On Writing Job Ads

Write the job ad so that it attracts the top performers.  As mentioned before, don't be afraid to select some hoops for the candidates to jump through.  As in teaching, the harder the assignment, the easier it is to see the more competent people shine.  Everyone can do an easy assignment relatively well.

Be as specific as possible about the job.  If your practice is a strong practice and sells itself, then you want the ad to be particularly detailed so that longshot candidates are discouraged from applying.  Thriving, well-maintained practices will get a lot of submissions.

Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com were our biggest submissions--and we paid for them.  The free advertising--LinkedIn and Constant Contact to our clients netted some--but the Constant Contact did net our most promising candidate.  This in addition to allowing us another chance to touch base with our clients and let them share somewhat in our success.

As of yet, we haven't noticed much in the way of submissions from the local job boards at ASU and the Maricopa Community Colleges.

The Job Ad

Here's one thing we learned this week.  Don't skimp on the job ad.  The first two times we advertised for help, we went the cheapest route possible.  And by cheap, I mean free.  I assumed people who were interested would find us, either through wide-ranging searches, or checking the very specific job websites (such as Where Vet Techs Connect) for our industry.  We got a only a handful of resumes.  And though we got lucky with both hires, we weren't about to trust that luck a third time.

We had a few advantages this time around.

One: we had more money and a much larger cash flow.  We could safely afford to advertise.

Two: we had a reputation.  A fair number of people knew who we were.  We had a much stronger online presence as well.

Three: we--us owners--were more than prepared to allocate funds to this.  Perhaps we were a bit stupid in not recognizing that our employees would be a major asset for the clinic.  They would also be the largest investment after the property itself.  We were foolish not to spend money to assure us of getting the best person.

So this time around we threw money at Monster.com and CareerBuilder.  We put ads in the Community College Career Network (10 colleges in all).  We still put up an ad on Craigslist--it was free, after all-- and we still wrote about it on our clinic blog, but we didn't rely on those avenues reaching many people. 

Perhaps more importantly, we contact all our clients with email.  We've received a few leads from this, but more importantly, it gave us a chance to touch base with our clients one more time.  The act of hiring another staff member was cause to once again thank and celebrate the people that have made the clinic a small success.  Well, at least a clinic with good potential to be a success.  It has been nice hearing congratulations from people that have selected us as their doctor.

The process has left us giddy with excitement, thrilled at the possibilities present in a new addition.  We feel quite confident that we will have another exceptional person working if only because of the sheer volume of people interested.  Back in June of 07, our second had pulled in less than 10 resumes.  Tonight, we sit on over 100 resumes.  Somewhere in there is our soulmate.  We just have to dig her out.

job postings

Don't be shy about making the application process a bit difficult.  Ask for a cover letter and resume.  Ask that they send them (not just dump them via an online site).  Ask that they address a cover letter to a specific task.  The need to weed out the casual or longshot applicant saves a lot of time.

Be specific about the job so that the applicant knows just what the job entails.  Ensure that the applicant feels there is a good match.

Fish

I read Fish by Stephen C. Lundin etc.  It wasn't exactly recommended by a friend, but he did say he liked some of the things he had to say.  While I didn't care much for the book as a whole, I might mention the main things about improving workplace environment.

The four elements that make up the gist...

Choose Your Attitude
Play
Make Their Day
Be Present

These aren't bad ideas.  Of course, making the employees believe and change is the hard part.

The Start of Something Big

We're closing in on our one year anniversary of opening our business, and I wanted to start documenting the successes and failures. In part, because I'm sentimental and like to look back on what we were when we were. But I also want some anecdotal tracking of our business. Our memory tells us we were one thing, but our memory lies. I hope that recording life as it happens will help us to better chart the business apart from the spreadsheets and the balance statements.

Future posts will try to quickly establish the history of the clinic, what we went through to get up and going, and what lessons we've so far learned.