I didn't get hired?! or... "Creating successful staff opportunities."

Today, we sent out our first round of contracts.

Once the word got out, we started receiving phone calls & emails from applicants who felt overlooked, hurt, and confused that they weren't hired.

This was a problem last year, and it's one of the pitfalls of hiring in rounds verses hiring all-at-once.

Let me explain those two terms.

HIRING ALL-AT-ONCE
A process of hiring seasonal staff when the employer waits until every position has been filled, and extends everyone an offer of employment at the same time.

Hiring this way is not really a good idea. If we waited until enough people applied to fill every position, we would probably be waiting until May to send out contracts & paperwork. People might accept other summer jobs, lose interest, and/or feel insecure about their summer plans.

HIRING IN ROUNDS
A process of hiring seasonal staff when the employer hires staff after determining where they would be most successful, extending offers of employment as soon as possible.

Hiring in rounds solves a lot of the problems that would be created by hiring all-at-once. It gives us time to replace drop-outs and allows our future employees to plan ahead.

The downside is that it creates a new problem: Staff who apply but aren't hired wonder why they weren't accepted.

So let me offer you the most common explanation.

THE ANSWER
Let's say that someone applies for camp who can surf, mountain bike, and skateboard. This person has three special talent areas that can be utilized at PSR, but what if no one else has applied for any of those jobs yet?

This is a problem. We have one staff member and three positions that need to be filled.

So we wait. We wait to see who else applies to teach surfing, mountain biking, and skateboarding while keeping in mind that we have someone who can do all three. Eventually we place everyone (included our most talented staff) where they can be successful and useful for camp ministry.

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T WORRY
Hiring in rounds means that (as of right now) we've only hired about half of our camp staff. No one has been overlooked, and we know that there are lots of talented applicants still in the mix. Every applicant is considered with thoughtfulness and prayer as we build the best staff for our 2014 season.

Blessings!

~Jeremy




P.S.
If you're still reading this blog post, I will provide a bit more detail about the contract groups and dates.

Contract Group #1
February 18th - first round of hiring letters (blue group)
March 18th - second round of hiring letters (green group)
April 1st - We send contracts to everyone who accepted offers of employment in the blue & green groups.

Contract Group #2
April 17th (estimate) - third round of hiring letters (yellow group)
April 28th - We send contracts to everyone who accepted offers of employment in the yellow group.

Contract Group #3
May 15th (estimate) - last round of hiring letters (pink group)
May 26th - We send contracts to everyone who accepted offers of employment in the pink group.