Best Hiring Method?

Painter711

Hello,

We are a two man crew here, and are currently experiencing a growth spurt. We need to hire 5-6 more painters in the very near future, but are unsure how to go about it in a way that ensures that the painters we hire are detail oriented and can work well. T

The challenge here is that we are about to begin a few large jobs, but don't have the capital to hire until we start them.

Any ideas on where to look when hiring painters as well as how to ensure that they know what they are doing before they get on the job would be great.

Thanks!

Mike Finley

I don't know if you are capable, but if you can come up with a written test of basic to advanced painting knowledge you won't believe how valuable it is.

I came up with a 50 question test that relates to what we do. The questions vary from very, very rudimentary to very difficult.

But the huge advantage I have is I have a measureable way of gauging a candidates bullsh*t from reality very, very quickly. You say you've been painting professionaly for 2 years? 5 years? 30 years? Go over the test and he doesn't know the difference between a synthetic brush and a natural one, doesn't know what floetrol is used for?

It won't be a magic bullet to find the perfect employees, but damn you won't believe how fast you find out exactly what somebody knows and doesn't. In 5-10 minutes you know more about the guys skills then you will find out having him work for you for a week.

aWorkaHolic

These are the days we all wished we can shove ourselves in a copier machine.

Workaholic

That is a good idea, i will have to use that next time i am hiring.
I have gone through many of "professional painters " that did'nt seem to know squat about the trade.
In this trade people call themselfs professionals just because they helped someone paint a house before.

__________________
Sean

DelW

Wouldn't happen to have a copy of that test to share would ya.

__________________
If love is blind, why do they make Lingerie?

Dave Mac

you being in the bucket is a huge advantage. What i do is keep a on going list of painters, always getting their numbers. have a nice bunch of questions, if they pass that, watch them work, side by side, shouldn't take long to figure out if they are good.

KellyPainting

I heard of a guy a few years back who put adds in 5 newspapers and flyers at paint stores... the said be at such and such place Sunday 7am..dress as you were to go to work. They would walk into an office or empty jobsite and find the boss with ten step ladders... cans of paint and brushes...he would have the first 10 paint a wall each... and CUT IT IN, while talking to the others...when the first 10 guys were done.. he put the next ones on trim... and so on and so on...
He got the answers he needed and also a few rooms painted for free!

I've been dying to do this !!!!!!!

DeanV

I do not have any advice on how to find the right new-hires, but for the financing, if your credit is decent, your bank should be able to give you a line of credit that will take care of the financial side of it. You can put your home equity or business property up for collateral. My bank let me do a line of credit using just my accounts receivable to show ability to pay. The interest rates are not bad either, they float depending on prime rate of course.

Mike Finley

I can email you a copy of it, but keep in mind it has nothing to do with painting.

Tmrrptr

That test idea sounds good for starters.

But I would hire people with no experience, at minimum wage, if I needed a bunch of workers at once. split them up with experienced crew...

Hire them for one day at a time.
If they know how to WORK!!!!, give them a raise every day 'til they get near your lowest paid crewman.
If they don't know how to work, send 'em down he road and get another.
The only way to get qualified painters on short notice is to steal them from another contractor and that's expensive!
r

fathersonfab

The best advice I have read about hiring is... "hire slow, fire fast."

Also, I'd require a minimum 3 work references and then call ALL of them.

daArch

Hiring competant workers is tough. The good dependable ones are already working and the bosses will want to keep them.

When I first incorporated I interviewed people in my home, asked hem questions and got a feel for the personality. My wife listened from another room. I must say that wasn't too sucessful. The kids I had a good feeling about were OK, The one that she REALLY was impressed by, turned out to be an alchoholic that his a lunch break out of a bottle.

Next batch of hirees, I rented a small motel conference room and interviewed them there. Being puntcual was important. Looking presentable was important. Being comunicative was important. Skills are something you can teach, work ethic is there or it isn't. Ya gotta go with your gut at times.

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Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

HUDSONVALLEYEXT

When I first started I had the capital problem.

I had $300k jobs we could do but we needed to hire a crew or two.

I never came up the the $20k to do payroll until the contractor paid us.

It hurt to lose all that money but a few months later we found smaller jobs

and worked our way up saving up $$$ to do larger jobs.