Man, does this annoy me: Staffing in the golf industry is challenging

Staffing is one of the most common challenges we face in this industry. It’s not always easy to find people who are willing to be at work at the crack of dawn to do a labor-intensive job, often for less than they can make in retail or at a fast food restaurant.

But what has blown my mind over the last few years is the number of people who apply for seasonal positions and either never show up for the interview or, if hired, don’t show up for their first day. Not that this hasn’t happened before, but it never seemed to happen with the frequency it has lately.

Some of these guys may have found other jobs or simply decided they were no longer interested in the position before their scheduled interview or first day of work. While common courtesy dictates a phone call or e-mail to inform the employer of this change, many decide that just not showing up is the best way to handle it.

In my opinion a number of would-be hires apply for jobs solely to fulfill the job seeking requirements for their unemployment benefits with no intentions of actually going back to work until their benefits run out. The easiest way to not get hired is to not go to interviews.

When you receive multiple applications from the same guy who has already failed to show up for an interview or his first day of work, there’s probably a pretty good chance he’s sketchy. There’s an even better chance when his work history has more gaps than the New England Patriots’ (literally unfathomable) response to the Wells Report.

Apparently this “job seeker” has decided to go with the carpet bombing approach of applying for jobs and has no chance of keeping track of who he has replied to. He just fills out the required number of applications every week and hands in his stack of attempts to the poor soul overseeing his unemployment claim.

I can just imagine the message board conversations at www.unemploymentfraudissweet.com or wherever these guys share their trade secrets.

Hatestoworkguy: DESPERATE EMPLOYER ALERT. Whatever you do DO NOT APPLY TO A GOLF COURSE RIGHT NOW. They might hire you — almost happened to me today.

Lovesnottoworkguy: Good tip bro. Supposed to be interviewing at a course in an hour. Think I’ll just hammer this bag of Doritos instead. BTW, sweet username hahahaha

Hatestoworkguy: hahahaha. Hey, wanna play some Xbox?

While the lack of consideration for someone else’s time is annoying, it isn’t really the issue. Aside from the legality of not truly trying to find a job, the real problem is that they are taking money from people who actually need it while also contributing to the stigma that can unfortunately be attached to being on unemployment.

Many people who genuinely need unemployment assistance want nothing more than to get back to work. They are using unemployment benefits to help them keep their heads above water until they can find another job or weather a layoff from a seasonal occupation. Even so, the extent to which it’s possible to stay afloat financially during this time is debatable because a claimant receives only a fraction of their working wage. If some people weren’t exerting so much energy gaming the system, the people who truly need unemployment assistance might be able to receive a livable sum each week.

I should probably be used to this by now, but I still find myself shaking my head when an interview or first day no-show happens. This is partly because of the inconvenience, but more so because I’ll never understand how anyone can think just bailing on a job interview or first day of work is acceptable, regardless of their unemployment status.

I guess I should just be glad I’m not the guy at the unemployment office who has to deal with dozens of these fraudulent idiots every day