APA Search Inc., an executive retained search firm for the aftermarket, has launched a new division of the company, called APASelect.com, to help fill the industry’s looming talent gap. The Web-based service offers high-caliber job candidates complete control over the employment recruitment process by allowing them to remain anonymous until a job opportunity comes along that matches their career interests.
For industry employers, APASelect provides instant access to a pool of highly qualified, prescreened job candidates who were previously unreachable by traditional means.
“APASelect is an idea that has been a long time coming,” said Howard Kesten, president of APASelect. “In our 27 years of being the top-ranked retained search firm for automotive professionals, we’ve run across thousands of candidates who were too nervous to float their resume and have missed out on great opportunities that might be available to them. With our new service, there is no fee for the candidate to become a member of the site and they have the final say on the wording for the anonymous profile that an employer would see.”
The APASelect website is now open for candidates to submit their credentials for membership in the site. Kesten says interested and qualified aftermarket professionals who apply for membership will be screened based on their professional references and automotive experience. Once they are approved for membership they can work with the APASelect team to produce a completely anonymous profile. The profile provides employers who search the database with a candidate number and information relative to significant accomplishments and experience. All profiles will be approved by participating professionals before they are posted to the site.
“It makes sense for even the most passive candidates to have their profile on our database,” said Kesten.
He went on to say, “Participating professionals will be contacted by our team once an employer is interested in learning more about them. At that point, the professional can decide to reveal themselves or tell APASelect they would prefer to pass on the opportunity.”
APASelect is led by industry veterans Kesten, Vice President Frank Cernuto and Vice President of Operations Jaime Pivar. The APASelect team is currently working with candidates to develop profiles. The site will be open for employers to use beginning in July with the goal of having a minimum of 500 qualified and screened automotive professionals in all functional areas available for consideration. Kesten says APASelect expects the candidate database to grow to 5,000 within the next 24 months.
To view an example of a candidate profile and to learn more about APASelect, visit www.APASelect.com.
