On Sun, 13 Oct 2013 17:33:14 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
wrote:

On Sunday, October 13, 2013 4:25:44 PM UTC-7, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Ed Pawlowski:

I've been trying to hire a person for a trainee type maintenance

position. I get two types of applicants. One is the 60+ year old guy

that was making $25 or more an hour. The other is the young guy that

did not finish high school and has a difficult time spelling the name

of the street he lives on. .



My son-in-law recently had to hire somebody to help test financial

planning software. He decided that one litmus test was whether the

applicant could demonstrate an understanding of compound interest.



He had to interview twenty-seven *college graduates* before he found

somebody who could.

--

Pete Cresswell

I'm not an employer, so please excuse my .02. I agree with every word you said. Have you considered foreign imports? They are usually better educated, and in most cases, have far more work ethic than the semi-literate young-'uns you have been seeing.

Second thought: What is actually wrong with hiring a "60-year-old guy" as long as he can meet your requirements? The recession has wrecked the lives of many respectable, well-qualified workers who THOUGHT they could look forward to a decent retirement with their families. If the older workers can retrain to do what you want, I can guarantee you that they sure as hell know what compound interest is!

My boss gives points to "60-year-old guys" when hiring. Finding a
graduate who knows which end of a soldering iron to pick up is nearly
impossible anymore. He did hire a kid (45) recently, though.