Benefits July 29, 2010

HR Managers Wary of Fidgeting Job Candidates

July 29, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Job seekers with shifty eyes, reluctant smiles, or fidgety limbs during an interview may be hurting their chances of landing a job.
Reported by

A new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,500 hiring managers reveals that failure to make eye contact (67%), lack of smile (38%), and fidgeting too much (33%) would make them less likely to hire someone.  

When asked overall what additional body language mistakes would make them less likely to hire job candidates, hiring managers pinpointed:  

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  • Bad posture – 33% 
  • Handshake that is too weak – 26% 
  • Crossing arms over their chest – 21% 
  • Playing with their hair or touching their face – 21% 
  • Using too many hand gestures – 9%  

“In a highly competitive job market, job seekers need to set themselves apart in the interview stage,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder, in a news release. “All that pressure, though, may have some job seekers making body language mistakes that don’t convey a confident message.”  

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,534 U.S. hiring managers. 

Investing July 29, 2010

Private Equity Sees Modest Gain in Q1 2010

July 29, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - For the quarter ended March 31, 2010, the State Street Private Equity Index posted a 2.22% return.
Reported by

According to a press release, this was 372 basis points lower than the fourth quarter of 2009 return and 868 basis points higher than the return recorded during the year ago period.  The first quarter 2010return for the European and Rest of World regions were -1.9% and 4%, respectively, with both reflecting a slight decrease from the prior quarter.  

For the second quarter 2009 to the first quarter of 2010, all Private Equity recorded a 22.7% one-year end-to-end return. The announcement said Mezzanine and Distressed Debt funds combined recorded 38.2% return for the same one-year investment time period, better than other investment strategies.   

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The since inception Internal Rate of Return (IRR) as of March 31, 2010, was 11.5%, a slight increase from the prior quarter. Buyout funds and Venture Capital recorded 11.9% and 8.6%, respectively.  Distressed Debt and Mezzanine funds posted an 11.5% return since inception.  

The index is based on the latest quarterly statistics from State Street Investment Analytics’ Private EdgeGroup and includes 1,779 private equity partnerships with a total fund size of $1.6 trillion.

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