3 Tips to Fill ‘Undesirable’ Roles
In general, no position is impossible to fill because there are different types of people who would be happy in different types of roles. A task or role that is tedious to one person can be a gratifying job for someone else.
Managers can’t think about whether or not they’d want the job, but rather who would want to do the job. While it may take more work to find the right person to fill an “undesirable” role, there are three main selling points for any position:
The company. Hiring managers get so caught up trying to sell the role itself, they forget to sell the entire package the company has to offer. Show off the workplace culture with a company video during the interview process. Share employee perks or attractive benefits package. Talk about the team camaraderie, training or mentorship programs, etc. Better yet, have someone come in and speak to the company’s career progression opportunities. Get creative in how to present the pros to outweigh the cons.
The supervisor. At the end of the day, the right manager can make a crummy job enjoyable. Make sure the manager is the best fit for that particular role, because as the saying goes, people join companies, but they quit managers. It will be far easier to sell a role that is accompanied by effective management.
Work involved. As desperate as a hiring manager may get, they have to hold off for the right hire and not sugarcoat the position for anyone that seems slightly interested. It’s important to find people who want to be there. Too often managers settle on the wrong people. The consequence is poor service, bad results and at the end of the day…usually turnover. Honesty when explaining the position and what it entails is important for long-term success in the role. If not, the hiring manager is simply setting the candidate up for failure, as well as the company, because the role will be vacant again in no time. Are the hours flexible? Does it provide autonomy? Companies should consider adjusting the job description to include some position-focused perks if the work itself isn’t exciting.
Tom Gimbel is the President and CEO of LaSalle Network, a staffing and recruiting firm based in Chicago. Founded in 1998, LaSalle has served thousands of clients and candidates, placing job seekers in temporary, temporary-to-permanent and permanent positions. LaSalle Network has been listed on Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America list for the past eight years, named to Crain’s Chicago Business list of 2014 Best Places to Work, by Staffing Industry Analysts’ as a top five “Best Staffing Firms to Work For” from 2011 through 2014, and among the “Fastest Growing Staffing Firms” in 2012 and 2014. Follow Tom on Twitter at @TomGimbel.