Hiring is like dating.
Have you ever heard anyone say, “Hiring is like dating?” If that’s the case, then, at Landforce we’ve spent a lot of the last few weeks on dates, and we are pleased to announce that there are some great fish in the sea. Over 50 people have applied for 14 seasonal Landforce crew member positions, and we’ve already conducted 38 interviews. Somehow we managed to winnow these down to 21 applicants to come in for a second round of interviews and work for a couple of hours alongside our crew leaders. These working interviews allow us to see how people work, how they relate to potential team mates, and more importantly, allow our candidates to understand what the work is actually like. As I write this, it’s in the 30s and snowing, and all of our candidates showed up to their working interview and put their best effort forward. Choosing the final 14 will be a nearly impossible task.
During the interview process we get to learn about people beyond what is on their resume, and they get to meet us and learn who we are and what our organization is like. This year we added a slight twist and gave our candidates an assignment between interviews — go to your public library and take a book out on a career that interests you and bring it to the working interview. This helped our candidates understand that we take the workforce development piece of Landforce as seriously as we take the land stewardship side, and helped us know which of our candidates would take it equally seriously. Everyone we invited back completed the assignment. We are looking at a group of people anxious to work and join the Landforce family.
Over the last few weeks there were a few moments that stood out and really speak to the character of the people we are meeting. One individual told us about their journey of self discovery, and how important it is to figure out who you are. As they said, “If you can’t be uncomfortable for five minutes by yourself, how are you going to be able to be uncomfortable when other people are involved?” The solution — take 5 minute long cold showers to practice handling uncomfortable situations. This is certainly someone who is working on handling their emotions, and not letting their emotions handle them.
Another recurring dream we heard again and again is for people to hold a steady job so they can take care of themselves and their loved ones. One person mentioned that they would like nothing more than to be able to afford “the finer things in life” for their daughter — like pizza. For most of us, pizza is the simplest of wishes, but for Pittsburgh’s unemployed, it can be as far away as the moon.
Regardless of who the final crew will be in 2017, as Thomas said after a long day of interviewing, “we feel privileged to meet these candidates,” and look forward to introducing them and their accomplishments to you over the next 6 months.