
The recovery puzzle: New factory in Ohio struggles to match jobs to job-seekers - whbk
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-recovery-puzzle-a-new-factory-in-ohio-struggles-to-match-jobs-to-job-seekers/2014/04/05/098d53ec-b44e-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html
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Zaephyr
An article about having trouble filling jobs; but there is no indication that
the hiring manager made any effort to determine why he is having trouble
getting people to show for interviews.

Makes me wonder if he knows why and just isn't saying. Small town? Too far
from major cities? Wages that are an insufficient draw for the
type/location/work schedule?

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logn
Being from this region, I'm guessing it's the location, Fort Recovery. The
nearest cities are Fort Wayne and Dayton, which are both small cities, and
they're about 1.25 hours away. Fort Recovery isn't near any interstate
highway. The job ads probably show up for everyone in Cincinnati, Columbus,
and Indianapolis, and once they GPS it, they probably realize how far it is
(2.25 hours from those cities).

The salary and benefits are competitive though ($65-70K/yr is what a mid-level
software engineer makes), which is probably why a lot of people fire off an
email.

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w1ntermute
In order to entice petroleum engineers to work above the Arctic circle or on
an oil rig, energy companies compensate them accordingly. The wages offered in
the story just aren't sufficient for this location.

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rdtsc
Good point.

You are comparing rural Ohio to the Arctic circle, which, if you are from Ohio
makes for a funny side note.

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pessimizer
I don't see the struggle.

tl;dr: A factory, way out in the sticks, offering low-moderate wage jobs
requiring minimal skills but sometimes high responsibility, attracts numerous
candidates. Some don't show, some are awful, a couple are good, and one seems
fit for management. This takes a day.

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goatforce5
Why so many no-shows for the interviews?

Is it a sign that the economy is doing well and applicants (for these types of
jobs in this area, at least) have multiple good offers on the table?

Or that the applicants are so worn down that they don't bother to turn up
because they think they have no chance of getting the jobs they're apply for?

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privong
It would seem odd for the latter - why even bother applying, in that case?

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brandnewlow
To keep their unemployment benefits alive maybe? I believe you have to show
you're out looking for work.

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Mvandenbergh
Not showing up for interviews will also get your benefits stopped.

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bambax
> _Bernie likes to think of his job as if he’s building a baseball team. (...)
> Can the guy who applied for first base play right field instead? What about
> the pitcher?_

Please don't do this. This makes this part of the article incomprehensible for
a non-American person. First base? Right field? I have no idea what this means
and will never learn (even if one told me today what it means, I would have
completely forgotten tomorrow).

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joelrunyon
I bet you're a smarter individual than you're letting on. You might know what
those mean right off the bat - but I'm sure you can infer the reference via
some pretty good critical thinking skills.

I pay no attention to soccer, hockey or cricket, but if a fan uses a position
term as part of a broader analogy, I could infer the overall context of his
point.

Besides all that, baseball is hardly just an American sport, it might not be
as widely popular in Europe, but it's quite popular in Central / South America
as well as Japan / Taiwan.

~~~
pessimizer
Right off the bat?

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chrisbennet
"Bernie Coyle wants to hire people. In this hopeful moment in the recuperating
American economy, he wants to _give_ 40 new employees health insurance, dental
insurance, good wages and a 401(k) plan with a company match.."

Why do employers think they are "giving" people a job? Would they say the
employee is looking to "give" them labor? Its business after all, both parties
are exchanging something. Nothing is being "given".

~~~
dropit_sphere
>Why do employers think they are "giving" people a job? Would they say the
employee is looking to "give" them labor? Its business after all, both parties
are exchanging something. Nothing is being "given".

While I want to side with you in principle, for many workers this is their
reality. For whatever reason, their own fault or not, they have trouble
finding a job, and it is very easy to fall into the mental trap of relying on
the generosity of others rather than one's own competence.

~~~
rdtsc
Employees and employers maybe legally have equal power, as in, on paper it is
a peer to peer type relationship. But in practice it is not. There could be
many reasons, low level of training required, lots of desperate candidates
waiting at the door, jobs shipped overseas (so say local factory from another
type of industry) was closed create a surplus of labor, and so on.

Normally people will be lining out at the door to take the place of anyone
fired and will also work extra and sacrifice their free time in order to not
get let go.

Another reason for what he said is the propaganda narrative that has been
pushed through the ages -- "companies are good, they create jobs" "you should
not unionize", "labor rights are wrong", "companies are benefactors and if you
behave yourself you'll get a job from them". So this kind of mentality (even
regardless of economic condition currently) is entrenched.

Think about it, usually that kind of jobs would be filled quickly and it would
be make for a news story. The fact that it wasn't, it kind of became an
anomaly and is now in the news.

Now he could probably change location (move to a more poor part of the
country), raise the salary (to make it worthwhile to drive 2 or 3 hours a
day), or few other things.

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tsuyoshi
The only puzzle here is why the author of this story thinks these jobs are any
good. Maybe because the journalism job market is so shitty that reporters
actually think $50k/year is a great salary, and living in the midst of more
chickens than people is enticing.

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astrange
$50k/year is more than the median household income of the US, and out there
with no culture or people the houses must be quite cheap!

