I need help finding employees

Hey guys. I’m not sure this will help posting on here, but I’m trying to go outside the box. I’m sure others on here are employers looking to hire people. If you are going through the same thing as me right now, getting people to even show up for interviews is like pulling teeth. I figured it couldn’t hurt to have a thread on here where Niners can help each other’s businesses out. I am a Niner alum, and I run a pest company in the Cornelius area. I have sales and technician jobs open. If anyone knows anyone who either has experience in the industry or is looking for a new career, please contact me. We offer very good benefits and 401k matching. Thank you.

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Hiring has been so difficult this last couple of years. We are in Huntersville and have the same issue. We used to get 500+ resumes and that literally dropped to single digits. We raised the base pay by 30% and still get bad resumes. Then when you contact them, they’re not really looking for a job. They just want to use the way you contacted them (email, voicemail, etc) to continue to get unemployment. I told our office manager to stop sending anything in writing and to leave an ambiguous message like “please call us”. We have set up interviews to where they no showed. We have interviewed and offered them the job only for them to no show. Our payroll has increased and the quality of employee has decreased yet our prices have stayed the same. To top it off, staff we do have all want raises regardless of how much business has or has not changed. They think time there is a reason to get a raise. They do not care about a bonus program in place that’s directly tied to overall business. They just want a higher base. It’s pushing me closer to retirement :joy:! Good luck man.

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This is a very random topic to bring back to life; however, I wanted to get some perspective from the employer’s side. I have two phone screenings coming up and could use any advice out there!

  • a soon to be engineering grad

Attitude matters - a lot. Lots of people have a degree.

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In interviews, they usually already know if you’re qualified (they may ask specific questions to clarify your experience or ask you to give some examples of what you did).

But just as importantly, they’re trying to determine if you will fit in with their group / office / etc. It’s about attitude, personality, whether you are generally affable, etc.

No manager wants to hire a headache, especially a toxic one, regardless of qualifications.

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Glad to hear non-educational characteristics matter still. I currently work at a place that find high GPA’s and PHD’s uncomfortably attractive, so thanks for the breath of fresh air!

Good to know! Likewise, I would not want to work for a toxic company… I would hope to be in the reject pile rather than dealing with that type of environment.

Don’t try to snow the interviewer if they ask you a technical question and you don’t know. Better to say you don’t know but you know how to find the answer.

Like the other guys said the personal qualities are very important.

You need to let the interviewers know you have work ethic, adaptability to work with all types of people and situations, honesty and humility.

If you’re young a piece of advice. If you get the job, let the older people on your team guide you. Find out who knows their stuff and take their advice. Older people like me look forward to helping the next generation coming up. Show enthusiasm, a willingness to listen, learn and take advice and you will have a rocket under you in no time.

Just make sure you pick good people to listen too. lol.

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I tell people that work for me that if you just show up and give a damn I can train you the rest of the way. It is so hard to find people these days with those traits.

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Fixed. Coming from someone who has someone working for yhem with the first two traits and not the last.

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Thanks for your response. I’ll definitely make sure to utilize your first tactic, it’ll save the interviewer from my ramblings lol. I am fortunate enough to really like learning, so no lies will be needed!

Want to be my boss?

Emotional intelligence is a key attribute of a good teammate and worker. Demonstrating those attributes is important in an interview and once hired.
You don’t always have to be the smartest, I am a good example of that, but relating to others, supporting other and understanding your weaknesses are key

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Here’s something perhaps a bit more practical. If it’s for a large company, search and practice behavioral interview questions. These can be really challenging if you’re hearing them for the first time in an interview.

They don’t come really naturally and you never know who is going to use them. I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over the years and if it’s behavioral style, people who are familiar and have practiced end up looking to be superior candidates, even if they arent.

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Absolutely on the EQ. I train this on a regular basis. It is the single biggest differentiator between successful employees and unsuccessful. Low EQ people typically level out early regardless of talent and knowledge. High EQ folks can hit the senior levels quickly just because they understand people and emotions.

Hiring managers have routinely said they would rather hire someone with less education and less experience and A high EQ than the opposite. Absolutely a massive skill and one that is lacking not just in corporate settings but also in society in general, even more so post pandemic.

High EQ individuals on average earn 29k more per year than those with low eq and that stat was pre pandemic, I am sure it is higher now. Emotional intelligence 2.0 is a great book with an assessment to learn more.

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Agree on knowing behavioral interview techniques. This is another topic I train on a regular basis. The larger the company the more likely they are to use this style as it lowers their legal risks in interviews. It’s also where young or new workers struggle the most because they don’t have the amount of experience a more season person does to pull from.

When answering a behavioral style question focus on STAR with an example that best fits their question. Make sure you focus on YOUR role in the situation. Lots of info online in these.

Situation: Share the nature of the event, project or challenge.

Task: Describe your specific responsibility in the process.

Action: Steps undertaken to move towards an outcome

Result: End results of your individual involvement.

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I don’t have any interviewing advice but I’ll tell you what I told my kids and young people we hire.

Three things that will serve you well:

  1. do your paperwork correctly and on time but if you make a mistake own it. Only been one perfect one and they hung him on a cross.

  2. report bad news immediately, it’s not going away and if you sit on it for a week the first they gonna ask is how long have you known about this and then you’re stepping and fetching.

  3. don’t lie. If you don’t know something just say I don’t know but I’ll find out. The truth will only hurt you once, lies have a way of keep biting you in the ass and it ruins credibility.

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All great advice. The Matra around here is “no surprises.” Escalate problems as soon as you become aware. Also try to have a proposed solution if you can.

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First phone interview done. Thanks everyone for the great advice!

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100%. Make sure you either have a solution or now how you are going to find a solution. No one wants to hear about problems with no path to a solution. Also, never give bad news at the beginning or ending of a conversation/meeting. Plan it such that your start with good news and end with great news if you can.

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