Help wanted ad

[Jeff 232]

The 2 guys that were suppose to come in from VA fell through so Im looking to hire 3 guys now. I put the ad in for this morning paper & Fridays. I already have had 16 calls. OH MY GOD, theres some sad people. I got a couple hopefuls.

Im trying to prescreen them and thes are some of the questions Im asking.

Do you have a license

Do you have own transpotation

What part of town do you live in

Are you working now

Allergic to any chems

Do you mind OT, weekends & nights

Have you worked outside

Do you mind getting dirty

I stress while talking to them the importance of being reliable and tell them if they arent dont bother applying.

Im feeling them out over the phone and taking names & #s and will have them fill out applications Monday, for the ones I call back

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS you all can think of that will help me prescreen applicants??????????

I'm starting workers at $10.00 hr with a 30 day review with a raise up to $11.00

18 calls so far, man this is going to be a PITA day, but you got to love it!!!

Thanks

Jeff

[RPetry 564]

Jeff,

OH MY GOD, theres some sad people.

Oh my god, you can get anything beside sad people at $10/hr.? Is that a normal starting rate for your area?

Up here in NJ, I hire wet behind the ears college kids starting at $12. If they work out, they will get up to $15.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Be careful. There are thing you can and can't ask...

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/library/596-guidelines-interview-questions-you-can-legally-ask.html

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/library/595-general-guidelines-conducting-interviews.html

Beth

[Jeff 232]

Jeff,

Oh my god, you can get anything beside sad people at $10/hr.? Is that a normal starting rate for your area?

Up here in NJ, I hire wet behind the ears college kids starting at $12. If they work out, they will get up to $15.

Hell I know carpenters, electricians, HVAC guy that dont make $15. Of course some amke better than that, But welcome to Myrtle Beach. With all the mexican help here now I've seen wages actuallly go down around here.

$10 is a decent wage around here. Most laborers start at $7-$9 pretty sad I know. Like I said I pay $10 then $11 after 30 days and if someones good they get bumped up quick my 2 guys were making $14+ in less than a year

Come on down Rick I'll start you at $14 and if you pass the test and know what you're doing i'll give you a raise MAYBE, only if you know what your doing LOL

[RPetry 564]

Jeff,

Cost of living differences considered, maybe comparible. I assume you don't have to spend ~450K for a small single family home in a decent neighborhood.

Come on down Rick I'll start you at $14

Nah, I don't wash buildings or do flatwork. Wood is worth at least $30/hr. but then again at my age and pace of work, thats probably overpaying!

[Jeff 232]

Jeff,

Nah, I don't wash buildings or do flatwork. Wood is worth at least $30/hr. but then again at my age and pace of work, thats probably overpaying!

$30 an hour :lgbugeyes I can go get a troybilt PWer and the kid down the street, All he needs is a 0 degree tip, Clorox and some Thompsons Water Seal and we's are cleanin sum deks LOL Hell you wood guys are worth a million!!!!!

Jeff

[Jeff 232]

I've gotten 88 calls, no 89 calls(damn phone) for the job in less than 12 hours. I started telling everyone the jobs are filled. I start one tomorrow and another has to give notice and he starts the 17th. Still have to hire one more guy

What a day, Im telling you I was just about ready to smash my phone

[RPetry 564]

Jeff,

89 calls? Holy smokes, you may have to change your phone number. Do you speak Spanish?

Hey you have one more spot open? I better email my resume ASAP. Do you have any wood down there in Myrtle Beach? Need a new subsidiary? I'm looking for a winter home.

Just got to get out of NJ in the winters. This state is so expensive, corrupt, and a friggin' bureaucratic nightmare, it just drives me crazy. Some laid back Southern hospitality, warm breezes, and slower pace could just be the recharge I need to deal with things here.

For some peace of mind, $14 an hour sounds good! Hope your new hires work out for you.

[Jeff 232]

Jeff,

89 calls? Holy smokes, you may have to change your phone number. Do you speak Spanish?

Hey you have one more spot open? I better email my resume ASAP. Do you have any wood down there in Myrtle Beach? Need a new subsidiary? I'm looking for a winter home.

Just got to get out of NJ in the winters. This state is so expensive, corrupt, and a friggin' bureaucratic nightmare, it just drives me crazy. Some laid back Southern hospitality, warm breezes, and slower pace could just be the recharge I need to deal with things here.

For some peace of mind, $14 an hour sounds good! Hope your new hires work out for you.

Actually no spanish calls today. Theres some wood and other places in South & North Carolina theres tons of wood. Theres more than a few that do very well in the Carolinas. Hell sell your house up there and you probably could buy 2 here.

Come on down. theres always room for more yankee's, the south is definitly different from up there. I could never move back up there because of the weather. I just dont need that cold anymore

One I hired had to give a notice to his job, I liked that. Hell over 90% of the people calling didnt have a job at present. I know I always had a job. I wouldnt quit until I had one. Things sure are different. Wish me luck, we'll see how it goes

[PWkid 79]

Jeff I will be blunt if you can find a good latino you better hire him or her they have better work ethics than others. I probably will be chastized for saying this but from my experience laborers are better if they speak spanish. my ....02 worth.

Ducks because the shots are a coming lmao.

[RPetry 564]

Mel,

That is a very interesting observation. I've avoided even considering hiring Latino workers only because I do not have any Spanish skills. Jeeze, English is tough enough.

How do you communicate? We have a very nice Polish gal that cleans our house every other week. She and I can kind of understand basic things between us, but I know I'd never be able to train her on exterior wood.

[PWkid 79]

Rick show them what to do and they pick up very well even though they don't speak very good english.

[mas3372 14]

While latin decent persons do have high work ethics and work hard all day. the one problem I would fear are customers or potential customers stereotyping you as hiring illegal workers and so forth. Rigth, wrong or indifferent, I would keep it in mind.

When Hiring, go with your gut and people instincts. Dont' be afraid to say goodbye if someone isn't working out. 89 calls in one day, I would not be agraid to say bye bye, there are 88 more people to give a shot until you find what your looking for. good luck.

[Jeff 232]

I really wouldnt have a problem hiring a latino, as long as they are legal. There is going to be a crack down on illegal workers and sometimes you just dont know if their paperwork is real or not. There will be some huge fines for hiring illegals, at least thats what my accountant is telling me the IRS is saying to the CPA's

I have no problem saying buy to a guy who isnt trying to give me a good days work everyday

[PLD 14]

>> There is going to be a crack down on illegal workers

Not as long as the Reps have the WhiteHouse!

IHMO, just make a reasonable effort to verify their docs and you'll be fine. You're an employer, not an INS agent.

[RPetry 564]

Philip said:

IHMO, just make a reasonable effort to verify their docs and you'll be fine.

This sounds about right. The INS, IRS, Dept. of Treasury, whomever the Feds throw at illegals aren't going to go after JL Pressure Washing or Windsor WoodCare. They have much bigger fish to fry.

The meat packing industry in the midwest, Walmart subcontracting to Cleaning Co.'s and locking workers inside stores overnight, etc. With limited resources the Feds go after big press and big examples.

Kind of like the local DA making a name for himself by prosecuting organized crime. They don't devote their limited resources going after petty theives.

[James 624]

The "illegals are back" with the opening of Baseball season the noise associated with Landscape season is here. On April Fools day a plane had Hundreds of people with backpack blowers parachute onto Connecticut soil. The plane was from Central America. This has become come an annual event and the Flower Beds are happy . So are the people of the state who scramble to capture one of the parachuter's for yard tending season. The season ends in November.

[RPetry 564]

Sir James of Knowledgewood,

Hah! Maybe an idea. How about woodies sponsor a plane load of indigenous Indians from the rainforests of the Amazon basin to work on rich American's ipe' decks?

There's got to be a great marketing campaign in there somewhere. Where's Ken?

[Jeff 232]

Philip said:

This sounds about right. The INS, IRS, Dept. of Treasury, whomever the Feds throw at illegals aren't going to go after JL Pressure Washing or Windsor WoodCare. They have much bigger fish to fry.

The meat packing industry in the midwest, Walmart subcontracting to Cleaning Co.'s and locking workers inside stores overnight, etc. With limited resources the Feds go after big press and big examples.

Kind of like the local DA making a name for himself by prosecuting organized crime. They don't devote their limited resources going after petty theives.

Actually as I was told by my accountant, he takes all those IRS ongoing training classes and seminars and the word that the IRS will be going after large & small companies even small companies with only a few workers. They are going to do it with boots on the ground and by tracking SS#'s etc. Its suppose to be in different areas and they will be giving heavy fines up to 50K. I thought they wouldnt go after the small fish also. But he tells me they are making a point to go after small companies also and they say its going to happen for the next couple years

We'll see, my accountants been around a long time and he seems to believe its coming. I'm not willing to take the chance, I dont want to be paying a 50K fine

We should actually make it Illegal again for illegals to come over. Its just a open flood gate. There are 10's of thousands more in my area than just 5 years ago.

[RPetry 564]

Thats a strong warning Jeff and your source is certainly credible. A good heads up for any TGS member contractors hiring.

So if you are going to hire "questionables", a through review of their documentation is in order I guess.

[John Doherty 126]

Here in NJ they do it all the time. State Treasury dept guys ride alond with the local cops and they pull over the ladscapers. Tres. guys start to ask how they get paid, is it by check, cash etc.

They don't care about the immigration status, they want to know if the guys are being paid off the books, then they pull the cos books and 'recalculate' their income for them.

I know guys who've been hit with over $400k in 'recalculated' back taxes!

[RPetry 564]

John,

Thanks for the warning. Although I only have college kids, on the books, with WC, that is good to know. Been tempted at times to go with underground hiring.

$400K in back taxes? I'd be living in a homeless shelter! Just gotta' love the Garden State.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

About Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf

Hope these help.

Beth

[PLD 14]

and the word that the [insert agency] will be going after

That's the meat of it. They want to make you think that they are hiding at every corner just waiting so you will self-police. The reality of actual enforcement is very different.

Take rocketry for example: There is a legal battle ongoing over their authority to regulate rocket fuel. The BATFE has been threatening to jail rocketteers on the spot. They have even had agents hang out conspicously as if a bust were emminent. This has been going on for 5 years now and not one person has been given so much as a ticket. And our launches are far from secretive. The last big meet was publicized for 2 years and drew over a thousand people. Why all the posturing?? They simply don't have the manpower to make a significant enforcement. And if they bust only a few and someone fights it, they could lose the case and their right to enforce. So, just create FUD and hope for the best.

Like I said earlier; It'll never happen while there is a Rep in the WhiteHouse. Call me back in 2 months and 24 days and I'll explain why.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Oh, I'm sure it's not real.... nah...couldn't be real....

washingtonpost.com

Beth

p.s. see Form I-9 link