Читать книгу How to Find Work in the 21st Century - Ron McGowan - Страница 28

Another reason contract work makes sense for both the employer and those who are looking for work is that it gives both parties a chance to get to know one another before making a more permanent commitment. Our working relationships are the only relationships in our lives that we approach with an attitude of making a permanent commitment before the parties involved know one another.

You can interview, test, and reference check all you want in considering a potential employee, but experience shows that it’s only after working together for a period of time that either party knows if they are compatible. This is another argument in favor of both sides entering into a contract work arrangement before committing to a more permanent one.

Computer-based job simulation technology is becoming an increasingly popular way for companies to attract and assess potential employees. L’Oreal, for example, uses job simulation scenarios as part of the screening process. According to a 2005 study by Rocket-Hire of New Orleans, close to 20 percent of companies are using this tool, and that percentage is expected to grow.

Such technology also allows potential employees to try on a job to see if it is a right fit for them. Although it is an effective tool to use at the beginning of the hiring/screening process, applicants must still do well in interviews, where companies will assess their personalities and communication skills.

Vocation Vacations is a company in Portland, Oregon, that gives people the opportunity to “test drive” their dream jobs. They do this by pairing up an individual with a mentor for a couple of days, during which the person gets hands-on experience in the field in which he or she wants to work. Participants pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand to experience life as a race car driver, dog trainer, fashion designer, Broadway producer, or whatever. Vocation Vacations has placed hundreds of people in the US and Britain into these dream job simulations.