where to advertise for employees

[huggytree]

i am having a heck of a time finding a new part time employee.....ive been advertising on craigs list for 2 weeks now.....ive gotten 3 good resume's out of about 20.....2 never showed up for an interview and the 3rd never returned my call.....the other 17 were all high school kids w/ 0 experience or pizza hut employees/jiffy lube employees........

i need someone who is able to use power tools with some work experience in some trade of some sort......i think the part time thing is the deal killer and thats why im not seeing more good applicants

is there some where else i should be advertising?

[Fulcrum]

What's wrong with the no experience people? As long as they're hard working, presentable, pleasant and willing to learn, it's up to us small business folks to give them a start - even if it's only for a few months at a time. During the school year I can understand high school kids not being ideal due to them having to be in class, but if they're a fresh graduate not planning college than I can't see why they may not work.

I don't know if my anecdote will help you or not, but I hired my guy straight out of high school, with no experience in my field, after talking to his mother at a mom & pop restaurant she manages. I wasn't specifically looking for someone at the time but I'm glad I did it - what started as a 1 day/week has grown into a 40 hour position.

[paul woodall]

Hello Huggytree,

You could:

1) place ad in local newspaper job section
2) Go to local employment office and post the position
3) In Canada, we have job sites like monster, workopolis, indeed, etc where employers can post. Presume you would have similar
4) Ask around friends and family - better to hire someone you know

Good luck

[huggytree]

What's wrong with the no experience people? As long as they're hard working, presentable, pleasant and willing to learn, it's up to us small business folks to give them a start - even if it's only for a few months at a time. During the school year I can understand high school kids not being ideal due to them having to be in class, but if they're a fresh graduate not planning college than I can't see why they may not work.

I don't know if my anecdote will help you or not, but I hired my guy straight out of high school, with no experience in my field, after talking to his mother at a mom & pop restaurant she . I wasn't specifically looking for someone at the time but I'm glad I did it - what started as a 1 day/week has grown into a 40 hour position.

i work on million dollar homes and on $150,000+ remodel projects.....i cant show up with an 18 year old fresh out of highschool...he will F up badly and ruin my reputation

im paying $15 an hour and i thought that was high for a laborer.....i expect to get someone with some experience in the trades...maybe its still too low?

i dont want an 18 year old who doesnt know how to work a sawzall or dig a hole...


i rewrote my ad today on craigs list...i changed the title from LABORER to PLUMBERS HELPER.....hoping that will attract some new people.....its amazing how hard it is to find someone when everyone says the economy is bad

[Freelancier]

You definitely should consider talking to your state's Dept of Labor and see if they have a program where you can get a tax credit or other incentives for hiring someone who is unemployed.

[Business Attorney]

Tell us how the revised ad works. That was going to be my suggestion. You will still get people who are under-qualified but an ad that emphasizes the skills you are looking for should at least attract a better pool of candidates.

[Fulcrum]

i work on million dollar homes and on $150,000+ remodel projects.....i cant show up with an 18 year old fresh out of highschool...he will F up badly and ruin my reputation

im paying $15 an hour and i thought that was high for a laborer.....i expect to get someone with some experience in the trades...maybe its still too low?

i dont want an 18 year old who doesnt know how to work a sawzall or dig a hole...

In a past job, I had to train both experienced people and high school coop kids on equipment worth $600,000/machine. An interesting thing that I learned was that it wasn't the kids that crashed the most machines - it was us experienced guys getting too comfortable (enter numbers too fast/drag fingers across keypad), the kids usually took 12-18 months before a serious crash. If I recall correctly, I believe that you said business is a little slow right now so, in my opinion, it would be a good time to take on someone with no experience and train them how to do the job the right way rather than letting some hack teach them.

I've been on the side being told "sorry, you have some education but no experience, we can't hire you". Very few companies are willing to train outside of unpaid internships, and those that do appear to have a better reputation.

These are just my opinions and I do hope you find someone sooner rather than later.

[huggytree]

changing my ad title DID have a positive effect....i also gave a few less details in the job description.....i think i was scaring people off

i got 5 resume's tonight that are a bit better.....the best one only has 2 days a week to give me....id like 4....

i will pick 2 or 3 tomorrow and get some interviews going again.....my concern is most of these guys arent doing hard labor work....you cant go from a computer job to digging ditches.....most people who arent used to physical jobs wont put up with it for long....

cant bring an 18 year old to a jobsite...my builders wouldnt be happy....it just looks bad

i dont want to teach someone how to swing a hammer or use a sawzall.....i have to have some min. standards to work with


Work always seems like its going to be slow, but the week after i could be burred......if i have 0 work then how can i do any training....i need to have a moderate level of work for proper training....my last guy was great...he never required much training....i gave him a task and walked away...he almost always figured it out due to a life of figuring things out for himself.....

[JayPack]

Post your ad in CL in a different section as well? Put it in the part time section, or the "skilled labor" section. Sometimes I see ads that would better fit in other sections. But if you are posting it in multiple sections, make sure that you modify the title and part of the ad because CL will flag it and take it down if they think you are cross-posting the same exact ad.