Reaching out to potential job candidates may be about as much fun as unclogging a sewer, but I’ve developed a system that you must try in order to get qualified technicians in your door and then in your bays.
It’s called the “3X3,” meaning you need to reach out to candidates by: 1. a phone call, 2. by email and 3. by text — and here is the part you’ll want to hold your nose for — you have to do all three methods at least three times before you give up.
Yes, I know most of you would rather take ASE tests all day than do the 3X3. However, all large corporations and professional recruiters know this is the workforce we have today, and it is necessary.
While calling is still a necessary evil, email and text are turning into the most powerful attention grabbers.
So, how do you make the most of the first contact? Consider WIIFM — What’s In It For Me — and follow a few simple rules to get your job opportunity past the “Guardians of the Gate” spam filters and capture the attention of the tech.
Here are three basic rules to follow, what we call: AM-WIIFM:
1. Always put their first name in the subject line and the body of the text/email.
2. Make it short. No one reads run-on texts or emails.
3. WIIFM — Don’t put anything in the text/email except what is good for the candidate as well as a call to action.
Want to see how that looks? Here are examples written for clients:
Email 1:
Subject line: (Their first name), our shop starts at $30 an hour plus up to $XX,XXX sign-on
Letter:
(Their first name), we start our techs at $30 an hour and move up to $38, five-day workweek, no Sundays and our techs average 50+ hours. Plus, up to $XX,XXX sign-on. Call me as soon as you can so I can give you more information. – Dean Wilk, owner, America’s Service 770-XXX-XXXX
Email 2:
Subject (Their first name), Sign-on, up to $30 an hour for advanced Collision Techs, no weekends
Letter:
(Their first name), If you are an advance collision tech looking for an immediate, better work environment, no roller coaster pay weeks, with up to $30 an hour, plus paid training to enhance your collision tech skills learning to work on Teslas, we should talk! Our shop is the exclusive Tesla repair center with loads of work, and we invest heavily in paid Tesla factory training. All conversations are confidential, so you have no risk finding out more about this game-changing career opportunity. Write me back or call me: Chris Bozer (owner) at 480-XXX-XXXX.
Email 3:
Subject line: (Their first name), we viewed your resume and we have no weekends and plenty of gravy work!
Letter:
(Their first name), After viewing your resume, let’s talk about an open position we have with no weekends, no warranty work, mostly maintenance and safety work, instant approvals. We need you for our inspection and mechanical reconditioning of our family-owned, very stable and successful pre-owned dealership and service center. Call me right away at XXX-XXX-XXXX – Alex, owner
There are plenty of candidates out there, so get that 3X3 crawling up the mountain of candidates for all of your open positions.
Click here to view more solutions from Joe Henry and ACT Auto Staffing.
