As a small business owner, I can tell you that most job seekers offer very little in terms of value to the job market. Just recently I spoke to a manager of a UPS store and our conversation confirmed my opinion of the labor pool. Jobbers just want a place they can call “A Job” and retire. Small businesses work within small margins and simply can’t afford to carry the burden of employees that do not help increase profitability.
Add payroll fees, taxes and unemployment insurance and the possibility of government mandated health insurance and for the very small business, hiring help is virtually impossible.
Some of you might be saying, well this a management issue and that you need to make employees work in order for the business to be profitable. To a degree this is true, but I don’t think any business no matter what size can afford to shadow every employee to get the return on investment. I think the attitude of the job seeker needs to change to be inline with the small business. It is not enough to just show up at a job, you need to work.
Everyone I speak to says virtually the same thing. They post a job offering and get flooded with bogus resumes and inquires. Even the best candidates are a considerable risk. So what can we do?
For the job seeker, I suggest that you target a business that you truly want to work for and do your homework. Study the history of the business, their products and services. Talk to the employees and managers if possible and get familiar with who is who.
Pretend that you already have the job. What can you do to help the company be more profitable? By all means do not tell them how to run their business. Remember, this is about how you can add value. Be a team player not a bench warmer.
For the business owner looking to hire, don’t bother looking at resumes, remember they are bogus anyways. Consider designing a test to reveal who the job candidates are, their work ethic and character. This will really help you weed out riffraff. Most companies have a 6 month probation period before committing permanent employment.
We have had decades of wasteful employment practices from large companies and the small business job market has to deal with this fallout.
Am I being to harsh?
I do not think you are being Harsh. However, I do feel that many company’s reap what they sow. Because of the lack of loyalty companies have shown to its employees there is now a lack of productivity and loyality from the employee to the company. In addition to creating a test for prospective employees to take i would highly reccomend following up on their sources of reccomendations I would also contact former employers to find out how they performed while there. With respect to showing loyalty to the employee. Employers should offer incentives for business brought in by an employee either in the form of bonuses or additional time off. Employers should also take charge in getting their employees training on how to bring in business. not everyone is proficient in sales or in networking to increase name brand or product recognition. If you want better employees then train them to be better employees. If you treat them like a number or a pay check they will act like a paycheck.
Good point Marc, that is kind of what I mean about the “Fallout” caused by cubical nation. Thank you for your insight.
My husband is a small business owner, so I hear all of it. We’re not talking about $10 per hour people here, we’re talking about attorneys…professionals who have gone to school for 7 years and they’re still NOT motivated to do more than required. I don’t know if it’s the generation (younger than 45/50), but the work ethic in this country is terrible. His employees come in at 8, take 1.5 for lunch, and are gone by 5…keep in mind that they are given financial incentives for bringing in business and for settling cases. One guy recently left because he was being “over worked”! They don’t want to go the extra mile. I’ve heard this from many a small business owner. There are exceptions to the rule, however, in my opinion, until people feel that a job is really a gift and not a “right”, this will continue. Sad to say but perhaps the recession is a good thing…maybe employees will once again be grateful for having a job.
i was a former employee and now i am making my best effort to start up a small business.”-~