Re: "Urgent" Hiring Practices & lack of candidates

[Dick Margulis <ampersandvirgule -at- WORLDNET -dot- ATT -dot- NET>]

Bob Morrisette wrote:
>
> Only a small percentage of open positions are advertised "anywhere."
> We have many openings, but I haven't seen any ads to fill them.
> We pay a $1,000 bounty to employees for referrals.
>


As I am currently in job search mode, I have been reading this thread
with interest, trying to keep my mouth shut lest I offend someone who
might otherwise hire me. [ Brief plug: my resume is at
http://home.att.net/~ampersandvirgule ]

But I had to respond to this comment.

This is a practice that is becoming more and more common, and I think
companies should take a close look at how they implement it. More than
one company has had to pay enormous fines to the Federal Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, sign consent decrees, etc., because
they did not advertise their openings properly.

The very real danger stems from our human tendency to prefer people who
are in some way like ourselves. It's one thing to have the troops out
beating their favorite internet newsgroup bushes for new candidates who
are strangers. It is quite another to quietly ask your employees to pass
the word among their friends that a job may be available.

If advertising fails to turn up a qualified candidate and a company
wants to reward an employee who then is able to recruit someone, that's
great. But if this is the first-line strategy, the company may begin to
take on the appearance of Suzie's congregation or Jim's fraternal lodge.
Aside from the potential legal consequences, this sort of incestuous
recruiting breeds a company where everyone thinks the same way and
innovation is less likely to occur. Diversity is not just a buzzword and
a liberal shibboleth; it is also a great way to keep a company's
creative juices flowing.

Just my $0.02.

Dick Margulis