Hard to believe it's the start of the New Year and already things are hopping!  We didn't see the usual seasonal slowdown through the holidays, and folks are as eager as ever to get the best possible talent into their organizations just as quickly as possible.  And of course availability of professional, skilled talent is getter scarcer and in shorter supply.  Although virtually all of you are familiar with Whitaker's strength in search and retained staffing, many of you may not be aware that we can also provide outstanding contract engineering/professional support as well.  We have been providing staffing resources for contingent and interim workforces at several of our petrochemical industry clients for many years.  In fact, we have one contractor who just celebrated his TEN YEAR anniversary as a Whitaker contractor!!  Our success in the contract staffing arena comes from our roots in the direct-hire search business.  In search for a direct-hire employee it's not enough to "come close", but rather to find that "hand in glove fit" of candidate to position for long-term success.  Our philosophy about contract staffing is exactly the same - you shouldn't have to "settle" for a "comes close" skill set just because it's not a full time direct-hire position.  We search for contract hires the exact same way we search for direct hires, so the caliber of employee that comes to work on a contract assignment through Whitaker is up to the same standard as someone you would hire as a direct employee.  So the next time you're considering a contract hire or a contract-to-direct hire, please give us a chance to discuss Whitaker's capabilities in those areas with you as well.  As always, we look forward to providing you with the highest caliber and quality of search available in the staffing industry.