It’s tough out there. You’ve been trying to hire another tradie for your business but have had next to zero applications! Well. you’re not alone. It’s something we’re hearing more and more from our members (we’ve even experienced it ourselves). “There just isn’t any tradies out there anymore!” And it’s true.
You’ll laugh at my next line.
“Back in my day” every Tom, Dick and Harry was entering into a trade apprenticeship after school.
Now, only around 8% of students in every state are choosing an apprenticeship over a university degree.
So where does this leave us, the trade business owners who are now competing for staff?
It leaves us needing to scrutinise our hiring process, especially our job advertisements! An awesome tradie who is presented with over 100 job offers isn’t going to choose yours if you don’t stand out. Not sure about how to make yours stand out? Check out our tips below:
#1. Where are you posting your job advertisement?
You should be posting your job advertisement on every channel possible.
Firstly, there’s the paid options such as Seek, LinkedIn, and Facebook advertisements. The word ‘paid’ might scare you away from using these sites. When it comes down to it, you are actually losing money by not having that extra tradesman working for you. So why not spend a bit of money to reduce that loss?
Then, there’s the free options such as LinkedIn Groups, Facebook Community Boards, local TAFEs, and Indeed.
By covering all these sites, you can guarantee when tradies are performing a job search, your companies name will follow them on every site. Perhaps they’ll even ‘take it as a sign’ they are meant to apply for the job?
#2. Make your advertisement as clear as possible
Despite wanting every tradie that sees your advertisement to apply, you also don’t want time wasters.
Clearly outline how much experience they need (1st year apprentice, 3rd year, or even fully qualified?). Clarify the skills they require. For example, if you’re a plumbing business, do they need to understand relining or not? Articulate the attitude you’re looking for. For example, team player, good work ethic, commitment.
Tradify’s ‘The Ultimate Guide For Hiring Tradespeople’ lists the exact 7 things you need in a job description to make it stand out along with HEAPS of other tips on hiring. CLICK HERE to check it out.
#3. List all the benefits and bonuses
When we advertise jobs for our own plumbing business, we include the following benefits:
- New iPad
- New iPhone
- New truck
- Opportunities for bonuses
- Free uniform.
Why? Because it makes us appealing!
We recently updated all of our trucks, iPhones, and iPads. We are actually not lying when we say this. We’re not saying you should either. If you genuinely can offer these things, why not include them as a selling point.
You may also want to consider including a rough salary range (applicable for the type of tradesman you are hiring for). For qualified tradesmen, include a sentence along the lines of “Hourly rate between $XX & $XX dependent on experience”. Or if you are looking for an apprentice, include a sentence such as “Earn above the award rate” for an apprentice, up to $XX an hour!”
Some business owners omit this. By including this, you’re ruling out time wasters (those who want more than what you can pay them).
When it comes down to it, you can’t force a tradesman to apply for your job advertisement. You can influence their decision. You would be silly not to in today’s labour shortage!
What’s next?
- Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
- Book a 15-minute Game Plan Call with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps.
