If You Can’t Find Good Employees, It May Not Be a Labor Shortage–It May Be You

There is a lot of complaining about worker shortages and a lot of jokes going on–like the above, which points out the ridiculousness of the interview process.

The thing is, it wouldn’t be funny if it wasn’t based in reality. Many companies have ridiculous hiring processes. Perhaps yours does.

Or perhaps, you’re looking for a free intern to do work. Like this posting on LinkedIn (yes, I notified the company that their internship was illegal and I notified LinkedIn.)

YOU WILL:

• Source, attract, select, and recruit top talent candidates using various outlets, such as social media networks and other platforms including LinkedIn, Podio, Handshake, and Jobsoid.

• Focus your efforts on Talent Acquisition strategies to bring the most qualified candidates for each position open.

• Seek out and recommend creative new ways of sourcing talent.

• Conduct the first interview and schedule the second interview with the Leader of the Team.

• Administer all hiring paperwork for new Teammates and assist with the orientation process.

• Be the main point of contact for new Teammates.

• Update Teammate Bios; create profiles for new Teammates and update profiles for existing Teammates.

• Conduct and train new Teammates on our on-boarding and recruiting processes.

• Handle Employment Verification and Letters of Recommendation.

• Process departures.

• Attend team and senior meetings as needed.

YOU ARE:

• Able to bring the most talented candidates to help this company grow!

• Passionate about the full cycle recruitment, from sourcing candidates through the onboarding process.

• Open-minded and have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.

• Adaptable to changes in projects and priorities and can handle multiple projects at once.

• Great communicator and can express sympathy and friendliness to new candidates and team members.

• Highly motivated, detail-oriented, reliable, and organized.

• Adaptable to changes in projects and priorities and can handle multiple projects.

• Highly motivated, detail-oriented, reliable, and organized.

• Excellent in verbal and written communication, email etiquette, the Internet, and MS Office.

• Able to work independently with minimum supervision and attend video conferencing meetings whenever needed.

• Enthusiastic and grateful to have the opportunity to work with us!

• Tech savvy and own a computer with reliable access to an Internet connection.

• A Super Human Resources Specialist!

COMPENSATION:

This is an unpaid virtual internship, but the experience and connections you will get for your professional portfolio and LinkedIn profile are priceless!

Sorry, you can’t have an unpaid intern do that because it is benefiting the company and this is not a non-profit.

Or you could be like the companies that this man applied to.

Now, of course, I don’t know if he’s telling the truth about the process, but it seems to make sense to me.

If you’re struggling to find candidates do the following:

  1. Be honest in your job postings. Sure, maybe you won’t get as many applicants, but you’ll get ones that want the job.
  2. Don’t try to get interns to fill vacant positions. And chances are, you can’t legally have an unpaid internship.
  3. If you aren’t getting applicants, then try increasing the pay, revising your job requirements, and lowering your standards.

People are looking for work. They aren’t looking to be exploited. They aren’t looking for lying liars.

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15 thoughts on “If You Can’t Find Good Employees, It May Not Be a Labor Shortage–It May Be You

  1. First I was wondering why the link I expected on the words ‘this posting’ didn’t take me to Linkedin, but oh well.

    Then I was reading the bullet points and thinking you were talking about how to do a good job on recruitment, training, and so forth.

    Then I got to the Compensation and realized what you were talking about!

    Jaw. On. Floor. I have no words.

  2. I would add that unless political views actually matter in the position, don’t make it political. We have a local company putting out recruitment ads where the owner says, “Special Snowflakes need not apply.” Right there, he is stereotyping an entire generation, and making veiled hints that if your political beliefs differ from his, he doesn’t want you. His company is a heating and air service provider. Those ads have been running for months. And I bet he wonders why he can’t get anyone.

    1. Perhaps they don’t want political discussions during work hours because that type of job requires a cohesive unified team effort. Besides that type of work which is more of a blue collar job has a completely different work ethic not understood by most because the job is based on the quality completion of the job versus the timing of breaks, lunches, and clock out time. You can’t stop working the job until completion. You are not locked into a time frame but a job completion schedule. Unless you understand that, you can’t really see the value of that type of job. Perhaps the wording may appear offensive to some but not the meaning of the type of job, which is not on the top of the list of dream jobs. It is an important necessary job that will never be not needed.
      Also never apply for any unpaid jobs period unless you like being a martyr. Always get paid to work.

      1. Please. Of they don’t want political discussions they could use language that is not so obviously political. I’d say the same thing if they said something like “Neanderthals need not apply”

  3. The same employers who complained years ago that they couldn’t find experienced welders for $12/hour are the ones complaining now that they can’t find part time people willing to work for minimum wage and no benefits and on a flexible schedule. Tiny tiny violins.

    1. The same people who didn’t want the job when $12/ hour was higher than minimum wage still won’t take the job today. A welder job is a manual labor job and the younger generation of workers mostly don’t want to have manual labor jobs, no matter what pay is offered. People don’t view these jobs as important or long term employment because of the physical demand on the body, but also complain about others taking the same job that they refuse to do.
      A job pays you an income to spend/ have money, it doesn’t have to be a “dream job”

      1. @MariaRose

        The problems are more high level than that. The thing is, a generation or so ago, we started pushing the almighty college degree as a status symbol. So overtime, what’s happened is that college tuition has skyrocketed, many people pursue college degrees for occupations that don’t require them, entry level pay has stagnated… and in the process, we demonized “the trades”.

        I have a tech job that pays well, but I still need my car serviced, my roof replaced, my plumbing fixed, and… somebody to haul my gas from the refinery to the gas station. Who *wants* those jobs when we as a society have said they’re inferior? We need to change the messaging.

        1. We do need those jobs but what gives me pause is that many of these jobs can cause physical ailments. I used to work for an organization that managed health claims for electricians who worked on the lines. Almost all of them ended up taking early retirement. Also, a lot of them, particularly the older generations who didn’t use sunscreen, would get skin cancer.

          I agree that vocational education needs to be emphasized but these workers will also need skills to obtain desk-based jobs in the event they can no longer physically work in demanding roles. Last year, I myself was diagnosed with a neurological condition that could potentially impact mobility. If I’d have gone into a vocational field, even something like hairstyling (lots of periods of standing), this could have been very bad.

      2. A welder is a manual job that requires a lot of skill and training, kinda like a surgeon is a manual job that requires a lot of skill and training. Not anyone can do it and an experienced welder is worth a lot more than $12/hour. This is not about employee attitudes – this is about employers being unwilling to pay the proper wage for the skill they require.

      3. A welder may be a manual job, but it’s also a high skill job with some risk attached. If you want good folks in jobs like that, you need to be willing to pay a good wage. “Above minimum wage” doesn’t cut it.

  4. I think its a combination of what Texan in Exile, Mariarose, and Dan have said…Getting a college degree has been pushed as the only way to get a good job for so long, its like its become the new high school diploma. So many jobs now require a degree to be even considered to be hired,even when the job can be done without one. Even if its barely related to the job. Trade jobs aren’t considered because they can be physically demanding and the pay rates haven’t kept up with office jobs. These jobs sometimes take considerable skill, and as the demand increases, so will the pay.

  5. In addition consider treating your people better. Whether it more predictable schedules, more reasonable rules, protecting staff from unreasonable patrons, the way you treat people IS going to make a difference in who wants to work for you. And word DOES spread.

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