Press Release - For Immediate Release
MW! Screens Over 900 Applications for Burlington
September 16, 2011, Benton Harbor, MI - Yesterday, Michigan Works! held a Hire Day for the new Burlington store opening in November. The local workforce development organization screened more than 900 applicants for positions ranging from cashiers to accounting room auditors.
Applicants applied using the organization’s new state of the art Job Matching System. First, Burlington entered the skills and experience they wanted employees in each position to have and then jobseekers entered the skills and experience they possessed. The system gave each jobseeker an A, B, or C letter grade indicating the strength of the match. However, the process isn’t all left up to technology, the applications were also evaluated by a Michigan Works! business solutions team member.
Managers at Burlington were able to see the strength of each match from their offices on the east coast, and throughout the midwest. They used the Job Matching System to select 167 applicants to undergo a battery of assessments administered by Michigan Works!. The assessments included customer service, employee teamwork, retail math, and retail reading. After the assessments were complete, Burlington managers interviewed 119 candidates on Thursday at Michigan Works!’ Benton Harbor Service Center.
Burlington’s Regional HR Manager, Marti Nelson, explained that in a normal interview process they sometimes hire as few as a third of the candidates. “Today, about two thirds of the folks were selected,” she said. “It’s a great process. I can’t say enough about how the team came through and got everything done for us. They got us enough people to fill not only our regular needs but our seasonal needs as well.” Burlington made offers to 77 people.
“We invested in the job matching system to ensure that companies like Burlington and smaller, locally owned companies, can find highly the skilled, dedicated employees they need while saving time and money,” said Michigan Works! executive director, Todd Gustafson.
Michigan Works! recruiting services are available to all businesses in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties. Anyone interested in working with the Michigan Works! business solutions team should contact Meredith Frank at (269) 927-1799, ext. 1126.
Michigan Works! is a non-profit, workforce development organization with a mission to provide a skilled workforce that meets the needs of employers. They offer free services to employers and jobseekers and oversee five offices in Benton Harbor, Dowagiac, Niles, Paw Paw and South Haven. For more information, call 1-800-533-5800 or visit www.miworks.org.###