Woodshop Hiring in Chicagoland

[Akavit]

Though the position is only meant for local people, I thought I'd link to it here just in case anyone is interested.  People here might be interested because my company produces a few pieces of church furniture each year for traditionalist groups.  Though in the interest of clarity, new hires don't get to touch the church furniture as it's too complex for greenhorns.  I'm hiring for help with the bread and butter product lines I provide for several commercial clients.  Christmas sales start early for wholesalers.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/lbg/5712033337.html

[Lynne]

It's great that you're busy enough that you need to hire!

[Akavit]

Actually, I've been busy enough for awhile.  I had an experienced cabinet-maker working for me earlier in the year while he was between full-time jobs.  He's moved on though he'll still put in an occasional Saturday if I ask.

There's a severe shortage of skilled manual laborers out there.  While it makes hiring difficult, it also means once people find out about my business, they'll keep sending more work my way.  That cabinet-maker I mentioned earlier has no problems finding new jobs as all the Chicago area cabinet shops seem to be under-staffed.

This is part of the reason I decided to run commercial piece-work and custom furniture from the same shop.  It's near impossible to get skilled help to build custom furniture but it is possible to hire production workers then train the best of them as proper furniture-makers.

[Graham]

Do you think there's much chance of finding employment at a shop that does majority solid wood, small production and/or one-of-a-kind furniture?

[Akavit]

Well, yes.  My shop does that stuff and I'm not the only one operating such a business.  Finding them in your area can be difficult because most don't have a good internet presence.  Cabinet shops that target local customers are generally the only ones that are easy to locate but they don't do the sort of work you've described.

The catch is convincing them you're able and willing to do the work then getting a foot in the door.  The first job is the hardest to get.  But once I got mine, just about every company suddenly had an interest in talking to me.  I ignored them, stayed with my first employer, then eventually went self-employed.

[Akavit]

I guess the edit feature goes away after some time so I can't update the link in the original post.  Due to reclassification, the link has changed to the one below.

Temp Production Position at Woodshop

[Lynne]

I guess the edit feature goes away after some time so I can't update the link in the original post.  Due to reclassification, the link has changed to the one below.

Temp Production Position at Woodshop

Yes, I think you have 24 hours to edit a post...

[Akavit]

There goes my scheme to stealth edit all my posts in 2-year's time to alter the gist of entire threads.  Note to self:  must find new means to achieve world domination.

[Heinrich]

Looks like you are having a hard time finding qualified help.

[Lynne]

There goes my scheme to stealth edit all my posts in 2-year's time to alter the gist of entire threads.  Note to self:  must find new means to achieve world domination.

[Akavit]

Looks like you are having a hard time finding qualified help.

Haven't been trying too, too long but I suspect it will be difficult.  Most people in similar industries have said hiring was always a pain.  Some keep their ads up all year whether or not they need anyone at the moment.

Last application I got looked like someone just fired off a resume to multiple employers and completely ignored the instructions contained in the ad.  That's never a good sign.

There goes my scheme to stealth edit all my posts in 2-year's time to alter the gist of entire threads.  Note to self:  must find new means to achieve world domination.

Don't tell the others.

[Kaesekopf]

Yeah.  Some people like to delete their posts months after they post and then want their account deleted.  I dont like that.  If you said something, itll be preserved for greater forum integrity. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Akavit]

Over in the woodworking forums, some people start threads then get upset if no one replies in a day or so.  They then delete the content and say that if people won't respond, they don't deserve the information contained within.

[Akavit]

Thought I'd let people know I might have found a guy.  I spoke with someone last week that has shown interest in working for me.