Finding good tradespeople “is difficult in a metropolitan area where success in the school system is defined as ‘percentage college-ready,' implying that those not college-bound are not successful,” says Jerry Liu, owner of DG Liu Contractor, in Kensington, Md.
“We average 64 phone responses to a newspaper ad to find 16 who actually read the ad and might qualify. Of 16 scheduled interviews, four might show up. The no-shows go on a list and are never eligible for hire.”
To avoid wasting time waiting for no-shows, production manager Terry Ensor organized a Saturday morning job fair at a local hotel conference room. The company placed ads in newspapers and fastened a “job fair” advertisement to the top of a project manager's truck and drove it around town, parking at various local Lowe's and The Home Depot stores. Ensor pre-qualified candidates by phone. The fair was staffed by two salespeople who met prospects with coffee and donuts, found out about why the candidates were job shopping, then passed them to crew leaders who checked technical skills.
Three pre-qualified candidates attended the job fair, from which Ensor says he hired an experienced carpenter for the framing crew. He feels it was a successful venture that the company will repeat.