Employment

Recommendation
Report

Unit 2: Employee Recommendation

Report

Aaron Steckler
Recommendation Report
for
Kevin Wentz

Prepared for English 320

By Aaron Steckler

Distributed

October 15, 2010

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………..iii

Executive Summary……………………………………………………………...…1

Introduction……………………………………………………………………...…2

Job Opportunities…………..……………………………………………………….3

Criteria…………………………………………………………………….…3

Companies…………………………………………………………………...3

Eide Bailly……………………………………………………………3

Schlenner, Wenner & Co……………………………………………..4

Fiebiger, Swanson, West & Co………………………………………5

Communities………………………………………………………………...6

Bismarck, ND…………………………………………………………6

St. Cloud, MN……………………………………………………...…7

Moorhead, MN………………………………………………………..9

Conclusion and Recommendation………………………………………………...12

Final Recommendation…………………………………………………….13

Works Cited……………………………………………………………………….15

ii
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Home Sales in Bismarck, ND……………………………………………7

Figure 2: Home Sales in St. Cloud, MN……………………………………………8

Figure 3: Home Sales in Moorhead, MN…………………………………………10

Figure 4: Home Sales in Fargo, ND………………………………………………10

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report evaluates the three jobs that you have been offered, as well as the communities in
which they are located. The three jobs are as follows: Eide Bailly – Bismarck, ND, Schlenner,
Wenner & Co. – St. Cloud, MN, and Fiebiger, Swanson, West & Co. Based on the information I
was able to retrieve from the questionnaire and our interview, I was able to compile six criteria
that were most important to you. The job criteria that mattered most to you were working with
others, a structured work space, and the opportunity for advancement. When it comes to the
community where those jobs are located, I also found three criteria which you established:
location, opportunity to buy a home, and population. Listed below are is the best
recommendation for each criteria

Job Needs

 Working with Others: Eide Bailly will provide you with the best opportunity to work
with your peers, especially your managers.

 Structured Work Space: Eide Bailly’s employees work in an office setting, and will be
able to work outside of the office with their clients one to two days of the week.

 Opportunity for Advancement: Working in a large firm like Eide Bailly will increase
your chance for pay raises and promotions.

Community Needs

 Location: All three cities are located in the upper Midwest, but Moorhead would be
most conveniently located closer to your family.

 Opportunity to Buy a Home: St. Cloud, MN would be the best city to buy a home in
because of its low housing costs.

 Population: The Fargo-Moorhead area would best suit your interests in population.

My final recommendation would be for you to take the job with Eide Bailly in Bismarck, ND.
This job offers a great opportunity to advance within the company while staying in the upper
Midwest. I believe you will also find it most suitable when it comes to working with you peers
on projects that require multiple points of view.
 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to give you some insight on what job may fit you best

according to the information you have supplied me with regarding your personal and

professional preferences. From the questionnaire you filled out, I was able to draw some

conclusions about the type of job you are looking for. I found our interview very instrumental in

helping me find a career that will suit you best.

The text of this report describes how each of these three job openings corresponds with

your interests. I have also included some research on the communities in which these jobs are

located in order to help you match your community preferences with the occupation that best

suits you.

The criteria I chose to help me research the companies was the ability for clients to work

with others, a structured workplace, and the opportunity you will have to advance within each

company. As for the communities, I used criteria that focused on location, the housing market,

and the population.

I hope you will find this report helpful in making your decision about the career of your

liking.

5
 JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Criteria:

From the information you have provided me with, I have concluded that there are two

main criteria which you would like to base your decision from. The criteria are as follows:

Job Needs:

 Working with Others

 Structured work space

 Opportunity for advancement

Community Needs:

 Located in the upper Midwest (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana)

 Opportunity to buy a home

 Moderate sized city

Companies

Eide Bailly – Bismarck, ND

 Working with Others:

Eide Bailly allows its employees many opportunities to work collaboratively with each

other on different occasions[ CITATION Mon10 \l 1033 ]. The position which you are applying for

allows for independent work as well as group work. Audit professionals are expected to

delegate staff members, and provide feedback to team members. You specified in our interview

that it was important that you would be able to bounce ideas off of your peers for additional

input and reassurance. This position will allow you to do just that, while also having some time

to work independently. Audit professionals who work for Eide Bailly are also under the
supervision of different professionals. This provides more opportunities for teamwork in the

workplace.

 Structured Work Space:

In our interview, you expressed that you are better able to get work done in a structured

setting. You also said that you would not mind getting out of the office from time to time, but

would perform better by doing your work in the office. The audit professional position at Eide

Bailly may require up to 25% travel time[ CITATION Mon10 \l 1033 ]. This equates to about one or

maybe two days away from the office each week working with clients on site.

 Opportunity for Advancement:

In a large company such as Eide Bailly, the chance for employees to move up the

corporate ladder is increased. Eide Bailly has nineteen service centers spread over nine different

states. Nine of these centers are located in the upper Midwestern states you specified in on the

questionnaire[ CITATION Acc10 \l 1033 ]. With this many locations, you will have a very good

chance at getting a promotion. Although a promotion may mean moving to a different location,

there is a high possibility of remaining in the upper Midwest.

Schlenner Wenner & Co. – St. Cloud, MN

 Working with Others:

Schlenner, Wenner, & Co. is a family-oriented workplace that strives for the well-being

of their clients and employees alike. The company also utilizes and open-door policy that allows

for clients to ask questions, review their peers work, and work collaboratively on certain

projects[ CITATION Abo10 \l 1033 ]. This feel that you would enjoy this type of working

relationship with your peers according to the information you have supplied me with.

 Structured Work Space:

 This position allows for work in the office setting, as well as travel to clients. The

amount of time an employee may spend traveling is not specified by the company, but

Schlenner, Wenner, & Co. points out that employee will need to travel to clients on occasion in

order to meet their needs[ CITATION NDS10 \l 1033 ]. Most employees working with this company

are provided with a cubical office space[ CITATION Abo10 \l 1033 ].

 Opportunity for Advancement:

There is no indication by the company that there is a significant chance for

advancement within the company. Schlenner, Wenner, & Co. is a smaller firm, which this could

mean less chance to advance within the company. With only five locations, there is a less likely

chance the company will have very many opportunities for their employees to advance.

Fiebiger, Swanson, West & Co. – Moorhead, MN

 Working with Others:

After taking a look at the job description given by Fiebiger, Swanson, West & Co., it

looks as though employees do most of their work independently. Because this company does

various types of accounting, employees will be working with a wide variety of clients. I don’t

believe Fiebiger, Swanson, West & Co. would offer the interpersonal work environment that

you are looking for.

 Structured Work Space:

Accountants in this company will be working mainly in the office setting, and will also

have the opportunity to meet with clients outside of the workplace. There is no specific amount

of time employees will spend out of the office, as this may change depending on the needs of

each client.

 Opportunity for Advancement:

 Among the three companies contained in this report, Fiebiger, Swanson, West, & Co. is

most likely to offer the least amount of room for advancement within the company. Because this

particular firm only has one location, it will be difficult to move up the corporate ladder very

quickly.

COMMUNITIES

Bismarck, ND

 Location:

Bismarck, ND is located in the upper Midwest, and is just over 77 miles from your

hometown of Napoleon, ND[ CITATION Map10 \l 1033 ]. This would only be about an hour and a

half drive from your hometown. In our interview, you expressed that you had family in the

Fargo, ND area and would like to be closer to them. I believe this would be the only downfall of

the Bismarck location.

 Opportunity to Buy a Home:

Bismarck is a growing community. According to hbrnet.com, the job market in

Bismarck is growing at a 2.3% annual rate in the last three quarters. This type of job growth may

cause an increase in the price of homes in the area. This job growth is also paired with a 35%

decline in the amount of residential permits given out this year as compared to 2009 [ CITATION

Han10 \l 1033 ]. A growing work force and a shrink in the number of houses being built is even

more cause for concern that the value of homes in the Bismarck area could rise in the short-run.

In 2008, the mean price for all housing units was $171,223[ CITATION OnB10 \l 1033 ].
 Figure 1

[ CITAT

ION OnB10 \l 1033 ]

 Population

From 2010 Census estimates, the Bismarck metropolitan area population is slightly

higher than 106,000. This is a 9% increase over that past five years [ CITATION Han10 \l 1033 ].

St. Cloud, MN

 Location:

I believe the location of St. Cloud is probably the biggest downfall of this community.

It is located over 330 miles from Napoleon, ND, and more than 170 miles from Fargo, ND. I

know you really wanted to be close to family, and be within a decent driving distance from them.

Even though the route to Napoleon and Fargo is mostly interstate driving, it will still take two

hours and forty-five minutes to get to the Fargo area. One advantage of this location is how close
it is to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is approximately one hour and fourteen

minutes from Minneapolis [ CITATION Map10 \l 1033 ].

 Opportunity to Buy a Home:

St. Cloud is not going through a very great period for growth at this time. The current

job market is growing at a rate of 0.1%; however, this may not be a bad thing. The number

permits to build residential units has grown by 13% in the past five years [ CITATION Han10 \l 1033

]. Increased housing and relatively stagnant job growth may cause a decline in housing prices,

and allow you to become a home owner more quickly than in other areas.

Figure 2

[ CITATION OnB10 \l 1033 ]

 Population:

The Census Bureau’s estimate of the 2010 population of the St. Cloud area is

approximately 187,000 people. This is a 5% growth over the past five years [ CITATION Han10 \l

1033 ].

Moorhead, MN

 Location:

Out of all the cities described in this report, Moorhead may have the best location

according to your preferences. Taking into consideration that you have family in the Fargo-

Moorhead area, you may enjoy this cities location the most. Not only are you close to the family

in this area, it will also only be a three hour drive from your hometown of Napoleon. I believe

this will give you the best opportunity to keep in touch with you family in this area, as well as

make regular trips to you hometown without having to take time away from your job.

 Opportunity to Buy a Home:

The Fargo-Moorhead area has not seen growth in jobs in the past five years. Much like

St. Cloud, MN, this area has seen a large increase in the amount of about residential permits

(39%) [ CITATION Han10 \l 1033 ]. The next two graphs show an illustration of the housing market

in both Fargo and Moorhead in the past five years. You will notice a large difference between the

cities, but Moorhead still offers a better opportunity to buy a home at a lower price.
Figure 3

Figure 4
[ CITATION OnB10 \l 1033 ]

 Population:

The population of the Fargo-Moorhead area in 2010 according to the US Census

Bureau is approximately 198,000. This is a 10% growth in the past five years [ CITATION Han10 \l

1033 ]. This makes this area the largest of the three communities in this report.
 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
First of all, I would like for you to take a look at your preferences individually. After

doing the research, I thought it would be a good idea to show you which job opportunities fit

your criteria the best.

Job Needs

 Working with others: I believe Eide Bailly would provide you the best opportunity to work

with others within your company. Much of your work will be reviewed, and many

assignments will be completed in groups.

 Structured Work Space: Eide Bailly has a combination of work in and outside of the office

to suit your liking. As specified by Eide Bailly, 25% of your work will take place on

location with clients. You will still be able to work in the structured office setting, while

also being able to get out from time to time.

 Opportunity for Advancement: Once again, Eide Bailly has the best opportunity for

advancement. Because they are a larger firm with many different locations, there will be

more positions likely to open up to you. Your hard work will definitely reward you in this

company.

Community Needs

 Location: The job opening in Moorhead, MN would have the best location for your

interests. You would be close to your family in that immediate area, as well as being less

than three hours from your hometown.

  Opportunity to Buy a Home: St. Cloud, MN would definitely provide you with the best

opportunity to buy a home. From the data illustrated in the figures, St. Cloud has the

lowest mean price for housing out of the three cities researched.

 Population: Among these three cities, all of them have a moderately large population. In

our interview, you expressed that you would like to be located in a city similar in size to

Fargo-Moorhead.

FINAL RECOMMENDATION

Eide Bailly – Bismarck, ND

I feel the best job opportunity for you would be with Eide Bailly in Bismarck, ND. Eide

Bailly would best suit your job interests as expressed in our interview and the questionnaire. I

believe it would be the best choice over the other two jobs because they are a large, well

respected firm that will give you the greatest chance for advancement in the future.

Working at Eide Bailly will give you the chance to work with your peers in many different

situations. This includes working with upper-level managers, which I believe will give you great

experience and a chance to advance. I really think you will be happy working in the office most

of the time, while also having the opportunity to be in your client’s workplace one to two days a

week. This will help you get out and about instead of being stuck inside the office all week long.

Because Eide Bailly is a large firm, you will have much more opportunity to advance than

you would working for a smaller company. Getting a higher position more quickly within this

company will also help you if you decide to change firms. With that higher level experience, you

will have a better chance at getting a higher paying position within another firm.

I believe the city of Bismarck will also suit you well. It does not have the lowest housing

costs among the three cities, but it is not a far drive from you family back in Napoleon, ND, or
the Fargo area. I think you will find Bismarck to be a very pleasant city that has much to offer. It

has all the amenities of a larger community along with the small-town feel.
 WORKS CITED
12 August 2010. September 2010 <https://ndsu-csm.symplicity.com/students/index.php>.

About the Firm. n.d. 28 September 2010 <http://www.swcocpas.com/the-firm>.

Accounting Services. n.d. 28 September 2010 <http://www.eidebailly.com/services/accounting/>.

Hanley Wood Builder. 2010. 10 October 2010 <http://www.hbrnet.com>.

Mapquest. 10 October 2010. 10 October 2010 <http://www.mapquest.com>.

Monster Hot Jobs. 8 June 2010. September 2010 <http://hotjobs.yahoo.com.job-J28BDRT9H2J-1-

Bismarck-ND-Accounting_Finance>.

OnBoard Informatics. Bismarck, ND. 2010. 10 October 2010 <http://www.city-data.com>.

Overview of the Firm. n.d. 28 September 2010 <http://www.fsw-co.com/overview.html>.

Staff Accounting. 25 June 2010. September 2010 <http://ndsu-csm.symplicity.com/students/index.php?

mode=form&id=51a3838c027b166fe>.