Metro makes speedy push to hire new employees
WMATA pushing to make hires quickly
In the last 12 days, WMATA has ramped up its efforts to hold job fairs and hiring events for laid-off federal workers. FOX 5 was at one of those hiring events oin Wednesday — just a sample of the current job situation many current and recently-former federal workers are in.
WASHINGTON - In the last 12 days, WMATA has ramped up its efforts to hold job fairs and hiring events for laid-off federal workers.
FOX 5 was at one of those hiring events on Wednesday — just a sample of the current job situation many current and recently-former federal workers are in.
What they're saying:
Metro says it’s always recruiting bus drivers and train operators but hiring for more administrative positions can be tough.
Earlier this month, Metro posted several open jobs starting April 4 and closing them on April 8. In those four days, they got 1,200 applicants.
In the next few days, WMATA found several qualified candidates, 57 of whom were invited to headquarters for an interview on Wednesday.
"Listen, there’s talent on the field and we want to get talent to join our great team," Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said.
Dominic Bossey was let go from the Office of Personnel Management in February and the search has been a struggle. He applied for one of the openings just days ago and was there for an interview Wednesday.
"Even some of those positions in January I haven’t heard back from yet. So to hear back so quickly, um, makes me a little motivated to keep on trying hard and keep on getting out there, and I’d say that’s probably the biggest positive. I just feel motivated to keep going," Bossey said.
What's next:
Clarke says some of the interviewees will get a conditional job offer within hours of their interview. He’s optimistic that hiring these types of administrative jobs quickly will have a positive impact on riders.
"We have positions that we've got to continue to operate. We can’t run Metro without accounting, right? And we have accounting vacancies and we’ve got to make sure those happen. To hire bus operators, or rail operators, or police officers, we need human capital. And IT is only going to become more of a demand over time, whether it’s cyber, modernization — everything we’re doing at Metro," Clarke said.
Metro says the hiring process for these types of administrative positions can sometimes take 90 days because of some of the specialties required for some positions. This process is moving about seven times faster.