Job hunting

I'm in need of a very talented employee to handle the manufacturing end of my (very small) company.

Where do you guys look when you're searching out a job? Local paper? Monster.com? Career builder? Is there a better way to find a good employee?

Reply to
Dave Lyon
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Right here has apparently worked well for some folks, based on past posts I remember reading. Little details like location and nature of work help, and it's often the case that if someone on the group isn't interested, they might know someone who is.

When looking, I'll look in anything that might work, but a lot of them stink, especially if one is not located in a major urban center. Few search tools are of much use for a job seeker looking in a particular geographic area that is not a large city.

Reply to
Ecnerwal

OK, here's the deal.

I'm a very small shop. In fact right now it's just me, and a part time guy when he can come. We build plastic injection molds. I've been in business for myself for the last 8 years. I've had as many as 3 employees besides myself at different times. In the past, I would hire somebody with little, or no experience, train them, and watch them leave. I'm tired of working that hard.

For the last few weeks I've been toying with a new business plan. My customers LOVE it. I expect my sales to triple next year. Since I'm rebuilding my workforce from the ground floor, I'm going to do it differently this time. I want an employee that can handle EVERYTHING. I intend to hand them a print (or a broken mold), and come back when the part is done. The man I'm looking for now MUST have CNC experience, and plastic injection mold experience. Mastercam experience would be helpful, but I'll send him to school if I need to. He'll be in charge of all of the employees, and making sure the work gets done on time. He'll need to make sure the shop gets maintained, and that quality is top notch. Basically, he'll be in charge of everything except for engineering, sales, and book keeping.

I've been doing some thinking about what to pay this man. Obviously a person with these skills is in very high demand, and can bring a very good wage in most markets. Because of the size of my shop, I can't afford to pay the $75,000 a year this person would be worth in the Kansas City, Missouri area. At the same time, I know I have to pay if I want good help. So, here's what I can do. Besides the normal vacation days, holidays, and insurance allowance, I'm willing to pay $20.00 per hour, which is about average for a good tool maker in this area. I'm also willing to do something almost no other company would do. I'm going to cut this person in on a percentage of the profits. If he's hitting it, and getting the work out the door, we'll make money. If I make money, so will he!

It's very easy for my little shop to show a profit. My building is paid for, and so is all the equipment. There aren't any loans, or other huge overheads that must be taken care of. I intend to continue to run my business on a cash basis. If you're a guy that likes to work on the cutting edge of technology, you're probably not going to like it here. That doesn't mean I don't have the tools needed to do the job, only that I don't buy the expensive state of the art tech that you might see in the big shops.

Reply to
Dave Lyon

Sounds like a fun job. But you still did not post your location.

If you hire someone with strong ties to the area, they will be less likely to leave.

You might consider looking for someone close to retirement that has the experience you need and who would be willing to train and oversee workers. This might let it be less than a full time job and therefore something that a person already retired might like.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear. I'm in the Kansas City, Missouri area. Specifically, I'm in Lawson. A small town north east of KC.

Reply to
Dave Lyon

snip--

Sure he did: "the Kansas City, Missouri area"

Harold

Reply to
Harold and Susan Vordos

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:29:02 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Harold and Susan Vordos" quickly quoth:

And both of you guys misspelled "Misery".

--------------------------------------------------- I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol. ---------------------------------------------------

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Chuckle!

H
Reply to
Harold and Susan Vordos

Spelling never was my strong suite.

:)

Reply to
Dave Lyon

You're offer of a percentage will do you good. I think that is the way to get any small business off the ground when you need key people but can't afford them outright. Just make sure you live up to it. When someone starts putting their heart and soul into a another person's business, it generally shows that they have the potential to run their own. You need to nurture that, sure, maybe they will leave you one day to start their own, but that's after they have set you up as long as you take care of them as you said you would.

I just came out of a situation like this, and it feels terrible to be burned. I spent an unreasonable amount of my own time trying to get things going, while the owner talked with blonde sales reps and went for 4 hour lunches with them. So I realized that the business wouldn't be the same without me, and maybe not at all. You don't want that to happen to you, so take care of your shop manager, or your business will suffer for it.

Make sure also that he finds a solid assistant to train for aspects of his job right away. Putting all of the pressure on one person is unrealistic in most cases, even you need help. Be willing to take care of his assistant as well, because if you manager leaves for any reason, you want that guy to stay with you, rather than run off with the other guy. I took three people with me in a matter of weeks because they saw what was happening without me.

As to where to post, I look at

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For you it has multiple benefits the other job sites can't offer. One, it's free for you to post. Second, craigslist boasts higher effectiveness than any of the other job sites. I look at that site almost everyday in my area, it's an interesting barometer. The downside is that you have to post it regularly, it's a bulletin board.

I'll tell you, if I liked that part of the country (I have spent some time there, just not my cup of tea), and I had the skills, I would be interested purely on the percentage angle. Make sure that the person you hire sees your business plan, and give them room to help you with it. People consistently rate job satisfaction over salary, else you wouldn't have lawyers becoming chefs and stockbrokers becoming farmers, so your main guy should have a say in where the business is going, not the final say, just an honest chance to have his opinion and experience count, he or she might even make both of you more money.

If this is all old news to you, I apologize for being longwinded, but I just came off a situation where I got the exact opposite treatment, but was promised a lot. Put it in writing, so that both of you have a solid foundation to start on, that will go a long way towards showing someone that you intend to do what you say you will.

Reply to
mantismetalworks

Thanks for your reply. I was beginning to think I wasn't offering anything that would be of interest to a quality employee.

I'm not opposed to putting it in writing. I'm very proud of the way I've treated my employees. I don't think you'll find even one that thinks I was ever unfair.

Reply to
Dave Lyon

Bogus , if you have a shop now , you wont have one next week ...

Owners are people who know how to do the work

and can find a manager quick ,

and they never advertize , unless

you're big and must do Affirmative Action ....

The paradox is smart people dont so small business in USA .

Cause the Govt will Rodney King ya , makeyou pay 10 times

the tax of a bigger corp .

So it must be a "store front" , doin a diff kind of business ..

I know all the best paying widgets to manufacture , and the

Govt will NOT ALLOW ANY SMALL BUSINESS to make those ..

Thoughts of IRS and Freuer trucking ......

They paid back taxes ,,,,,about $3000 /week ....

The IRS wanted more ... F' refused .....

IRS grabbed all their trucks and tables/chairs /typewritters ...

IT WAS ALL LEASED ..... ha ha ha ha ha

But we could not simply allow them to compete with FEDEX / UPS !!

Reply to
werty

You're probably right. After 8 years, I'll probably close down right in the middle of a growth spurt.

In this case you're right. I can do the work, and I do.

That's right, real businesses never advertise. Good people, and customers just beat a path to their door.

I see you've owned a lot of businesses.

Ever watch Darhma and Gregg? If your IQ went up about 100 points, you could be her dad.

See kids, living proof. Don't do drugs!

Reply to
Dave Lyon

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