Hard Word Boulevard

OPINION

As businesses navigate this new world of recruiting and hiring employees we are presented with unique situations that have never occurred before in history. The nuances of hiring and interview etiquette are changing at a pace that I, for one, am having trouble comprehending.

Bizarre would be how I would describe some of the things that happen when attempting to hire folks nowadays. I have written previously about the girl who had to have additional days off each month so she could be tattooed on a regular basis. Then there was the gentleman who showed up months after his interview was scheduled and expected to be hired. The countless number of times that I have been "ghosted" are too numerous to mention.

I had begun to think that nothing could surprise me anymore when it came to hiring. However, I was shown this week that the human race is always good for a new revelation.

With the dramatic increase for video we shoot to accompany stories, I decided I needed to hire a Video Production Supervisor to manage our three full-time videographers and coordinate our video content. I began my search with a great deal of optimism because this is a new position for us and I was excited to talk with prospective candidates.

One of the first applicants we had was a 50-something-year-old man with 15-plus years of experience in video production with one of the Little Rock television stations. I quickly reached out to him and scheduled an interview for the following Wednesday. He seemed excited and eager to talk with us about the position. He chose to interview with us at 11 a.m.

Imagine my surprise when on Wednesday morning around 8 a.m. I received an email from the candidate asking if we still wanted to conduct the interview since it was supposed to rain later that day. I assured him that we still wanted to speak with him and we were in fact looking forward to the conversation.

Fast forward to 8:30 a.m. I received another email from the applicant saying that he was uncomfortable traveling from Little Rock because "it may begin to storm." Please understand it was not raining at the time he sent the email there was just a possibility that it could rain.

He asked if we could reschedule. I told him news happens even when it is raining so probably not the best fit for what we were looking for at this time. I wished him well in his job search and moved on to the next candidate.

However, he did leave an impression on me. This was not some millennial who was new to the workforce. This was a man around my age with years of experience. Still, he was so wrapped up in himself that he let a great opportunity pass him by because he might get a little wet.

This situation leads me to believe we need a national effort to preserve work ethic before it becomes extinct. Remember a few years ago when we pushed hard to save the buffalo and bald eagle. We need the same level of effort to safeguard the future of work ethic. I think the extinction of work ethic is certainly a real possibility.

"All roads that lead to success have to pass through hard work boulevard at some point."

-- Eric Thomas

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