Mistakes are easy to make.
The most common mistake made by equestrian employers is to let bad experiences in the past color their search for new help. Let’s face it, having employees can be a can of worms at times. The list of things that can go wrong in an employer-employee relationship in a horse job is long. Employers can be burned, cheated, and taken advantage of by their equine help. Frequently this leads to employers going into “prevention” mode. Instead of trying to be positive and work on attracting the best possible applicants, many equine employers seem to go negative and start warning applicants about all the things they DON’T want. This approach tends to warn off the good applicants and result in continued difficulty finding and keeping good help. We see this tendency in the wording of equestrian job ads every day. Here is an example of a job ad that suffers from the “negative, fair warning” syndrome:
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Equestrian Teaching-Training-Boarding barn needs ethical, reliable and hard working person who cares deeply about horses and wants to provide premium care for them; must have a positive personality, good people skills, and a well developed sense of personal responsibility. Must be productive with minimal supervision. Responsibilities include daily horse care, stall cleaning, barn up-keep, horse prep, tractor operations, basic record keeping, supervision of part-time staff. Do some teaching and/or riding if capable. Be prepared for hard work and long hours. Only serious applicants need apply.
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Now, do you think this employer has been burned in the past? You bet! You can just imagine the trouble this employer has had with lazy, dishonest, and careless employees, and you can see how much this employer wants to avoid ever hiring that kind again. Unfortunately, posting an ad like this will just about guarantee that this employer will end up with the same kind of employee again. Good help-wanted advertising is written to ATTRACT the best possible applicants, NOT to ELIMINATE the undesirable applicants. Here is my rewrite of the same job listing.
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Equestrian Teaching-Training-Boarding barn with solid reputation and happy clientele has great opportunity for experienced horse person to excel in daily care of horses, facility maintenance and other essential tasks. Your teaching and riding skills will be utilized. We know that good employees make a successful business, and we can provide you with on-the-job training from a successful trainer and coach. You will have the opportunity to advance to your maximum skill level. Build a future with an employer who appreciates good help. Contact us today.
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Will this kind of advertisement attract undesirable applicants? Of course it will. However, unlike the first ad, it will also attract the good applicants. As an equine employer, your job will be to sort out the applicants as they come along. Don’t let your past experiences with equine help affect your ability to attract good applicants. Be sure your ads are written to attract the best and see that your entire approach to hiring follows suit.
