Lance Forsee holds a big sign on the street to let people know he's hiring

May 16, 2014 14:52 GMT  ·  By

An unusual panhandler has been seen on the streets of Yakima, in Washington, this week. The “street beggar” was uncommon because unlike other people holding signs at intersections, he was not asking for money, he was looking for employees.

The panhandler is called Lance Forsee and he's the manager of Colonial Lawn and Garden, a full-service landscaping company in Yakima. According to ABC News, he has five job openings, and after all traditional recruitment methods failed, he decided to get creative and found this unusual way of letting people know that he was hiring.

“We're thinking outside the box - actually using a box to get the message out. It's a more relaxed environment, and they're not on the hot seat, I am, so to speak,” Forsee told KIMA News.

So, he went out on the streets holding a big sign that reads: “Desperate business owner will give $ and benefits to outstanding workers! Every employee helps. God bless!”

So far, the 53-year-old man has displayed his sign three times at a busy intersection – the corner of 40th Avenue and Summitview Avenue. Because at first glance, he looks like a regular panhandler, Lance says many people ignore him and so miss the message written on his sign, but many others read it and even came up to him with resumes.

“We’re overwhelmed now with applicants,” he said. “We’re swamped. I mean people are coming in. We’ve got hundreds, probably more than 200, since 11 o’clock (Wednesday).”

The business owner told ABC News that the starting salary for employees without experience is $10 (€7.3) an hour, while experienced workers get paid around $12 (€8.76) per hour.

Moreover, he explained that they were having difficulties finding employees because of the seasonal nature of his business, as the majority of his employees work only nine months out of every year, and gave some details about the job requirements.

“We ask for a valid driver’s license, you must speak, we ask that people — we don’t care what nationality, but you have to speak in English, high school level, and communicate in English at a high school level, so I think some of those things screen out a lot right there off the bat,” he said.

Although holding signs on the city's street corners is not a conventional recruiting method, Lance's strategy seems to pay off. It seems that at Colonial Lawn and Garden's office on West Washington Avenue, the lobby was full with people filling out applications.

The manager explains that this is not the first time he has done this, and says he plans on doing it again until all of the vacant jobs are filled.