Human Resources Kit For Dummies

As chairman and CEO of Robert Half International Inc. (RHI), the world's largest specialized staffing firm, Max Messmer is one of the foremost experts on human resources and employment issues. His entire business is built on the premise that the success of any company is based on the extent to which attracting and keeping outstanding talent is a top priority. Messmer has written several critically acclaimed books, including Job Hunting For Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide, 1995, 1999), The Fast Forward MBA in Hiring (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998), 50 Ways to Get Hired (William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1994), and Staffing Europe (Acropolis Books Ltd., 1991). Messmer's expertise has been featured in major business publications such as Fortune, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has also written hundreds of bylined articles and columns on job seeking, employment, and management topics. Robert Half International (NYSE symbol: RHI), a Fortune 1000 firm, ranked in the top 1 percent of all firms actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange, based on returns to investors for the five-year period ending 12/31/98. Messmer's company is the only staffing firm included in this top ranking. RHI was also one of only 31 companies to be included on The Wall Street Journal's 1998 Honor Roll" for its stock market returns to investors for the previous one-, three-, five- and ten-year periods ending 12/31/97, and was recently included in Fortune magazine's list of "America's Greatest Wealth Creators" and in Forbes' "Platinum List" for exceptional investor returns and growth among business services firms. Founded in 1948, the company's specialized temporary, project, and full-time staffing services include Accountemps, Robert Half, and RHI Management Resources, for accounting and finance; RHI Consulting, for information technology; OfficeTeam, for highly skilled office support; and The Affiliates, for legal staffing. The company serves its clients and candidates through more than 230 offices worldwide and through online job search services at its divisional Web sites. Messmer has been ranked by Chief Executive magazine among the Top 100 CEOs in the nation for the past four consecutive years. He is a member of the board of directors of a number of major corporations, including Airborne Freight Corporation, Health Care Property Investors, Inc., and Spieker Properties, Inc. Previously, Messmer served on the boards of First Interstate Bancorp, NationsBank (of North Carolina), Pacific Enterprises, and Southern California Gas Company, among others. During the Reagan administration, he served on the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations. Messmer was valedictorian of his graduating class at Loyola University, and also graduated cum laude from the New York University School of Law. For expert advice on the legal issues currently impacting HR, Human Resources Kit For Dummies incorporates the sage counsel of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, one of the world's largest and most preeminent law firms and a leading specialist on employee benefits law. The Los Angeles-based firm was founded in 1885 and today has offices throughout the United States and abroad. Its primary practice areas include Labor and Employment; Corporations; Trade and International Law, Litigation; Entertainment/Media/Internet and Intellectual Property; Real Estate, Environmental and Natural Resources; and Tax and Bankruptcy. Of particular value were the contributions of one of the firm's senior partners, Scott Dunham, a top employment law expert.