Thank You for Submitting Your Application

Let me start out by saying I don't intend this as any kind of promotion for myself. Far be it from me to use an editorial piece as a way to get a job. On the other hand, considering the lack of response from potential employers, it might not be such a bad idea.

Those of you who are now working in the service industry will get this little rant. Those of you who no longer work in the industry, but have in the past, will also understand. If you have never been blessed to have worked in one of the most under appreciated areas in this country, this will be an eye opener, to a certain extent.

First, I will talk about the newest scourge that has graced the restaurant and bar industry. It's called Craigslist. Now, let me first say that Craigslist in itself is fantastic. There is no other website out there that offers the kind of information and job leads that it does. But in this world of technology, Craigslist has unwittingly spawned a new evil. I'm talking about the dreaded...

ONLINE JOB APPLICATION

Oh how I hate these with a passion. They are a restaurant's or bar's way of letting people know they are hiring, without having to do much work to get their word out. A general manager takes around fifteen or twenty minutes to type up the ad and voila... a place where potential employees can submit their resumes or applications.

Problem is, many times the business doesn't bother to list their phone number, address, or even their name. Now, I can understand not putting a phone number up. No business wants to field call after call, with people inquiring about a job. As a matter of fact, I personally think that anyone who calls about a job doesn't have the motivation to be considered in the first place. But to exclude a business name or address makes no sense whatsoever. If I were a business owner, I would want people to know about my company before they submit their personal information. I would want people to possibly drop by and fill out an application, or drop off a resume. And truth be told, I would think that someone who took the time to create a resume and place it in a owner's, general manager's, or manager's hands would be somebody who shows they want to work for that establishment. More so than someone who attaches a file to an email and sends it off.

One other sad fact is that when someone fills out an online application, or submits their resume, they must ask themselves one question. Where did it go? Because there are any number of things that could happen to it. It might go directly into management's hands. If it gets retrieved and printed, it might go into a pile with hundreds of other applications. Or it might sit in their inbox (which is probably attached to some generic email address that the company hardly pays attention to) for weeks. There is no way to be sure, and since they haven't provided the applicant with any contact information, nobody will ever know.

And speaking of company information, if there is none in the ad, how can a potential employee call and check on the status of the job? They can't. So another person is left out in the cold, all because a company didn't want to take the time to interview them.

Which brings me to another point.

Interviews are one of the most effective ways to determine if someone is right for a particular job. And many times, a restaurant will tell the applicant they will be doing interviews shortly. So why then does the phone remain silent? In today's economy, I would think that job turnover is not a good thing. And yet many places only bring one or two people back in for a sit down chat. When you have fifteen or twenty people applying for one job, sure it might be a hassle to interview all of them. But when the person you hired lasts about six months, because you didn't take the time to look at other candidates, you have no one to blame but yourself.

There are people out there who are struggling right now. There are people who are tired of sitting around their house. They want to work and all they ask is the opportunity to showcase what they can do. They are responsible, reliable, and friendly. But you, as an owner or manager, will never know that, because you wanted to get your job search done quickly, not right. By overlooking people, you might be overlooking the best thing that might ever happen to your establishment.

But by all means, post another ad reading...

"Restaurant hiring. Please email us your resume or fill out our online application."