It wasn’t much of a surprise to anyone at accounting firm Alpern Rosenthal that clients often asked for referrals for accounting and financial personnel. After all, who would know better than another accountant if a professional might be looking for a new position or was between jobs?
For years, the firm informally referred job seekers to its clients when they asked and when it was aware of a qualified candidate. Often, those in the firm referred friends or associates for an opening.
The demand was strong enough to justify the formation of Alpern Rosenthal’s Corporate Placement Services Group in January to recruit job candidates on a fee basis.
Alpern Rosenthal hired an experienced recruiter with a background in accounting to locate qualified candidates for client openings. The group recruits and places financial and accounting personnel from staff accountants to chief financial officers.
The effort has been successful, with the firm placing between two and four candidates a month, says Elisabeth Leach, Alpern Rosenthal’s director of marketing. Since the launch of the Corporate Placement Services Group, the firm has identified another recruitment need and launched a second effort.
With a considerable practice in technology consulting, Alpern Rosenthal found that its technology clients were looking for a way to fill gaps in their employment ranks as well.
While it saw another opportunity, it opted not to go it alone. This time, it allied with Consulting Professional Resources Inc., a Ross Township technology and personnel placement company, to help identify and screen IT job candidates.
Leach says the alliance with Consulting Professional Resources gives the Corporate Placement Services Group the capability to recruit for IT positions in computer installation and maintenance, Web programming, data base programming and customization of application software such as that used in used in banking, manufacturing and engineering.
And while the recruitment business offers new revenue streams for the accounting firm, Leach points out that Corporate Placement Services Group needs to be selective about who it recruits so that it doesn’t jeopardize its primary relationships with its accounting and consulting clients.
Says Leach: “We have a vested interest in making sure that the placement is successful.” How to reach: Alpern Rosenthal, www.alpern.com; Consulting Professional Resources, www.cpr-pa.com
