Job Interviews. (Am I COMPLETELY out of touch?)

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Moses

$18/hour. Full paid health insurance. Profit sharing plan. Three weeks vacation and 10 paid holidays.

If there are any military bases within a 30/40 minute drive, put an ad in the base paper, they all have one.

I'll pay for the ad if it doesn't pan out

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

If there are any military bases within a 30/40 minute drive, put an ad in the base paper, they all have one.

I'll pay for the ad if it doesn't pan out

that is a great suggestion

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

If there are any military bases within a 30/40 minute drive, put an ad in the base paper, they all have one.

I'll pay for the ad if it doesn't pan out

I wish there was a base close by. I have a friend who practices in Layton, Utah near the air base. She has no problem finding great employees.

[The Gaijin]

Originally Posted by Moses

The last receptionist I hired was smokin' hot. I won't make that mistake again. The old hens who have been running the office for years carved her up. If you hire someone who is too pretty, too thin or too young, the old women will pick on her till she quits. Sad, but true.

I guess I'll settle for well groomed and competent.

Just reading this page after page and thinking - "Moses needs some old dame."

You need another one of them old hens. Maybe a early retiree? Or a mother going back to work? Let starbucks socialize the young ones - they will be ready in a few years..

FWIW - the best support person I ever had was a guy. Kansas dude who wanted to see the big city and moved his wife and kid here..

[legion]

I graduated from college eight years ago. I started doing job interviews first semester of my senior year (so nine years ago).

I remember having concerns that my tie didn't properly match my shirt....that my black socks were a little too faded and didn't look 100%....that I mispronounced a single word during the interview....that I didn't completely answer a question....that I was too nervous....that I was overconfident....that I didn't thank each person individually....that I didn't get everyone's name involved with interviewing me to send them a thank you letter....

I wouldn't have DREAMED of doing some of the things mentioned on this thread.

One of my biggest pet peeves is visible tattoos. I don't care if you have them, but I don't want to see them at work. If you have skulls up and down your forearms, where a long-sleeve shirt. If you have a tramp stamp, don't wear low-cut pants with a short shirt. If you have a tattoo on the back of your neck, don't wear your hair up. If you have a tattoo on your ankle, don't wear capri pants. If you have a tattoo on your face or your neck, you're an idiot because you have forfeited the ability to look normal in public.

[911Rob]

dress for success

This thread has jogged all sorts of interesting memories; all good. Thanks!

I've had a ton of secretaries/assistants in the past, it was always great fun doing the hiring.
I use to run one of those 'shared' office buildings, my company occupied the main floor and the upstairs had about 1/2 dozen offices we'd rent out with secretary services. I was kinda hard on some of the ah, bimbo types; so we did alot of hiring.

One time this hot brunette applied, so we hired her. It was soooo funny because shortly after my No.1 office gal started to date her. Too funny, blew me away. I stayed outa it.

Enjoy the process Moses, have some fun with it.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by 911Rob

One time this hot brunette applied, so we hired her. It was soooo funny because shortly after my No.1 office gal started to date her. Too funny, blew me away. I stayed outa it.

Ahhh, photos please!

[djmcmath]

My wife might fit the bill: she used to be a receptionist for a local Realtor, so she has experience with the job. She has operatic training for her voice and diction, so she sounds great on a phone. She's pretty cute, but she's not the ditzy blonde who'll cause problems with your older receptionists. She'd also be very grateful to work for $18/hr. Any chance you're hiring in the DC area?

Dan

[911Rob]

sorry, no pics.
Very hot though!

My wife was such a good sport with my hiring practises too; she would just roll her eyes. There was about 6 or 7 guys, all business owners that worked in that office. We had so much fun over all the years. We had a girl there for a while and she was a hot tub model with a TV commercial running frequently on the local network; she was kinda famous for Calgary. She really liked to show her stuff. When they shot the commercial, they didn't heat the water and she had headlights on high beam. Every guy would make a comment. We had a subtrade plan takeoff room there, was a very popular place for the estimators to hang out

We were always well behaved though, just clean fun.

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by Moses

One girl showed up with loads of facial piercings. Lips, eyebrows, tongue, cheek. She looked like she fell in a tackle box. Sorry. Not hiring her.

How did we get here?

DAMN!! I LMAO at that one !! I will stash that line for future reference!!

[aigel]

The issue is that you are hiring for a low paying job and off the street:

The good people either have better education and do not work as receptionists or they stay with the first company that hires them. A good receptionist will never have to apply in newspaper ads, they are passed on by word of mouth, should their job go away. So, my recommendation is to use your professional and private network to find someone. If that is not possible, I agree with the temp agency route.

Just my two cents,

George

[Dixie]

Ever consider the other side of the equation? My wife would love to have this job. In fact, she’s applied for several receptionist type jobs. But she’s never gotten one offer. She has no tattoos or piercing, She’s not obese either. And she’s no dummy. She has a degree in Business, and a degree in Computers. As for experience? She's got 20 years of that, followed by a break to be "Mom".

So why can’t she land these jobs? Because they're looking for a hot twenty-something. Not a forty-something. (A forty something that I think is still pretty hot…)

It kind of pi$$es her of when she finds out they hired a clueless 21 year old that will probably last a month.

[URY914]

Temp to Hire is the best way to go. Back when I was single I worked for a company and management wanted a good looking woman/girl working the front desk. The first person you see when you get off the elevator is an intro to the company. They would bring one in and start her on Monday morning. If she didn't work out in a week we'd get another on the following Monday. Like I said I was single at this time and it was great. Every Monday there would be another face as I got off the elevator. This went on for about 2 months. They finally settled on one and she was hired. I liked the last one too, I even married her!

[djmcmath]

On a related note, I'll be starting a job soon that requires a certain amount of manual labor, while at the same time maintaining some semblance of formality and professionalism. The dress code is, therefore, jeans and a polo for most work days. So yesterday, I went out shopping with my wife to try and find some jeans that I could wear at work. Should be easy, right? I'm estimating $25/pair, just looking for basic, normal jeans.

Turns out that jeans these days cost better than $100 at many places, and it's considered normal for them to come pre-shrunk, pre-worn, pre-torn, and looking like they'd be pretty comfortable worn halfway down your butt. They look positively silly on a 30 year old who's trying to look professional. We finally found 2 pairs of Levi's in a back corner of Dillards for $35/pair in the proper look -- clean, new, plain cut jeans. Crazy!

[SLO-BOB]

Originally Posted by aigel

The issue is that you are hiring for a low paying job and off the street:

That's low paying?? Hell, I was thinking of sending a resume myself. I look bad in a wig and heels though. I guess things are different here in the midwest.

[Mo_Gearhead]

+ whatever ...for the temp service.

Tell them what you are looking for ...qualifications, any dress codes, etc. Let them do the initial sorting/screening.

Forget the HOTRECEPTIONIST.COM fantasy and hire the person for their skills. Your bottom line will thank you.

[Joeaksa]

DJM,

Sears still has normal Levi's for around $30 each. None of this fancy bleached, ripped and torn crap, just good old fashioned jeans.

Joe

[URY914]

Tractor Supply for jeans. You will not find a receptionist there.

[John_AZ]

Many workers who have taken time away, return to find the gap to recover and assimilate is huge. Relate to this by returning to college in 2008

.

$18 an hour is fantastic for AZ but if you live in CA you probably need food stamps. Might work with a professional partner on combined wages.

Provide daycare in addition to all other benefits offered and you may find a diamond in the rough

[legion]

That reminds me of a story...

There was a lady about 10 years ago who had taken a 10 year break from work to have a family. She had come back to my company after this 10 year break and interviewed for her old job. She got through the interviews with flying colors, amazing the interviewers with how well she remembered the processes and procedures of the position. (And they were amazed at how little had really changed...) She was offered the job. At the close of the interview, she was asked if she had any questions. She replied: "Yes, why does everyone have a television on their desk?"

20 years ago, the work was a paper environment. 10 years ago, it was all electronic.