why can't I find qualified office worker for 30,000 baht

[konying]

You already hitting the right places, the fact that you not getting employees has little to do with where you been advertising.

This is a problem nationwide.

I advertise for staff 365 days per year and always short staffed.

I advertise for ability to speak some English, they show up and can not speak any.

I advertise people with experience ONLY, but they show up with no experience at all.

I advertise for the night shift, they show up wanting to work ONLY morning.

Just keep on advertising, but to make you feel better, i am so short staffed, that i have been working 20 hour per day for the past 3 weeks and no prospect

of stopping, as no one is showing up for interview, and the ones who do show up, are beyond useless.

"I advertise people with experience ONLY, but they show up with no experience at all"

Yes, but this is a universal complaint for job seekers. If people only want employees with prior experience it greatly limits the opportunity for those seeking work, particularly young people, to ever acquire any useful experience.

Depending on the nature of the work you might offer a 2 or 3 month trial period at reduced salary while they gain experience, with the prospect of a bonus & higher salary for those who stick with it and develop the skills you want. Sometimes starting out with someone who has no experience ... there's no guarantee experience gained elsewhere includes the sort of work habits or methodology you value ... may prove better for you in the long run.

I would nominate you for nobble prize if i could.

When company advertises for people with experience, it means just that-people with experience, it does not mean anything else but that.

When company advertisers no experience required or does not mention anything about the experience then one can assume they could apply.

Welcome to the real world not fantasy internet world

What they say doesn't mean anything. I've had many jobs in my life that required a certain level of experience that I din't have. I lied or talked my way into those jobs and know others that have done the same. You need to show a little initiative and aim a little higher to get a good job, not just give up at the first little hurdle (no experience). Obviously some jobs really do need experience (brain surgeon), but many employers claim experience is need when all that's actually needed is a little common sense and a few hours to learn. For many office jobs, common sense and a will to learn and get on is far more valuable than experience but without common sense, etc.

Now its pretty clear you have not worked or ran a business in Thailand a single day.

I suggest you lie your way into an interview as an observer to have a clue what some of us have to deal with.

Example for you:

Advertised job salary 12K, must have minimum 1 year experience in hotel.

Applicant: dressed as if she just woke up, past experience cleaner in the hospital, asking salary 18K

Boss: You have no experience in hotel, you have no experience in reception, but you put down you want 18K for job which advertised for 12k?

Applicant: Yes. I know 18K is impossible.

Boss: So if you know its impossible, why would you put down 18K? and why would i pay you 18k?

Applicant: Why not.

[ldnguy]

I think a lot of problems is how they are educated here with reference to "the everybody must pass at school" problem.

Have had Thai employees who have joined at our company with their business degree, who were expecting a management position and would leave in just a couple of weeks as they couldn't see management positions coming up and each one of the girls would never ever be management material, more interested in their nails and using Line and moaning about the work being boring while the boys have been too shy and quiet to communicate.

Not all are the same, but I do think it's a problem here. They are expecting too much. Though that criticism could easily be applied to the population around the world as a whole.

If this is a general problem for you then I'd suggest taking a look at yourself. Maybe you just don't know how to recruit the right people in the first place.

Your comment shows that you have little understanding for the Thai workforce. You just assume the whole country is like the people you hired.

[ldnguy]

The labor market is a market, which means the market sets the price. If no one accepts the OP's offer it must therefore be too low, assuming that his adertising is effective at reaching his target group. Thailand claims to have close to full employment, which stories like this encourage me to believe may actually be true. The Thai economy is slowing down, but not contracting yet. So, it is apparently still the case that workers are choosy.

Sorry but you make me laugh.

Bank employees are on 15 k per month .

Hotel managers are on 30k per month

Office staff are on 15-20k per month , but in your baseless opinion OP does not offer enough.

If OP offered 100k per month , rest assured he will have same unqualified people coming for interview.

I once ran an experiment offering 40k per month for a 9k per month job.

The same type applied , I chose the best one and guess how long she lasted ? 1 day is the answer.

Why? Because lazy ass thought learning company rules was too hard

I think it is you that's wrong. Maybe to most people 15K at a big bank is better than 30K at what they think is a small foreign employer. Maybe they think they have prospects of moving up the career ladder at bank but none at this company. If he's reaching people and hey say no to 30K, then obviously it's not enough to attract them. But it might be more than money. What else is the OP offering? A bank employee might have access to cheaper mortgages. Would the OP offer this.

I know Thai office workers with English that earn 40-50K baht a month and more. If someone already has a bank job, they might not want to risk work fora small company. Maybe it would take 40-50K to make it worth the risk.

I suggest you read OP again

OP clearly said he has a certain criteria and he can not get applicants to meet his criteria.

I am sure you know many workers who speak fluent English and get paid double the going rates, only for some reason hardly anyone ever meets those and every where you go, hardly anyone speaks decent English.

Bank employee has access to cheaper mortgages? well school teachers have access to even cheaper loans, so what?!

What point are you trying to make?

OP is offering a decent salary, decent enough to be more than a large number of people get after working in the company for 15 years.

I just interviewed a 47 year old woman, who has worked at Marriot for 15 years in reservations and her salary after 15 years was 9000 baht.

Not only she has a written reference but i also called to get a verbal reference and all was confirmed. Happy to post for you the reference from Marriot.

So what is your point? OP should offer 60K starting salary? or provide cheaper mortgages?

Banks do have limited vacancy's so i doubt they could employ ALL applicants

Also how many bank tellers or managers have you met who speak excellent english? keeping in mind to work in the bank one must have bachelor degree.

Maybe you hang out in the wrong places. Most in Thailand don't have English skills at all. But I can assure you that plenty do. We got a quite complicated and technical contract translated fro English to Thai a while back and that was done by a Thai who earned very good money indeed. I also know quite a few that work in marketing. They aren't up to the standard of an English native speaker but would laugh at a 30K job. These are friends of friend not people I bumped into at a bar. If they're out they usually speak Thai so you'd never know their English skills unless you knew them. We're talking top job here not the girl at your local 7-11. Get out a little further from your usual hangouts, learn Thai, meet people. You'll get access to people like this much more easily. Speak English and hang out with farangs at the local farang bar or with an uneducated gf and you'll never meet them simply because they more in different circles. Even staying in good condo buildings I've met Thais with perfect English. There people don't live in 10k condos in Bearing.

I haven't met many bank managers, but they don't really need to be able to speak English to do their jobs. People with English skills get paid more because they use it in their job and they get paid a premium for speaking English. Plenty of Thais living in Thailand that were educated in USA and UK. Their English is as good as any native speaker. In fact, even better than many I know back home.

No I don't think the OP should offer cheap mortgages. My point was that given the choice of working at a bank where they have a cheap mortgage and job security probably seems better than working for the OP who they may never have heard of. What if OP leaves, job disappears? Maybe it's not worth it to them for 30K. I don't know what OP is offering, but it needs to be more then money. Most Thais I know want much more than that. A good working environment and good work colleagues is way above pay for most Thais.

[ldnguy]

I would nominate you for nobble prize if i could.

When company advertises for people with experience, it means just that-people with experience, it does not mean anything else but that.

When company advertisers no experience required or does not mention anything about the experience then one can assume they could apply.

Welcome to the real world not fantasy internet world

What they say doesn't mean anything. I've had many jobs in my life that required a certain level of experience that I din't have. I lied or talked my way into those jobs and know others that have done the same. You need to show a little initiative and aim a little higher to get a good job, not just give up at the first little hurdle (no experience). Obviously some jobs really do need experience (brain surgeon), but many employers claim experience is need when all that's actually needed is a little common sense and a few hours to learn. For many office jobs, common sense and a will to learn and get on is far more valuable than experience but without common sense, etc.

Now its pretty clear you have not worked or ran a business in Thailand a single day.

I suggest you lie your way into an interview as an observer to have a clue what some of us have to deal with.

Example for you:

Advertised job salary 12K, must have minimum 1 year experience in hotel.

Applicant: dressed as if she just woke up, past experience cleaner in the hospital, asking salary 18K

Boss: You have no experience in hotel, you have no experience in reception, but you put down you want 18K for job which advertised for 12k?

Applicant: Yes. I know 18K is impossible.

Boss: So if you know its impossible, why would you put down 18K? and why would i pay you 18k?

Applicant: Why not.

I have never claimed to run a business here.

If people like that turn up for interview then there is something seriously wrong with the selection process. Why are people like this even being interviewed. I don't have to be an employer in Thailand to know that the above is just ridiculous. The person above has no idea how to hire good staff if he interviews candidates like that. In any case, she can ask for whatever she wants. I always ask for more. Employers often will pay more than the initial offer.

[konying]

I think a lot of problems is how they are educated here with reference to "the everybody must pass at school" problem.

Have had Thai employees who have joined at our company with their business degree, who were expecting a management position and would leave in just a couple of weeks as they couldn't see management positions coming up and each one of the girls would never ever be management material, more interested in their nails and using Line and moaning about the work being boring while the boys have been too shy and quiet to communicate.

Not all are the same, but I do think it's a problem here. They are expecting too much. Though that criticism could easily be applied to the population around the world as a whole.

If this is a general problem for you then I'd suggest taking a look at yourself. Maybe you just don't know how to recruit the right people in the first place.

Your comment shows that you have little understanding for the Thai workforce. You just assume the whole country is like the people you hired.

Another internet professor

[konying]

Maybe you hang out in the wrong places. Most in Thailand don't have English skills at all. But I can assure you that plenty do. We got a quite complicated and technical contract translated fro English to Thai a while back and that was done by a Thai who earned very good money indeed. I also know quite a few that work in marketing. They aren't up to the standard of an English native speaker but would laugh at a 30K job. These are friends of friend not people I bumped into at a bar. If they're out they usually speak Thai so you'd never know their English skills unless you knew them. We're talking top job here not the girl at your local 7-11. Get out a little further from your usual hangouts, learn Thai, meet people. You'll get access to people like this much more easily. Speak English and hang out with farangs at the local farang bar or with an uneducated gf and you'll never meet them simply because they more in different circles. Even staying in good condo buildings I've met Thais with perfect English. There people don't live in 10k condos in Bearing.

I haven't met many bank managers, but they don't really need to be able to speak English to do their jobs. People with English skills get paid more because they use it in their job and they get paid a premium for speaking English. Plenty of Thais living in Thailand that were educated in USA and UK. Their English is as good as any native speaker. In fact, even better than many I know back home.

No I don't think the OP should offer cheap mortgages. My point was that given the choice of working at a bank where they have a cheap mortgage and job security probably seems better than working for the OP who they may never have heard of. What if OP leaves, job disappears? Maybe it's not worth it to them for 30K. I don't know what OP is offering, but it needs to be more then money. Most Thais I know want much more than that. A good working environment and good work colleagues is way above pay for most Thais.

You right, all of us real business owners always hang around in wrong places but its pretty standard on any thread to have a professor who hangs around in the right places and knows all the right people and never has a problem with staff.

If only all the large and small corporation could employ you to seek staff so they would not be short staffed or loosing millions if not billions to staff incompetence.

All those silly Toyota, Honda and alike silly executives have no clue, this is why they are always short staffed

Thank you for the laugh, really entertaining.

[konying]

I would nominate you for nobble prize if i could.

When company advertises for people with experience, it means just that-people with experience, it does not mean anything else but that.

When company advertisers no experience required or does not mention anything about the experience then one can assume they could apply.

Welcome to the real world not fantasy internet world

What they say doesn't mean anything. I've had many jobs in my life that required a certain level of experience that I din't have. I lied or talked my way into those jobs and know others that have done the same. You need to show a little initiative and aim a little higher to get a good job, not just give up at the first little hurdle (no experience). Obviously some jobs really do need experience (brain surgeon), but many employers claim experience is need when all that's actually needed is a little common sense and a few hours to learn. For many office jobs, common sense and a will to learn and get on is far more valuable than experience but without common sense, etc.

Now its pretty clear you have not worked or ran a business in Thailand a single day.

I suggest you lie your way into an interview as an observer to have a clue what some of us have to deal with.

Example for you:

Advertised job salary 12K, must have minimum 1 year experience in hotel.

Applicant: dressed as if she just woke up, past experience cleaner in the hospital, asking salary 18K

Boss: You have no experience in hotel, you have no experience in reception, but you put down you want 18K for job which advertised for 12k?

Applicant: Yes. I know 18K is impossible.

Boss: So if you know its impossible, why would you put down 18K? and why would i pay you 18k?

Applicant: Why not.

I have never claimed to run a business here.

If people like that turn up for interview then there is something seriously wrong with the selection process. Why are people like this even being interviewed. I don't have to be an employer in Thailand to know that the above is just ridiculous. The person above has no idea how to hire good staff if he interviews candidates like that. In any case, she can ask for whatever she wants. I always ask for more. Employers often will pay more than the initial offer.

You just claimed to know how Thai work force works, soooooo if you never had a business, what makes you think, you are in any position to comment on how and where what should be done or looked at or changed?

The person above is me, and i can assure you i can wipe the floor with you when it comes to interviewing, 20 years in business and i am only estimating 30 or so thousand interviews, real life interviews does that to a person.

I am also more than sure, if you showed up for a job interview in any Western country advertised at 100K but requested 180K, you would be thrown out on the spot.

You would know this, if you ever worked above factory floor

[wooloomooloo]

Let's go back a step. The OP is looking for an office junior with moderate English and not some high flying exec looking for 100k+ a month.

All this talk of multinationals is clouding the issue and getting silly.

This post is the perfect position for a youngster to get their foot on the ladder, a reference and a sensible salary.

Let's keep it real.

[ggt]

The girls with best English speaking skills are the wives of ex-pats...girls in massage parlors and bars...have you tried these angles...but be aware...most are not willing to take a pay cut to come to work in an office...

[wonder6281]

My wife worked 6 days a week for just over 10K a month in a hotel restaurant. Would I work for 30K per month so she didn't have to? You bet I would.

[recycler]

Hard to find decent English speakers already outside bars and due to xenophobia they prefer to work for Thais

[Estrada]

I once interviewed 128 Thai MBA Graduates for various engineering design positions, none could answer simple questions in their chosen professions. The Electrical Engineers could not tell me what ohms law was, or at least work out Watts given Amps and Volts. The Chemical Engineers had no idea what the Chemical Formula for common salt was. The head of English in our local school cannot speak a word of English.

[balo]

If you are offering 30k ++ I would look for qualified foreigners in Thailand to work for you instead of lazy or unqualified Thais.

[CaptHaddock]

I once interviewed 128 Thai MBA Graduates for various engineering design positions, none could answer simple questions in their chosen professions. The Electrical Engineers could not tell me what ohms law was, or at least work out Watts given Amps and Volts. The Chemical Engineers had no idea what the Chemical Formula for common salt was. The head of English in our local school cannot speak a word of English.

Master in Business Administration graduates for engineering positions? Why would you do that?

[rayongchelsea]

Hard to find decent English speakers already outside bars and due to xenophobia they prefer to work for Thais

Where do you live, rural thailand.

First all they don't speak decent English in bars..they speak a sort of English with limited vocabulary.

Secondly in my experience of working here in BKK there are many competent thai professional staff that speak English, better written.

Thirdly, they prefer to work for a multi national and not a thai company as the former offers more autonomy and decision making and is based on meritocracy

All my thai neighbors in my condo speak very good English.

All my daughters friends speak really good English ( international school).

Most of my ex- thai colleagues speak good English.

Overall it staggers me how poorly some competent staff are paid here.

[rayongchelsea]

The girls with best English speaking skills are the wives of ex-pats...girls in massage parlors and bars...have you tried these angles...but be aware...most are not willing to take a pay cut to come to work in an office...

Not true..very limited exposure of the thai population..basically you are referring to the bar scene..

I have worked with very professional thai women...none with farang husbands..excellent English language skills..believe it or not there are many out there..and hard working.

As I said in my previous post all my thai neighbours speak good English.

I wish this myth of passable ( limited) English is somehow bar related.

[dodyelfayed]

I've tried JobDB and TV classified but I can't seem to attract much attention.

I'm looking for a Thai person with 3+ years of experience with fairly good English skills. Good enough to talk to foreigners on the phone and write simple emails. I'm not looking for native English skills or even a Thai person with a BA in English. Just the basics for communication. The job requirement is office manager, simple stuff, handling ordering, invoicing, general office stuff.

We would pay 25 to 35,000+ per month but I can't seem to attract anybody with these skills. I know MBA grads that are making 22,000 baht per month (w/o good English skills however) but the point is, the salary I would pay is good, bonuses are very good,

Where can I seek potential employees of this type?

[dodyelfayed]

May I help u ? I am Jobless now !

[guy1111]

I can recommend a Thai girl I know of for this job. If interested please contact me Cheers

[Strangebrew]

Well first of all Cheap Charlie kick up that starting pay by 10,000 Baht a month offer medical and dental. Maybe an 8 hour shift too. Then place an ad you will get results then. 25-35 K a month are you serious and bilingual to boot. Go back to your home country.

[Nepal4me]

May I help u ? I am Jobless now !

I can recommend a Thai girl I know of for this job. If interested please contact me Cheers

Thanks for your interest. This is an urgent need. If you could send me a CV or a contact number by pm, I would appreciate it.

[jcisco]

Since I'm running one of Thailand's largest executive search agencies hopefully I have a bit of insight that may help you.

Firstly there is no such thing as an impossible hire. I guarantee that the person you are looking is out there; it's just about how you find them, attract them and then retain them. Blaming the state of the market or the lack of available talent is universal; you hear it in London, in New York in Tokyo. There is ALWAYS a lack of great talent so the trick is to put yourself in as good a position as possible to ensure that you aren't overlooked by this talent.

The finding them is the most challenging and is why many companies use recruitment partners such as ourselves but if your budget doesn't stretch to agencies then you can do your own advertising (Jobs DB being the obvious) but the trick here is to be creative and stand out from the crowd. I don't know the specifics of what you are looking for but all candidates are looking for more than ‘just a job’ and with so much competition for English speaking candidates, you really have to go to town on your USP’s.

As well as being an attractive advert you should also continually advertise which is very important when you are relying on hiring the same people time after time. The idea is that if you only advertise when you want the people, then you are limiting yourself to who applies at the time rather than continuously advertising and 'grazing' for the best people. Candidates apply to jobs when it suits them so if you are restricting yourself to say 1 month of advertising, you are missing 11 months of applicants.

The next stage is attracting and that takes into consideration salary (are you really competitive in the market, 30k sounds good but what are you comparing it to?), benefits and career progression. You really need to find your USP and if you don't have any, then may I suggest to start creating them. USP's come in many forms; it could be the type of work they will be doing, the office environment (working with like minded people etc), the chance to learn more skills or career advancement. Do a poll of your current people to see what they think is good about working at your company and even talk to people who left. If you always conduct an exit interview you will start to know what didn't work for that certain person and be able to adjust things for the future.

You can also get involved in Facebook campaigns and also pay for access to Jobs Db’s own CV database which means you can peruse candidates that are looking for jobs and then contact them directly. If you understand what your target audience is reading/browsing then you can target this area but remember, the vast majority of people are not just working for money; it’s about work environment, the people they will be working with, additional training and the ability to move forward in their careers. If you understand what your target audience is really looking for then you can start to individually bespoke your offering to their needs. It's quid pro quo - you give them what they want and in return they give you more of what you want to include longevity and loyalty.

All of this may sound a bit daunting and if you have neither the time nor the inclination then I would suggest you contact a good generalist recruiter who will probably charge you quite a bit but at least you will get the right people in front of you and be able to get some sort of refund (usually 3 months) if the person doesn’t work out.

I hope this helps you a little and may I wish you every success in your future business.

For your next post, i suggest, pressing the enter return key twice at the end of each paragraph... Thanks

[modafinil]

Assistant Manager at All Seasons-30K(my ex was one)

Assistant Manager at Hilton-30K(a friend of mine is)

General Manager at Holiday Inn-90k per month(was offered the job)

General Manager, foreigner sourced in Thailand 90K

General Manager brought from Overseas-120-150 package.

You don't know what you're talking about. What does an "Assistant Manager" at a hotel do? Are you talking about the GMs Assistant? The Duty Manager? The Night Manager?

The only Assistant Managers working in any major hotels here are deputys for the various department heads - and 30K would be a very reasonable salary for that kind of position in Thailand.

[trianglechoke]

For 40,000 I'll do it, and I mean it

[whynoname]

If anyone is looking for office workers in Chiang Mai my wife is looking. Her English skills are good. She lived with myself in London for two years before we moved here. She is looking to start work asap.

[Nepal4me]

I'm the OP. I'm still looking to fill this position. Thanks to all who have responded to me. A number of TV members have suggested potential workers. The stumbling block for me is the lack of written English skills. This seems to be a real problem here, I guess that isn't a surprise. If I have to up the salary I can do it but the person would have to be able to write decently and have some relevant work experience.

Thanks again..........

[maxnattapon]

I'm Thai (fluent English) interested in this job

Do you have a contact number or e-mail?

Thank you.

Best Regards,

Max

[ThaiSanookGuy]

I wonder what kind of office worker deserves 40000 baht salary ?

[manarak]

I wonder what kind of office worker deserves 40000 baht salary ?

English speaking, educated, hard working, highly productive, intelligent and able to use a computer and internet is easily worth 40k.

Edited November 30, 2014 by manarak

[ThaiSanookGuy]

I wonder what kind of office worker deserves 40000 baht salary ?

English speaking, educated, hard working, highly productive, intelligent and able to use a computer and internet is easily worth 40k.

Sorry, I didnt know you were joking :-)