Help wanted

In a recent Business Roundtable survey, 39 percent of CEOs said they plan to hire additional staff in the next six months, with just 17 percent predicting employment levels at their company would drop.

With the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent at press time—and the construction unemployment rate at 20.1 percent, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, Arlington, Va. —glass companies have a large number of candidates to choose from. This can be a blessing and a curse. Just ask Brown’s Glass in York, Pa. The company received more than 90 resumes in three days, in response to its posting for an office manager on three career Web sites. Three days later, the number of applicants had topped 200.

If you are already short-staffed, sifting through a mountain of resumes can be a time-consuming task you can’t afford to take on. “This has become a major issue,” says Jill Easley, owner, GlassRecruiters.com. “All of my clients are dealing with this right now because of the high unemployment problem.”

To avoid an onslaught of resumes, Easley recommends being as specific as possible when posting job openings. “What I see, especially in the glass industry, is that companies have a tendency to be very generalized when they place their job ads, so it’s a perfect breeding ground for anyone to send in a resume. Be specific, state clearly that the ‘must haves’ are important and include disclaimers that all criteria must be met in order to be considered,” she advises. Also ask applicants to fill out a questionnaire when submitting their resume. This provides two benefits: Unqualified candidates will quickly realize they aren’t right for the position when filling out the questionnaire, and will stop. The questionnaire also will allow your human resources department or hiring manager to take an in-depth look at the candidate before they talk on the phone.

Rule no. 2: don’t saturate the market. “A company will run blanket ads on nine or 10 different job posting sites and call up six or seven different recruiters, and then think they will find someone very quickly,” Easley says. “If you run your jobs on that many sites, you create an environment where you are getting the same resume from various sites. Post your jobs on a reputable, industry-specific Web site such as http://jobs.glassmagazine.com/. If you decide to use a recruiter, find an industry-specific person and give them 10-day exclusivity for the job opening. “A good recruiter should be able to find multiple candidates within five to 10 days,” Easley says.

If you are unemployed and looking for a job, “don’t panic,” Easley says. “First and foremost, don’t mass e-mail your resume to every position on the Monster board. To do that is suicide; you will be perceived as desperate. Keep your applications targeted to your closely related industries and within a reasonable range of your last position.” If you were a vice president of manufacturing, don’t apply for a senior engineer position. You will not get hired, and the company won’t consider you for a future VP position because you look desperate, Easley says.

Instead, look at all of the jobs that the company has available, try to identify potential concerns or issues that the company is having, and look for areas where you might be able to add value. Then, in your cover letter, include some ideas and approaches to potential solutions. This will peak employers’ interest and could lead to an interview or consulting assignment. “It’s kind of like a fishing expedition. You have to have the right bait,” Easley says.

For additional tips on the hiring process, both from an employer and employee perspective, look for “Your profits: People” articles in upcoming issues of Glass Magazine, as well as on glassblog at www.glassmagazine.com.