Recruiting an Optician - Advice / Experiences

Hello, I just found this forum via Google and am hoping someone can help me or provide advice / experience. I work to run the social media / online presence for my father's optometry practice. We are currently seeking to fulfill a role for a full-time optician and are struggling. I understand the employment marketplace has changed a lot due to COVID and other economic issues. We are using Indeed, which we have had good luck with in the past and got a single qualified candidate by the commute / location didn't work out. I've also tried out ZipRecruiter (not impressed) and do the basic CraigsList post just to cover our bases. As we are getting a bit more desperate I was also reading reviews of ihireoptometry - it's expensive but gaining access to qualified resumes seems worth it. Does anyone have experience with specific, targeted recruiters for opticians - good or bad? Any other advice about hiring in this climate would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much - I hope this post is appropriate and leads to a good discussion.

Frame reps can be the best source for employees out there. They go into most of your local competitors and know the Opticians. A good rep knows, many times, whom could be a good fit for another office. They many times also know the Opticians that aren’t crazy about where they are currently.

also, one of the biggest mistake is to offer a “competitive salary “. Are you wanting an average Optician, that simply wants to leave where they’re at because they’re disgruntled? I’m retired now, but I Always wanted the “best” out there. I always offered above average salary and sweeten the pot with things like earned vacation time from day one (cumulative ). Some folks won’t leave where they’re at because they have to stay with you a year before they get any time off.

Other things like paid insurance, paid CE’s, paid association dues and a 401k will also entice interest from seasoned Opticians. The bottom line is you need to offer them a great reason to consider coming to work for you. I can say I feel I had and retained some of the best Opticians out there by offering “more”.

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Originally Posted by optical24/7

Frame reps can be the best source for employees out there. They go into most of your local competitors and know the Opticians. A good rep knows, many times, whom could be a good fit for another office. They many times also know the Opticians that aren’t crazy about where they are currently.

also, one of the biggest mistake is to offer a “competitive salary “. Are you wanting an average Optician, that simply wants to leave where they’re at because they’re disgruntled? I’m retired now, but I Always wanted the “best” out there. I always offered above average salary and sweeten the pot with things like earned vacation time from day one (cumulative ). Some folks won’t leave where they’re at because they have to stay with you a year before they get any time off.

Other things like paid insurance, paid CE’s, paid association dues and a 401k will also entice interest from seasoned Opticians. The bottom line is you need to offer them a great reason to consider coming to work for you. I can say I feel I had and retained some of the best Opticians out there by offering “more”.

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+1. Work/life balance is also vital. I've stayed in a job I didn't love because the schedule was so good.

Simple question - do you value your optician on a similar level as your doc? If so, treat and pay them accordingly, Otherwise, you'll get what you pay for I expect.

Frame reps can absolutely be a huge help. If you're using Indeed, make sure you're also perusing resumes on Indeed and reach out to individuals. I've always had success through a combination of networking and Indeed. But I also have a system for the hiring process that allows me to grade individuals based on the needs of the position and office via their experience. And to reiterate what was previously said, make sure you guys are offering better value than just the rate of pay. That's how I've been able to work around not being able to provide health insurance vs the big box guys who can.

The ultimate (almost) recruiting post, ( I’m partial, I wrote it..)

https://www.optiboard.com/forums/sho...p-Gun-Optician

I find it funny, if you want to see what OB was like 10 years ago, read the posts through out the thread. There was a lot of “jocularity “ back then....

There are also a couple of schools in your neck of the woods. You might be able to find someone who knows his cookies right from the get go.

This is a good thread. We are in a similar situation and it's been very difficult. We do offer competitive pay, great hours, as well as the vacation and benefits that optical 24/7 mentioned but it still isn't helping. I've spoken to a lot of reps and many other local offices are also looking so there are a ton of openings around here. I'm willing to train someone with zero experience, but we just can't seem to get anyone to even show up or apply. This is a crazy world. I am currently the only optician here and I took a vacation day yesterday, so we had to close optical. To me, that's just crazy!

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Originally Posted by mervinek

This is a good thread. We are in a similar situation and it's been very difficult. We do offer competitive pay, great hours, as well as the vacation and benefits that optical 24/7 mentioned but it still isn't helping. I've spoken to a lot of reps and many other local offices are also looking so there are a ton of openings around here. I'm willing to train someone with zero experience, but we just can't seem to get anyone to even show up or apply. This is a crazy world. I am currently the only optician here and I took a vacation day yesterday, so we had to close optical. To me, that's just crazy!

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That's really odd. Are you guys in a heavily populated area or is the optical area heavily saturated in a smaller locale? I know it can be tough when you're the only one on duty. If anyone would like some help in this area, shoot me a message. I'd be more than happy to help out in such difficult times.

Thanks for the thoughtful post! We have many opticals in this area. In years past we were able to get someone from our local la to help us out, but even they are hiring now. As for our office, we lost a couple staff members who had babies and decided to not return and we had another who retired. Not to get political, but we are in a state that offers the extra unemployment amount. Once you add that onto a minimum wage position, it is difficult to recruit people who aren't in optical. When I was younger, I worked all kinds of jobs for minimum wage. This job, which is clean and professional with great hours would have been a dream!

Yeah, it's a lot harder now even without Covid adding to it. And every area demographic is different. So what works for one office may not work for another. And right now, you'll definitely need to make some strong selling points for anyone with experience in addition to good pay. You'd probably have to do the same for someone with no optical, but if you can find someone that is a sponge and adaptable, you could go up a bit with pay. It's always a gamble no matter what unless you have previously worked with the person.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give a huge thanks to all the thoughtful replies and help posted in this thread so far. We are working this week to make our pitch a bit more aggressive and target a few more areas we may have neglected. I'll keep this thread updated with any developments in hope that we can help others down the read. And please keep the replies and advice coming of course.

Thanks!

Linkedin is also a good source.

Yes! Let us know if you've had any success and what you think made it work! Good luck!

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Originally Posted by HollisterOptometry

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give a huge thanks to all the thoughtful replies and help posted in this thread so far. We are working this week to make our pitch a bit more aggressive and target a few more areas we may have neglected. I'll keep this thread updated with any developments in hope that we can help others down the read. And please keep the replies and advice coming of course.

Thanks!

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