change in job responsibilities.

To stick with our first example, how many titles can you think of that apply to the maintenance and optimization of an office's computers? System Administrator, Network Administrator, LAN/WAN Administrator, Network Support... I'm sure you can think of more. While sometimes in very large organizations these can be different roles, most people who have these titles have near in-differentiable job responsibilities.

Confused about what your title might be if you were working at another organization? CompTIA has a TechCareer Compass to help IT folks narrow down just what title (most classically) applies to them, or discover the job functions that are most normally associated with a job title (no matter what you might actually be doing).

While this Compass can point you toward an apt title, it unfortunately can't direct you right to that next perfect job opportunity. Fortunately, that's where Comrise comes in. Happy job hunting!

Summer Picnic Success!

Hi folks,

Sorry for the delay in this post, it's taken nearly all week to recover from last weekend, when we had our Summer Picnic. We invited our consultants and our clients to join us for a day of fun and games (and food! and a raffle!) at Black Bear Lake in Millstone Township, NJ. Despite the less-than-ideal (but at least not rainy) weather, over 200 people came out to relax and have fun with us.

For those of you who weren't able to join us, we had:

food and drink	beer and wine	funnel cake and sno cones
3 swimming pools	a lake	2 water trampolines
paddleboating	canoeing	kayaking
tennis	basketball	volleyball
a three-legged race	tug of war	water balloon toss

Shall I go on?

2 rock walls	laser tag	2 moon-bounces
segway rides	water slides	a 37 foot slip'n'slide

It was loads of fun, and we're glad we could share it with our clients and consultants! If you're reading this now and want to come join us next year, you know what to do - join us as either a client or a consultant, it's that easy!


For the rest of the pictures, check out our Facebook page.

Congratulations Orjon!

Here we go again, another fantastic Comrise consultant getting recognized by one of our clients for his excellent performance and work ethic. Kudos to Orjon for consistent outstanding performance!

This of course was a great opportunity for Comrise as well to recognize and reward his accomplishments - so we did! Pictured below are Tony DiGiovanni (Director of Consultant Relations, left), Pat Hagen (Senior Account Executive, right), and our outstanding consultant Orjon (center). After an enjoyable lunch, we gifted Orjon with great tickets to a Yankee game!

Orjon, thanks once again for your excellent work. We sincerely appreciate it. Keep up the good work!

May 19th Consultant Happy Hour

Another successful consultant happy hour! Thanks to all of those who braved the rain and came out to join us last Thursday. Despite the dreary weather, Comrise took over part of KatManDu in Trenton, a bar even more beautiful and welcoming than its reputation! For three hours (well, officially anyways, some of us may have stayed well into the night) we had food, drinks, and a generally merry time!

Kudos again to Director of Consultant Relations Tony DiGiovanni for organizing the event, and for personally calling up every consultant in a 35-mile radius urging them to come join us. Now that's dedication!


We're looking forward to keeping the momentum up and having an even better summer event! Stay tuned!

Jobs are Up!

Good news, everyone!

If you haven't been keeping up, this morning was the announcement of the monthly national unemployment figures for April. Analysts expected the number to remain about the same as March, or even decrease slightly (as March had seen an unexpectedly large rise). And, indeed, as predicted, due to overall growth in the labor market with new graduates (it is May, after all) and other people returning to the labor market, the unemployment rate is now back to 9% from 8.8%.

This isn't quite so bad, though. Overall, the economy added 244,000 new jobs last month, far above the 185,000 that were forecast by most analysts. This makes April the third straight month of solid job growth, and makes us well on our way to overall recovery. Keep it up, economy!

And speaking of May and new graduates, there's good news for college grads as well. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2011 graduates are 4% more likely to already have an offer in hand than their 2010 counterparts. 42% of 2011 seniors who participated in the NACE survey reported having an offer, over 38% last year. You can read more about this year's survey here. Keep it up, employers!

If this isn't good news, I don't know what is!

Showing Our Pride

Announcing Our New 'Community' Page!

It may be a little behind, but Comrise is proud to unveil our a new page on our website dedicated to our social outreach efforts. If you've been following this blog, you already know about our recent food drive, toy drive, and blood drive, and won't be surprised to hear that we'll be holding many more similar events down the line. Helping our community is important to us here at Comrise, and will continue to be in the future.

This new page will help us keep the world updated on our service projects, and will also serve as a message to the community and to the world that Comrise is here to help. We're proud to lend a hand to our community and we hope to serve as a role model to other organizations that sometimes have trouble seeing beyond the walls of an office building. We believe it's important to use the business platform not only to deliver a product or service, or to make a profit, but also to use the power of the organization to do good for others as well.

Comrise's dedication to the idea of Community has always been visible in our Mission Statement and will now also be visible on our website.

If you have any ideas for future community service projects, or would like to be part of our next one, please let us know! Leave a comment here or email community@comrise.com.

What are you doing to serve your community?

Congratulations Khevna!

On behalf of the team here at Comrise, we would like to congratulate current Comrise Consultant Khevna Oza at Johnson & Johnson for receiving a certificate of recognition from Johnson & Johnson and WorkSense. Khevna has been recognized for her outstanding performance and continued assistance throughout critical projects and initiatives.


As a token of Comrise's appreciation for Khevna's tremendous efforts, Comrise's Director of Consultant Relations, Tony DiGiovanni, and Senior Technical Recruiter Latish Salian met with Khevna and her manager Randall Drisgula earlier this week to reward her with a pair of tickets to an upcoming New York Yankees game.


Khevna, once again congratulations and thank you for representing Comrise. We appreciate having you as a member of our team and look forward to continuing to work with you in the future.

- The Entire Comrise Team

Our Next Consultant Happy Hour!

We had such a good time last time (on our March 24th Happy Hour), we decided to do it again! Officially announcing our next Comrise Happy Hour:

May 19th, 6-9pm, at KatManDu in Trenton!
Since the last one was up in Northern New Jersey, we're hoping this location will be friendlier to our friends in Southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia area. All Comrise Consultants, and their managers, are invited!

If you aren't familiar with the place, KatManDu is a pretty snazzy bar and restaurant, and we'll be having our own outdoor patio reserved just for Comrisers, complete with bartender and buffet! You can check out more information about KatManDu itself, or get directions, here.

If you're a current Comrise Consultant, please log in to the Consultant Community portal to RSVP. If you're a manager or anyone else, RSVP to Tony DiGiovanni, Director of Consultant Relations.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Comrise Facebook Riddle Contest

Comrise is a huge fan of riddles. While sharing them amongst ourselves internally, we thought why not extend this out to our consultants and fans of our Facebook page. Since Comrise likes to reward, we would like to announce our Facebook Riddle Contest to all of you.

Riddle: You are given two empty jars and 100 marbles (50 red, 50 blue) to distribute however you like between the two jars. After you assign the marbles, you will be blindfolded, the marbles will be randomized within each jar, and you will pick one marble from one jar (without knowing which jar it is). With what distribution of marbles can you maximize your chances of picking a red marble?

Step 1: Become a fan of our Comrise Facebook page by “Liking” us
Step 2: Feel free to comment about the Riddle on our Facebook page
Step 3: Be sure to email: facebook@comrise.com your answer
Step 4: If your answer is correct, you will be in the running to win $100
Step 4: We will contact the winner by May 1st at the latest and send you your $100 AMEX Gift Card.

Deadline: May 1, 2011

We look forward to getting your responses and be sure to visit Facebook Comrise to learn more.

Comrise Consultant Happy Hour

Comrisers sure know how to have a good time and last week we proved it. In-house employees and current consultants shared a good time at the Whiskey Bar in Lyndhurst, NJ this past Thursday (March 24th) for Comrise’s first ever happy hour. A big kudos goes out to Tony DiGiovanni, Director of Consultant Relations for putting this event together. Here at Comrise we know that keeping our consultants happy is every bit as important as keeping our clients happy, so we are working to provide our folks the best possible Comrise working experience.

The event was a great success, according to Tony. "It was so great seeing so many familiar faces and even better to be able to put some new faces to familiar names. I really appreciate everyone coming out, hope you had as much fun as I did, and look forward to seeing you at the next Comrise event!"

From food and drinks to conversation and networking, we had it all. This happy hour was just one of many events we will be holding for the rest of the year ahead. Visit our Comrise Consultant Portal for more pictures and to keep up to date with upcoming Comrise events.

Happy Hour

Comrise is joining in on the March Madness and hosting a Comrise Consultant Happy Hour!

Consultants, come and join Comrise on March 24th with a Happy Hour at Whiskey Cafe in Lyndhurst, NJ starting at 6PM. This is a free event and we are look forward to seeing all of our consultants there.

Comrise has a dedicated and well-developed Consultant Relations Program headed by Tony DiGiovanni, Director of Consultant Relations. Tony makes it a priority to foster relationships and guarantee the best working experience for all Comrise consultants. We firmly believe in committing our time and efforts to our consultants and our Happy Hour event is only one of many steps we are taking to prove that.

We encourage all of our consultants to join us in celebration of your hard work and to just have a good time!

Who: Comrise Consultants
What: Consultant Happy Hour
Where: Whiskey Cafe in Lyndhurst, NJ
When: Thursday, March 24, 2011 @ 6PM
Why: To get to know each other and have fun!

For more information check out the Consultant Portal!

The Future of 4G

Talk of 4G now inundates the airwaves; one can hardly watch TV or listen to the radio without hearing commercials for the latest 4G phone or the widest 4G network. Like any new technology, there are plenty of arguments about standards:

Does HSPA count as 4G? What about HSPA+? Which is better, CDMA/WCDMA or GSM? LTE or WiMax?

It's much the same as you might see in other technologies as they emerge.

DVD or Blu-Ray? LCD or Plasma? USB or FireWire?

It's looking, however, like this particular standards battle, namely that of Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax might be coming to a head.
Normally I try to avoid discussing pure speculation, fueling the rumor mill, but this seems to be unavoidable, and therefore worth discussing.

Until now, AT&T and Verizon had their bets placed firmly on the LTE standard, and T-Mobile also has been moving toward LTE, although with a slower start than AT&T and Verizon (and it now seems as if they may struggle to compete in that space. Only Sprint has wagered on WiMax, and it is now looking like they might reverse course. Sprint's WiMax partner, Clearwire, is having some problems of its own, with three of its top executives jumping ship.

If these rumors prove true, and Sprint decides that it cannot rely solely on WiMax to compete with AT&T and Verizon, then what? There is some speculation that Sprint might acquire T-Mobile to take advantage of T-Mobile's 3G HSPA network, but of course there are those who doubt that. Furthermore, if Sprint does acquire T-Mobile's (or someone else's) LTE-compatible network, will they ditch WiMax entirely or will they invest in new dual LTE/WiMax chips which could allow them to make use of both their existing WiMax network and the LTE network which they seem likely to build in the future? The questions are numerous, overlapping, and their answers will have wide-reaching consequences for the entire telecom industry.


What do you think Sprint should do? What will be best for smartphone users? What will be the best for technological innovation? What will be best for you?

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

A Small Contribution Can Go a Long Way

The month of February was definitely a short but very successful month for Comrise as our in-house employees participated in our first ever food drive. Whether it was picking up some extra food at the supermarket or sacrificing some goods from home, everyone was able to contribute to a greater cause.

That’s the culture at Comrise. We care about each other. We are rather fortunate to have satisfying jobs, to be able to provide for ourselves and families that being able to share a little bit of our gratefulness in the form of canned goods here and there is barely a sacrifice. This encouraged us to devote all 28 days of February to promote the Comrise Food Drive (in partnership with Monmouth Ocean County Food Bank).

Just when Monmouth Ocean County's pantry was down to just a few cans, Comrise stepped up at just the right time to fully stock the pantry now with an abundant supply of food for our fellow Hazlet Community Members. From healthy pastas to canned goods to pudding- we got something that caters to everyone.

By participating in the Food Drive, Comrise learned that great results only come through proper team work and we look forward to applying that lesson in all of our work related activities.

Take a look at our donations:

Stay tuned for our next community event!

Comrise Facebook Contest Winner

2011 is all about goals for Comrise. We have set a number of goals for ourselves, crossing them off upon completion one by one. We set ourselves a goal of having 100 Facebook Fans by February and we were able to do just that. The 100th person liked our fan page on January 31st and gave us an opportunity to celebrate a little. Comrise is constantly looking for opportunities to reward people, whether it be in-house employees, consultants, clients or community members. Therefore, we took this to be the perfect opportunity to reward Jim Feighan, a Comrise Consultant, $100 Amazon gift card. Congratulations Jim, we are honored to give this prize to a Comriser!

Stay tune for our upcoming Facebook Contest #2, count on more prizes to come!

Click here and become a Comrise Facebook Fan now!

LMP2 Training Week 3

The third week of training at Comrise was, in my opinion, the most interesting of the three. As the trusted Sales Support Associate at Comrise, I found the Account Executive aspect of this business rather intriguing. Recruiting is certainly the cream of the crop when it comes to the staffing industry, so learning about sales seemed like a breath of fresh air. Nonetheless, this was the last week of training for us LMP2s and we came out more knowledgeable about IT terminology than we’ve ever been. Basically, this week was all about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to see how the entire staffing process came together. We learned about the art of cold calling and that there did indeed exist a more friendly type of calling, known as warm cold calling. I found that the differences between being an AE and a recruiter are quite vast, though often run parallel. While being a recruiter requires being able to spark a conversation and build rapport out of thin air each candidate at a time, an AE’s focus is more on the long run, maintaining that relationship for future job reqs.

What I really liked about training was being able to shadow senior level Account Executive's and Technical Recruiters and see the different tactics and techniques everyone uses, making each style work for them. I find it so interesting and yet still ponder on how I will fit in that picture. I am looking forward to seeing what I can do to help further Comrise as a company and more importantly develop in my own career.

LMP Week 2

Well it has been 2 weeks since we started the LMP2 program and we have officially gone through the entire recruiting process and I was able to see what I would eventually be doing while working at Comrise. We had sessions in the morning and then the afternoon was followed by shadowing the recruiters. This gave us an opportunity to see how different recruiters have different styles and tactics they use to find candidates for jobs. Next week we will get an opportunity to learn about what the account executives do which is the other half of the staffing business. All of this training will lead up to our final exam after which we dive right in and contribute to this fine company.

This past week was also a lot of fun because we had an opportunity to go a great Chinese restaurant to celebrate Chinese New Year. This was a chance to relax with the entire Comrise staff and get to know one another while eating some great food.

I am looking forward to starting my job as a recruiter and working with the entire staff here at Comrise. Everyone here has been very helpful and friendly and working with them will be a very rewarding experience as well as a lot of fun. The leadership and mentorship program here is definitely a great way to start within the company and will provide you with all the skills necessary to be successful in this business.

Comrise China announces new President, Robert Fonow

Comrise Board of Directors announced this morning our new Comrise China President. We are happy to have Robert on board and have high hopes for him. He comes from a rather experienced background: Fonow serves on the board of three other Chinese companies and is a highly experienced international turnaround manager, executive troubleshooter and government affairs expert in manufacturing and services. Fonow graduated from The London School of Economics and then the University of Wales, following service in the US Air Force. Over the course of his career, Fonow has published several monographs and numerous articles on international telecommunications and management troubleshooting.

Working with Liana Pan, the company’s General Manager, Robert will oversee the organization’s efforts to rapidly expand in the growing China market, as Comrise plans to open five additional offices in China within the next two years.

On behalf of the Board of Directors for Comrise China, Sincia Liu said, “Bob was nominated and selected based on his track record and background in executive management and leadership with Global companies on their development and expansion efforts in the Asia Pacific regions. He will be able lead and guide the team to deliver best in class service in talent planning, acquisition, and management for our Multinational and local clients in China. We also expect closer collaborations between our US and China offices to enrich our customers’ experiences on both shores.”

Regarding his new position, Rob said, “The Human Resources sector in China continues to grow rapidly and this will provide Comrise with a unique opportunity to integrate operations into an organization with global reach and success. I’m impressed by the energy and capability of Comrise China staff, and look forward to helping Comrise continue its growth into a leading international HR and consulting firm in China and Asia – beginning right now!”

We love Robert's high spirits as it fits perfectly with the Comrise environment.

Welcome to the team Robert, we are glad to have you on board!

Happy (Belated) Chinese New Year

One of the best Comrise traditions that we like to celebrate as a company is ringing in the new Chinese year. Although we are a diverse group and may not have always celebrated this tradition with our own families and previous roles, it is a Comrise company tradition I've personally come to enjoy.

2011 marks "The Year of the Rabbit" (beginning on February 3, 2011). This Chinese zodiac, one of 12, is most well known for velocity and agility. As a company, Comrise hopes to take on the year with motivation and adaptability. We're excited about many new successes and projects that are sure to emerge during this year. Even better - the last "rabbit year" was 1999 which brought many companies economic group at the height of the dotcom boom. We know this year will not disappoint!


Our entire US team took time to celebrate this upcoming year by sharing a luncheon together at Crowne Palace in Marlboro, NJ. What better way to ring in a new year full of hopeful prosperity and luck?

1st LMP training week

My first week as a LMP associate was an eye opening experience with an intense training program; to effectively prepare me for my future career endeavors within Comrise. The staff and management took the time to instruct concise, informative lectures and programs. In the first week the conductor of the class was a former LMP associate, Todd Snider. He took on the challenge to revamp and extend the LMP program, while making it a more detailed training program. Our first week topics were the recruiting and sales process, a formal introduction to Comrise and effective candidate screening. As the weeks follow, I am looking forward to learning more about negotiation tactic, closing deals, time management and maintaining good relations with our clients.

The Comrise management team is also one of the warmest and kindest staffing team anyone could ever meet! Comrise has truly invested their time not only into their clients and consulting, but to their LMP associates as well. They prioritize solid relationship with their LMP associates because they truly want to see us succeed develop in our new careers here at Comrise.

P.S. The next LMP Class has a great path in front of them. No matter what they do, they will grow! No “mess-up” is a mistake…it’s a real life learning experience!

Looking Back - Part 2

I am a recent May 2010 graduate from Rutgers University who was brought onto the Comrise team as a part of our LMP Class 1. I began my career here with Comrise learning the core of the staffing business as a recruiter. I then went on to further learn about Sales and Marketing. I primarily serve as the Marketing Associate along side as the Supplier Diversity Coordinator, Community Chair, and Business Development Associate. I enjoy serving in many areas within the company and find that working in all of these functions has allowed me to fully learn about the business world, staffing in specific.

A further look into what I’ve worked on while at Comrise:

- In the marketing arena, I currently carry out all marketing duties including: creating marketing material, website design, working closely with our e-marketing initiatives, etc.
- I fully embraced the importance of diversity and was given the privilege of attending the NMSCD Supplier Diversity Conference in Miami. I was able to leverage the contacts I made to build trustworthy and fruitful business relationships with Fortune 500 companies.
- I have also held many community events, including: a blood drive, toy drive, food drive, while many more community outreach events are on the way.
- With my sales activities, I was able bring in a new client, allowing Comrise to break into the European Market.


To read about Todd's experiences, please see Looking Back - Part 1.

Looking Back - Part 1

I joined Comrise in June 2010 as a fresh college graduate, entering the Leadership and Mentorship Program. After training in multiple aspects of the business, I now serve in multiple roles throughout the company. I am a member of the Data Team, keeping a watchful eye over Comrise’s proprietary database, running reports and looking for ways to increase efficiency in how the database is used. I serve as an Account Executive for several clients, with a focus on financial firms in the tri-state area. My primary role is to lead up the new Mobility Practice that Comrise is launching, developing a specialization in mobile technologies. This role includes new business development as well as technical recruiting in that area. I have also recently begun leading the training of more recent college hires, ensuring that future classes of college graduates receive the best possible training upon joining the company.

I look forward to ensuring the continued success of Comrise in the variety of roles that I perform in the company.


To read about Mansi's experiences, please see Looking Back - Part 2.

Comrise Food Drive

At Comrise we hold high expectations for ourselves when it comes to community efforts. We confidently pledge to serve our community in all areas possible and for this month of February when the shelves at the food bank are at their lowest level Comrise will be holding a much needed Food Drive. We will be partnering with the Monmouth Ocean County Food Bank to collect non-perishable food items to fight hunger one family at a time.

WHO: Comrise In-house NJ Team, Clients and Comrise Consultants

WHAT: Food Drive for the Monmouth Ocean County Food Bank in Red Bank, NJ

WHERE: Comrise Headquarters in Hazlet, NJ

WHEN: February 1st - February 28th 2011

We would like for our community base to support us in our endeavor of being a local company working towards a global scale. If you have any input or food items, please share with us.

100 - Our Lucky Number!

Social media is everywhere, quite literally. Comrise has fully embraced social media and is looking to broaden our online community. By February, our goal is to have 100 Fans on Facebook. One person will be drawn as a winner and we are always looking to show our gratefulness to our community members.

Facebook, serves as a vital information portal for Comrise where you can learn about Comrise the company, Comrise the culture, events, news and so much more. Take a moment to "Like" us on Facebook and take a peek around our profile. We always have a lot of exciting events and news to share you. Plus, stay tune for more fun contests to come!

Help us reach our "100 Fans" goal, by the end of this week one of our fans will be winning a $100. Only 9 more fans away from a winner!

Click on the link below and “Like” our fan page!

Comrise on Facebook

2011 Kick-Off!

Okay, so it's already a few weeks into 2011, but snow storms kept interfering with our scheduling plans - so this week, Comrise (finally) held our Kick-Off Celebration for 2011! The entire in-house staff met to discuss the lessons we've learned in 2010, our plans and goals for 2011, and — most important — to re-energize!

We've set an aggressive company goal for this year, and only by supporting each other and creating a feedback loop of energy and motivation will we be able to reach it. Now, thanks to the Kick-Off, we're focused, we're invigorated, and we're ready to tackle the new year! Bring it on, 2011!

Let Freedom Ring

Check out the following email that was sent out to the Comrise Staff on Martin Luther King Day in celebration of his efforts:

It was 48 years ago that one black man stood up on behalf of all colored men for justice. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most famous speeches in American History, "I Have a Dream." It serves as a pivotal moment in our history marking the dawn of a new era, an era which we experience today with equality, brotherhood and complete nationalism. As a country we have come a long way, yet we have far to go. Today on Martin Luther King Day, lets take a moment to show our gratitude to King by adopting his dream as our own. Comrise being a minority owned company is at an advantage as we already pride diversity as our number one strength. Take a look at the excerpt below from King's "I Have a Dream" Speech and share your thoughts on how we can better implement King's vision here at Comrise or even our personal lives.

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." ~Martin Luther King Jr.

Holidays serve as a reminder for us a collective Comrise group of what we can do best to celebrate this holiday. For us Comrisers, we look forward to truly implementing King's thoughts and beliefs in our work and personal lives.

Comrise's 2010 Consultant of the Year

Congratulations to our all of our consultants who were nominated for this year's award!

We are pleased to announce our winners of the 2010 Comrise Consultant of the Year contest:

1. 1st Place — Gail Gladson, CAPA Administrator/Specialist (Medical Technology)


2. 2nd Place — Vikram Arora, Business Analyst (Medical Technology)


3. 3rd Place — Jim Groff, Systems Administrator (Telecommunications/Electronics)

About Our Winner:

Gail Gladson was nominated by our client for a second consecutive year. Gail was born and raised in Cranford, N.J. She attended Kean University earning a baccalaureate in music. Afterward she attended Mason Gross School of the arts, earning a Master’s in Music. Additionally, Gail achieved certification from Pace University in UNIX and C++.

Gail currently works for our client as a Quality System Administrator.

According to a manager at our client-site,

“Gail has been a tremendous asset to our organization in 2010. Her professionalism, dependability, and positive 'can do' attitude has been well received, and an influence to others. When senior management requires immediate resolution to outstanding quality issues Gail gets the job done immediately. Overall I’ve been very impressed with her abilities, enthusiasm, and being a team player. By having Gail as a part of my team, I’m guaranteed another successful, and productive year in 2011.”

Gail serves as a reflection of our hard work and dedication to our clients. We firmly believe in delivering the best and look forward to the start of the Consultant of the year contest for 2011.

New Years Resolutions

New Years is a time for looking back at whom we were in the past year, and forward to whom we’d like to be in the future. It’s a time for personal and professional resolutions for the new year. This goes not just for people but for companies, too. The question is, can we follow through?

As a professional, what will your career-oriented resolutions for this new year be? Will you propose that bold idea to your boss, even though it’s not been tried before? Will you be more active in seeking out that next promotion within the company? Will you take the leap to another position, even if there’s some risk involved? Will you proactively fix up your résumé so you’ll be ready when the right offer comes along? Or will you enroll in that course to keep your skills sharp and up-to-date?

As a company, we’re always working to better ourselves so we can better serve you, and New Years is no exception. Our pledge is to get even better at helping you achieve your goals. Our perpetual resolution is to improve our responsiveness and turnaround time, to help you realize your resolutions in this new year.

What are your resolutions for the new year, and how can we help you meet them? Let us know by leaving a comment!