Recruiter Stefani Blazevic has some advice for those who have been unemployed for all or most of the pandemic.

“Start applying for a new job now!” the owner of Inflo HR said. “Start now so you’re not competing with twice as many people when their EI or CERB ends.”

The competition for good people is heating up right now, but Stefani doesn’t think it will last.

“Everyone is going to need to get back to work eventually and employers are desperate for good people right now,” Stefani says. “It’s good to get in while wages are higher because demand is higher. It will only get more difficult as the number of people who need jobs increases.”

The owner and principal recruiter at Inflo HR has a history of helping job seekers find new positions while helping employers find the best possible employees. After 5 years in corporate HR, she launched Inflo HR in 2019.

“I always knew I would start my own business,” she explained in a recent interview. “It was always the goal and after working in retail recruitment and earning my CHRP Designation, I knew it was time.”

The Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation helped Stefani realize how unique she is in the industry.

“There are lots of systems or methods being used in HR that really don’t contribute to a candidate becoming a successful long-term employee,” she said. “The research shows that personality profiles and testing really doesn’t matter all that much. What matters is being able to connect with each other. I wanted to base my business on my ability to make those connections with others with empathy and integrity. I think my candidates and clients are a lot happier with each other as a result.”

The Mississauga-based businessperson added a Master’s Degree in HR to her resume in 2020, but that was not the end of her education. Stefani is also a graduate of the Starter Company Plus Program funded by the province of Ontario and delivered through the City of Mississauga’s Business Entrepreneur Centre (MBEC).

“It was hugely helpful,” Stefani said. “The most important thing I got out of it was a highly-detailed business plan that has become my road map for moving forward with my business. Whenever I need to remind myself what I should be doing, I can check in to see where I am at on a month-by-month or even a week-by-week basis. I also update it to track what I’ve done and what I am going to do next. A business plan is a living document, I’ve learned. It’s not just something you create when you start your business and then never look at again.”

The creation of living documents is a practice Stefani is deeply familiar with. Inflo HR offers an “Improved You” bundle of templates, information and advice to job seekers looking to change their careers and futures. The bundle includes a resume template, cover letter template, an interview question preparation template, e-course recommendations, tools that leverage LinkedIn to perform competitive analysis and a one-on-one phone call with Stefani.

“For a job seeker to work privately with me, it starts at $450 for a package,” Stefani explains. “I wanted to find a way to offer more people the same information about building and formatting a resume and a proper cover letter, in an affordable way. So, I created the bundle to get people everything they need for $49.99 to make is accessible to everyone. They have to do more of the work themselves, but that makes the likelihood of a successful job change more likely.”