Entry level
I once attended a job fair being held by a local behavioral health agency. They were hiring for a variety of positions. Besides me, there were several people from other local agencies seeking to get hired there. I had seen or met these people in the past--at trainings, or other functions. These people were experienced and knew the system, and would have likely provided good services to clients.
When I had my brief interview, the two people conducting it seemed to be doing it simply as a courtesy since I had shown up and met at least the minimum qualifications (in this case, have a pulse and a bachelor's degree in a related field). They went through the list of questions and overall it was pretty quick. At the end of the interview, they were courteous but let me know that this agency was really seeking people just out of college and saw the case management position as entry level. Sure enough, during my wait for the interview, there had been a young-looking person who was being given a stack of paperwork to sign on the spot.
I appreciated their candor, but also felt disturbed. One issue here seems to be blatant age discrimination, since the people they were seeking to hire were normally in their early 20's. This is illegal under state and federal law, and if it could be substantiated, could have led to a successful lawsuit against the agency. The other issue was that a complex and sometimes difficult position was being treated as entry-level, suited for persons who had little or no experience working in community mental health. They did not want persons who were older and had at least some idea of what the job needed. They were seeking to entrust care of their clients to people who did not know what they were doing, and were more likely than not to make mistakes, drop the ball, fail to understand situations. Or, their new employees might stay for a little while and then leave for greener pastures. This would lead to a disconnect in coordination of care. This doesn't even take into account the feelings of the clients and their families.
There are some younger employees with little or no experience who end up doing a great job, and I think that they deserve the chance to prove themselves. There are also persons with more experience and more years under their belts who also do a great job, and can provide clients and agencies with the benefits of a wealth of experience. This is helpful when dealing with multiple agencies (i.e. DCS, APS, probation or parole officers, detox facilities, hospitals, police, sober-living houses, insurance companies, etc.) or even knowing anything about those other agencies. This is helpful in knowing where to refer for treatments or how to do it. This is helpful in helping inexperienced employees learn how to better do their jobs or navigate the system. I think that this sets the stage for better results and less waste. That administrators of an agency would deliberately seek to hire only the younger and inexperienced for these kinds of positions...well, it boggles the mind about what their priorities are.
When I had my brief interview, the two people conducting it seemed to be doing it simply as a courtesy since I had shown up and met at least the minimum qualifications (in this case, have a pulse and a bachelor's degree in a related field). They went through the list of questions and overall it was pretty quick. At the end of the interview, they were courteous but let me know that this agency was really seeking people just out of college and saw the case management position as entry level. Sure enough, during my wait for the interview, there had been a young-looking person who was being given a stack of paperwork to sign on the spot.
I appreciated their candor, but also felt disturbed. One issue here seems to be blatant age discrimination, since the people they were seeking to hire were normally in their early 20's. This is illegal under state and federal law, and if it could be substantiated, could have led to a successful lawsuit against the agency. The other issue was that a complex and sometimes difficult position was being treated as entry-level, suited for persons who had little or no experience working in community mental health. They did not want persons who were older and had at least some idea of what the job needed. They were seeking to entrust care of their clients to people who did not know what they were doing, and were more likely than not to make mistakes, drop the ball, fail to understand situations. Or, their new employees might stay for a little while and then leave for greener pastures. This would lead to a disconnect in coordination of care. This doesn't even take into account the feelings of the clients and their families.
There are some younger employees with little or no experience who end up doing a great job, and I think that they deserve the chance to prove themselves. There are also persons with more experience and more years under their belts who also do a great job, and can provide clients and agencies with the benefits of a wealth of experience. This is helpful when dealing with multiple agencies (i.e. DCS, APS, probation or parole officers, detox facilities, hospitals, police, sober-living houses, insurance companies, etc.) or even knowing anything about those other agencies. This is helpful in knowing where to refer for treatments or how to do it. This is helpful in helping inexperienced employees learn how to better do their jobs or navigate the system. I think that this sets the stage for better results and less waste. That administrators of an agency would deliberately seek to hire only the younger and inexperienced for these kinds of positions...well, it boggles the mind about what their priorities are.
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