Recruiting AV Staff

  • Recruiting AV Staff

    Posted by cburpee on July 28, 2022 at 12:12 pm

    Hello fellow technology professionals -?

    I have 2 professional vacancies I am trying to fill for Technical Specialists.? I have struggled in the past to recruit candidates from within student affairs and higher education.? We just aren’t able to pay as well as the IT departments on campus, and anyone in professional groups such as this is typically already in an equivalent position and not looking for a lateral move.

    So my question is, where have you been successful in recruiting professional AV staff?

    ——————————
    Christopher Burpee
    Assistant Director of Technical Services and Performance Venues
    Northwestern University
    chris@northwestern.edu
    ——————————

    Stephen Snipes replied 3 years, 7 months ago 4 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • Geoff Pimlatt

    Leader
    August 3, 2022 at 8:57 am

    Hi Christopher,

    This won’t help you much, I’m afraid, but we have filled our most recent vacancies by recruiting upward. We employ students on a part-time basis during the school year, ideally starting in their first or second year. We bring the best ones back each term, and they get exposed to more tasks and receive more training until most graduate and move on. When we have an opening, however, we have a ready pool of a few candidates with a good set of skills but more importantly an overall knowledge of our organization and our production needs.

    Geoff

    ——————————
    Geoff Pimlatt
    Senior Manager Information Systems
    University Students’ Council
    University of Western Ontario
    London ON
    ——————————
    ——————————————-
    Original Message:
    Sent: 07-28-2022 12:11
    From: Christopher Burpee
    Subject: Recruiting AV Staff

    Hello fellow technology professionals – 

    I have 2 professional vacancies I am trying to fill for Technical Specialists.  I have struggled in the past to recruit candidates from within student affairs and higher education.  We just aren’t able to pay as well as the IT departments on campus, and anyone in professional groups such as this is typically already in an equivalent position and not looking for a lateral move.

    So my question is, where have you been successful in recruiting professional AV staff?

    ——————————
    Christopher Burpee
    Assistant Director of Technical Services and Performance Venues
    Northwestern University
    chris@northwestern.edu
    ——————————

  • Paul Manka

    Member
    August 9, 2022 at 11:04 am

    Christopher,

    We were in a very similar situation for well over a year. Our roadblocks were finding Audio/Media Technicians that would give up Gig Work to move into the university. So, we completely overhauled the position description. Overall, we lowered the required education level to High School Graduate with 1-year experience as a Media Technician, and openly stated that the hours were flexible to allow future employees to continue picking up Gig Work if they wanted too. With those minor changes we were able to get a respectable application pool and make a solid hire. If you would like, I can share the position description with you.

    Paul

    ——————————
    Paul Manka
    Manager of Event Operations
    University of Washington
    Seattle WA
    ——————————
    ——————————————-
    Original Message:
    Sent: 07-28-2022 12:11
    From: Christopher Burpee
    Subject: Recruiting AV Staff

    Hello fellow technology professionals – 

    I have 2 professional vacancies I am trying to fill for Technical Specialists.  I have struggled in the past to recruit candidates from within student affairs and higher education.  We just aren’t able to pay as well as the IT departments on campus, and anyone in professional groups such as this is typically already in an equivalent position and not looking for a lateral move.

    So my question is, where have you been successful in recruiting professional AV staff?

    ——————————
    Christopher Burpee
    Assistant Director of Technical Services and Performance Venues
    Northwestern University
    chris@northwestern.edu
    ——————————

    • Stephen Snipes

      Member
      October 11, 2022 at 8:47 am
      Pretty much what Paul said about education for sure.  Keep in mind, lots of folks gain their experience from working with Churches so reaching out to them would be a good idea as well as local theater departments.  We just hired a full time AV Coordinator as a 6 month temp position.  Hopefully we’ll convert it to a full time perm position.

      Stephen R. Snipes | Assistant Director of Technical Services

      UNC Charlotte | Student Union & Cone Center
      9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223
      Phone: (704) 687-7104 | Cell: (704) 750-0606
      “Your NET WORTH is determined by your NETWORK!”

      ——————————————-
      Original Message:
      Sent: 8/9/2022 11:04:00 AM
      From: Paul Manka
      Subject: RE: Recruiting AV Staff

      Christopher,

      We were in a very similar situation for well over a year. Our roadblocks were finding Audio/Media Technicians that would give up Gig Work to move into the university. So, we completely overhauled the position description. Overall, we lowered the required education level to High School Graduate with 1-year experience as a Media Technician, and openly stated that the hours were flexible to allow future employees to continue picking up Gig Work if they wanted too. With those minor changes we were able to get a respectable application pool and make a solid hire. If you would like, I can share the position description with you.

      Paul

      ——————————
      Paul Manka
      Manager of Event Operations
      University of Washington
      Seattle WA
      ——————————
      ——————————————-
      Original Message:
      Sent: 07-28-2022 12:11
      From: Christopher Burpee
      Subject: Recruiting AV Staff

      Hello fellow technology professionals – 

      I have 2 professional vacancies I am trying to fill for Technical Specialists.  I have struggled in the past to recruit candidates from within student affairs and higher education.  We just aren’t able to pay as well as the IT departments on campus, and anyone in professional groups such as this is typically already in an equivalent position and not looking for a lateral move.

      So my question is, where have you been successful in recruiting professional AV staff?

      ——————————
      Christopher Burpee
      Assistant Director of Technical Services and Performance Venues
      Northwestern University
      chris@northwestern.edu
      ——————————

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