Registered: Oct 2001
Location:
Posts: 17911

I work as a restaurant recruiter finding managers for restaurant companies. In my job I deal with people of all races and backgrounds, and I'm principally interested in the qualifications they posess for the job I'm finding for them. I have found jobs for people of African descent, and placed an expatriate Persian just last month. The Persian guy was a former anti-Khomeini freedom-fighter who is the only surviving member of his former cell, and I placed him as a manager in spite of my co-workers' doubts that anyone would take him seriously. I should add that some of their concerns arose from the fact that he was a former owner-operator who might not take well to working for someone else as well as his lack of computer skills (his wife did all that in their shop). But I wanted the placement, and I felt that he was almost over-qualified and worth the effort. Let's put another $1600 in my pocket, thank you.

Over the last two or three weeks I have taken on three candidates who are Hmong. The Hmong are a group of people who generally originate from the region of Laos and Cambodia and have a large presence in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area, as well as a few other places. These three guys are all very qualified candidates. Two of them are very young and entry-level, but we have positions for people at that level. The third guy is a former GM of a KFC who really knows his stuff. They all speak English well enough also. What I'm running into is that almost nobody takes these guys seriously. The only one who really stands a chance is the youngest, most inexperienced guy, and that's because he's dirt cheap and sounds really American. Both of the others have a slight accent and are quieter, but both of them also have more experience and really know what they're doing. I realize, maybe better than most folks, that those are just the breaks. But I find it disturbing and frustrating at the same time. The GM of a fast-food joint can make as much as 50K or more and can also make a company really profitable. Both of these guys have the potential to do just that and know how to lower costs and increase sales for a business.

So should I keep fightin, or give up and move on?

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Registered: Aug 2000
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Posts: 3030

That depends on if you're in it to help your clients, or just for the money. I'd try to place them, but that's just my annoying persistance talking. How much effort are you willing to expend for them, and at what point does it just not make financial sense to keep trying. It's a rather personal question I'm afraid.

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Registered: Oct 2001
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Posts: 17911

Truth be told, there are frequently times when I'll try to get someone hired as an hourly shift-supervisor just to get them a job, if they're interested. I make nothing from that, but I feel good about helping them out. And besides, if they make any level of salaried management within twelve months time, I'll get my fee. If they don't, I get to add to my spiritual bank account and eliminate just a tad more of the deficit I acquired over the years. I can use all of that I can get.

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: California
Posts: 4252

You wouldn't place a midget as a firefighter, why place someone whom has no "presence" as a manager. Charisma will only get you so far. Just having experience in the workings of a restaurant does not qualify you to manage people.

To be an effective manager you have to be able to manage the building, the business, and the employees. If you don't have all three capabilities, you are not qualified.

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Registered: Oct 2001
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Posts: 17911

Good point. And those are all things that I qualify these candidates on before I submit them. I know my business. The point I am making is that they seem to get passed over simply because of a bias against Hmong that seems prevalent in this area. Granted, that may simply reflect a bias within the community at large. But I have great bullet points for these guys at each of their levels of experience.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Texas
Posts: 2593

Let's tell it like it is.... Bigotry and Racism. It's sad. It's real. I admire your persistence.

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Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 2701

Try to make them whiter. Maybe they can speak in a southern accent and eat mayonnaise sammiches. That'll help.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Oregon. America.
Posts: 2076

Just as topical as before, but here you go:

The Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down is a book about the Hmong entering western culture that quite a lot of people enjoyed. It might, if you have the time or interest, be an interesting way of figuring out what to do with these folks.

I haven't read it. My mom has and she thought it was terrific.

Good Luck!

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