Job Posting Responses are less than stellar

[KatherineLn]

We've been posting on several sites regarding our lube tech opening for at least 3 months with little response and the ones we get are inexperienced or unqualified.

Any suggestions on where to advertise for service tech job openings to get a better pool of applicants from?

Used Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder, Zip Recruiter, Craigslist, FB Marketplace, local papers... We're really hurting for help and now we're losing a full line tech as well.

Thanks for any insight or tips!

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Katherine, thanks for posting. I'm not 100% how to answer but I'll see if I can't find someone to help out. Maybe Adam from Hireology can help out.

 

[Brendan Dolan]

We had a really tough time hiring for these positions as well, especially when you factor in the cost of living in NorCal near our stores. We maintained relationships with some of the local high schools that still have an autoshop program, local community colleges, and job fairs with the major mechanic schools. Lots of hard work to find the right people.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

@KatherineLn be sure to read this article by Candice Crane at Hireology - How To Size Up The Automotive Market And Write Effective Job Descriptions.

Whether your dealership is growing or looking to combat turnover, it’s important to take a strategic look at the automotive talent pool. Specifically, consider opening your search beyond applicants with automotive sales experience. Clearly communicate your company history, culture and benefits package on your website, across social media and in job descriptions to attract top applicants. With millennials now making up the majority (60 percent) of all automotive hires-and expecting benefits package to go far beyond compensation-it’s key to communicate comprehensive benefits throughout the hiring process.

How can you put the right strategy in place to find and attract new employees?... Keep Reading

 

[Adam Robinson]

Katherine - great question. Let me suggest that the answer lies in asking a different question. What are today's best candidates for Lube Tech roles looking for in a new job? It's less about posting and more about marketing the opportunity as a product that your customer (applicant) wants to buy.

It's getting much harder to just post jobs and get applicants, but you know this already. Spending more money on boards doesn't work the majority of the time. When dealerships are seeing success in fixed ops recruiting, it's typically a result of the following:

1. A dedicated careers site that tells the story of what it means to work there. Check out Fox Motors' career site and employment video that's fixed-ops focused. Here's a great example of a video job description that Kunes Country produced. Kunes' career site can be found here.

2. A defined career path. For a quality applicant looking for a new gig, they want to know what's possible from a careers standpoint. Here again, Kunes does an exceptional job. Check out this "careers path" page on their career site.

3. Excellent benefits. What does will this new employee receive in addition to competitive pay? What programs does the company offer? Suburban Collection in Detroit has a fantastic career site that includes benefits.

I know you were probably looking for a faster path to a solution, but these are the efforts that will produce sustainable, long-term results for you and your store or group. Happy to chat further.

 

[KatherineLn]

Thank you all for the great info!

I believe part of our struggle is related to our rural location, but additionally, our owner announced his retirement last month (and we are waiting for all the final paperwork to go through before the new owner takes over) and the 65 year old family business won't be staying in the family. Being in a small town the word got around pretty fast.

The owner would really like to get these positions filled soon to aid in the business deal, but I have a feeling that folks might be hesitant to apply because of the unknown owner. And I'm a bit hesitant to talk up our dealership's motto and values under the owner's name when we're going to have a whole new name soon. Perhaps I just ought to be operating "business as usual" until everything's official.

Again, thanks for the awesome resources!

 

[Ben_Adler12]

Great input so far about how to advertise.

My 2 cents would be that I see openings posted on LinkedIn status' often. Maybe someone in your network knows of someone who is looking. Does it work? No idea :P