For effective hiring, “You should have your campaign going all the time and try to snag folks even though you may not immediately need them,” says Mike Denker, vice president of Hopkins and Porter, in Potomac, Md. “We held one guy, signed and ready to join us for four months, until we were ready,” Denker adds. “He was ending his partnership in business, and we kept buying his time with small projects. He really wanted to wait because we offered him what he needed.”

Denker offers the following additional tips:

  • Have young ones in training out of high school coming up through your ranks.
  • Let suppliers know your needs.
  • Hang job notices at lumberyards and other venues contractors frequent.
  • Use Craig's List (www.craigslist.com), which is free, and place ads in outlying newspapers.
  • Place magnetic signs on company vehicles stating employment opportunities.
  • Give a bonus to employees who bring in qualified employees who stay.
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