Hiring - Where do you look?

Like most businesses, we are constantly looking to hire the best of the best. We have experienced tremendous growth the last few years and have tried the usual (i.e. newspaper ads, internet employment sits, TV, State Employment Commission, etc.)to find the best possible candidates, often with marginal results. How do most of you find potential employees?

In the industry I work, word of mouth and friends are the best way. A guy's reputation goes a long way. Never (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) anyone off, because you never know who will potentially land a job for you down the road.

Honest to God, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that my wife or my daughter or I had written this post. Awaiting replies.

Has anyone tried employment agencies?

they find you...

This is a topic at the upcoming expo in mrtyl beach.....

I imagine hiring out of a vet tech program could be good.

people at the half way house are cheaper tho

We have three college graduates on staff now and I sure wouldn't mind a couple more. I have noticed that most of the customers that

are intelligent enough to hire professionals, are usually professionals themselves. This probably is true for many of us. When you

figure out how much the paint costs and the time spent prepping and cleaning up, you begin to realize that if you spent that time

doing your job, you could have professional painters come in, do a great job, pay them, and have money left over. And this is why,

many times, people hire us. And if you can find something in common with your customers, that's a big plus. You guys know that I'm

always harping about advancing your education, ( Despite the fact that I'm dumber than a brick ) so why do I keep harping? Because

no one I have ever known, has criticized anyone for being too smart. Getting back on subject: I feel that we pay the kind of wages

that especially college students would not turn down. Unfortunately for all of us, this is such a specialized field that finding

the right fit is a whole lot harder than I ever imagined. I always pictured me being offered this position rather than the

meaningless jobs I actually had at the age of 19. Of course then I realized that at 19 I could legally drink all the beer I could

consume and wondered if I would have made the right choice?

Hire the competition. In Indiana there is a list of licensed WCOs. 75% or better are guys making a little bit of side money and extending their trapping season. They have no desire to build or run a business. The two I hired that way happened to be college educated as well. You have to get them away from the fur trapping mentality a little bit, leave the conis at home and we don't euthanize on site but once we got that straightened out I couldn't be happier.

Bob J, my son and his wife are going out to dinner with our competition and his wife tonight. This would be the perfect time to sneak over and steal his help but I can't 'cause I have to baby-sit the grandkids.

I would look for someone in the building trades. A roofer, carpenter or handyman. Knowing how to repair things is a big part of this business. A lot of guy's in the building trades also like to Hunt and Fish. Almost everyone gets excited when they catch an animal in a trap they set. I sold a guy two Death Clutch traps, charged $20 to show him how to set them, his wife called me two days later to tell me he was successful! She said he was like a little kid at Christmas, when he came home from his office job and went out to check his traps. People get excited when they catch their first mouse.
Many people like to learn new things. You find someone who wants to learn the challenge of animals, but already knows how to repair building problems, is used to heights and you have the perfect person to hire.