Although the majority of Americans surveyed said privacy is important during a job search, many are not taking appropriate steps to keep their searches confidential, according to a Wakefield Research survey commissioned by TheLadders.com.

Some 88 percent of those surveyed prefer privacy, but only 37 percent of Americans bother to check website privacy settings before posting their resumes and 76 percent mistakenly believe it's impossible to keep a job search private.

"Americans want their privacy, and we strongly believe that a job search should not require an individual to give it up," says Marc Cenedella, founder and CEO of TheLadders. "TheLadders was created with the job seeker in mind, and we pride ourselves on being able to provide privacy to all our members that does not impede on their success to find the job they want."

Among other findings:

• More than half (55 percent) surveyed say when searching online, keeping their resume private from their peers is more important than maximizing its exposure,
• Thirty four percent would remove their resume from a website if a coworker saw it,
• Thirty percent say it would be worse for coworkers to find out about their job search than an office romance, and
• Nearly half of job searchers under 35 wouldn't accept an invitation from a recruiter on a professional networking site if their colleagues could see their connections.

US nationwide job openings declined slightly in May from the previous month, but were still significantly higher than in 2010. According to job search engine Simply Hired, there were 2.6 percent fewer job openings in April than in May. Despite the decrease, job openings were still up 26.1 percent from 2010.

“Although job openings decreased a bit from last month, there’s no cause for alarm,” said Gautam Godhwani, CEO of SimplyHired.com. “Some months tend to be slow for hiring, and our site continues to see healthy numbers of job listings despite that.”

Hiring appeared to slow across nearly all areas in May. The majority of metros, 32 of 50, had a decline in job openings, and another nine metros had less than 1 percent growth. Austin, Texas (6.6 percent); West Palm Beach, Florida (6.3 percent); and Albuquerque and& Santa Fe, New Mexico (4.1 percent); recorded the highest growth levels.

The national job competition ratio dropped from 6:1 to 5:1 as a result of lower unemployment rates. Although May proved to be a slow hiring month for nearly all industries and occupations, job openings for retail salespersons increased 64.1 percent month-over-month and openings for financial specialists and accountants increased 34.8 percent. 

Hiring expert Frances Moreno presented hiring and employment trends and the skills and positions most in demand currently at the Los Angeles Financial Executives International (FEI) March meeting. Moreno, managing partner of Vaco Los Angeles, a leading consulting and placement firm specializing in the finance and technology sectors, also offered helpful tips for both job seekers and employers.

Moreno conducted breakout sessions where about 50 chief financial officer and executive attendees developed and shared their own hiring tips. One of the most useful tips shared with attendees is to make sure “your resume shows not just your skills and abilities, but also shows your quantifiable accomplishments and how they impacted the business.”

Here are some of the tips Moreno and the attendees offered for job seekers:

* Identify targeted companies and research them, their market, product lines, competitors, and potential recruiters and hiring managers.
* Use social networking sites to extend a network and communicate with hiring managers. Be careful, however, about what’s posted to online profiles such as on Twitter and Facebook.
* Network effectively in person by joining industry associations, college alumni organizations, and attending meetings and conferences.
* Update your resume with all relevant accomplishments, skills, and software and technology experience and tailor it for each position that you apply to.
* Diversify skills to extend your value to an employer and keep current in skills and technical expertise.
* Engage with leading placement consultants in your specific area and industry to expand your search and partner as your advocate to employers.
* Be energetic, positive, and courteous.

Following are some tips for employers as they seek to effectively recruit and hire for key positions:

* Work closely with human resources and the recruiting team to ensure the job description and requirements are clear and accurate.
* Seek out referrals from employees and former employees.
* Use the Web effectively with a social networking strategy for recruiting using tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
* Find a key recruiting and staffing partner who understands your business.
* Join industry associations and personal networks, attend conferences.
* Conduct multiple interviews and strive to really understand the candidate’s career history, goals, and priorities to determine if they would be a good fit.
* Determine if the candidate would be a good fit for the organization culture, not just for the required skill set.
* Use a trial period by making the position contract-to-hire to ensure the right candidate is placed.