I met a police officer the other day and during our discussion he mentioned that he used to be a correctional officer. He then told me it was the worst job he ever had and that he didn't like working as an inmate.
At first I thought he meant working with inmates, but he went on to explain that he always felt like an inmate at work. He was searched, monitored, wore a uniform, ate the same food, and generally lived in prison during the day. I would have to admit that that did not sound very appealing.
So, I started thinking...How would you get someone of the GenX or Millennium generation interested in starting a career in corrections? Here are some ideas, but what do you think would help attract and keep the "new blood"?
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Market to parents. Sound crazy?
The Army is doing it. Remember their Super Bowl commercial? "You made them strong. We'll make them Army strong." Who do you think the target of the ad was?
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Forget the newspaper. By their own admission, newspapers concede that most young adults don't read newspapers. Unless you are targeting parents, why bother with newspaper ads? Try alternative sources that are being used--a lot of them are free! Try craigslist.org a free online classifieds web site. Look at the
video the Army put on YouTube-almost 1,400 comments and nearly 250,000 views.
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Fit into their life. It might be hard for the workaholic Baby Boomers to imagine, but this generation works to supplement their life, not to define their life. Today it's all about flexible schedules and improving life. Think, "If I work a few hours more next week can I leave early this Friday to pick up a friend at the airport?" Imagine 4 hour shifts where employees bid for the opens shifts that match their life schedules. I'm not suggesting it's realistic, but if you can imagine how it might be attractive maybe it will give you some ideas (if so, please share).
Anyhow, that's just a few things that were kicking around in my head. If you've got some ideas or think mine are wrong, let me know!