One of the Accountemps commercials just got through airing. I love the farcical nature of the ads and the creativity of the writers. The other thing is, those commercials make me think about a lot of things. They've been food for several proposed blogs that were started and lost or started and saved until I could finish later. Incidentally, Later is coming. But she still needs to finish putting on her make-up.
Back to Accountemps. There was the ad where Nerlman was looking for work for the intern. That one was ripe. There was the first one where Nerlman was calling in sick and learned about Bob. I also remember the one where the manager was taking credit for the excellent reports that were being produced. The VP was looking forward to talking with him about that. And today's gem is about Nerlman's wanting to do something important -- more than he's usually allowed to do. So Mr. [what'shisname?] tells him instead of the finance report, Nerlman can do Payroll while Bob (the temp) does the report. "What's Payroll?" Nerlman asks after celebrating the task with some significance.
But today's commercial comes on the coattail of some real life interactions where a person with excellent credentials is passed over while the recruiter continues their search for the needle in the haystack. So it's time to ask two questions (if not more): (1) How the heck did Nerlman get hired? (2) Why has Bob from Accountemps not been hired?
Nerlman is the consummate slacker. But he's been with the company for as many years as Carter has pills (or peanuts; it depends on which Carter we're talking about). He's good at supervising the intern but the intern is a whinny, sniveling teenager whose worth is stapling papers.
On the other hand, Bob knows how to do every financial function. It must be that Bob has not yet earned his certification. Or maybe he wants the independence (independence?) that temping allows. He's a commitment phobe. There was one commercial where Nerlman was moving his things into the last person's office and Mr. [what'shisname?] said Bob would be moving in there while the replacement was found and speculated that Bob may be the replacement.
So why haven't they hired Bob? Maybe Bob's agency is asking too much in the temp to perm fee percentage. But if this company that keeps calling Bob back in has such challenges and appreciates Bob's proliferate talents and skills so much, why have they not made the first step toward turning around their ROI dive by extending an offer or at least learning how to do a better job of recruiting, screening, and onboarding? Why is it that a recruiter hasn't latched onto Bob like tar on a stick and placed him in one of the Big Four?
Or maybe Bob sees the mess that exists at the company and has mentally said to himself, "Never, in a million years. That's the job from Hell," because there's so much waste and disorganization that it would take too much energy to get things sorted out and kept that way in the long run. Short-term, specific projects help him keep his sanity while driving up his worth.
That brings up another issue. Is Accountemps paying Bob a premium for all of the skills he has? Have they increased his hourly rate to reflect the amount of his demand, especially with Nerlman's company?
Here we have the consummate and elusive desirable candidate -- a qualified candidate. Yet the right recruiter has yet to pick him up and place him in the right situation. Do we really recognize qualified when we see it? Do we really understand what constitutes and what has led to being qualified?
And by the way, just exactly who is responsible for getting Bob hired?
