Whingers need not apply

Duane Trafford who runs Mosgiel-based pest control company, Predator Contracting LTD needs staff but whingers need not apply:

He needs more staff to run the company and has laid out the type of person he wants to employ in clear language.

The advertisement is on TradeMe and says:

OK….SO I’m looking for Staff.

The requirements are pretty simple…..an understanding of some of the key points I’m about to explain are necessary….
1/ I am looking for possumers…not pig hunters…not people that tried hunting once…and thought they liked it…and thought they were having a midlife crisis..and decided they needed to get out of the office…..but Possumers……!!!
2/ Now by Possumers..I mean people that can work as part of a team….Come back to accommodation at night and NOT WHINGE!!!! Can start the day with a positive attitude and not WHINGE!!! Can talk to other members of their team with respect and not WHINGE!!!! I don’t want shit stirring whingers!!!
3/ They need to be able to get off their arses and walk down into the gullies and push through the tuff shit…..without crying about it!!
4/ They need to understand that the job doesnt mean you get to drive around on QUADS all day and shoot shit….you actually have to walk….and the walking involves HILLS!
5/ They need to understand that theres NO internet…no cell coverage…no breaks….and most of all NO WHINGING!!!!!
6/ They need to understand that there are prickles…and theyre outside….and they’ll get wet hair…and wet socks…and cold…and hot….and thirsty …and hungry….and that I’m not their bloody mother…..
7) They need to understand that the job entails being away from home, and staying in back country accommodation ( huts, shearers quarters etc)

Some relevant skills Im looking for….
1/ Preferably a CSL (Controlled Substance Licence)..so you can apply toxins or at least be able obtain one…which means NO Police charges in the last 7 years..including DUI’s DO I need to emphasis this??? Because Im sick of people applying that havent read this part!!.
2/ PREFERABLY Relevant ATV/LUV/2 Wheeler/4WD tickets
3/ Possuming Experience
4/ The ability NOT to whinge about everything( in case you missed it)
5/ The ability to change with the times. We are a company that is progressive…our main clients want us to use PDA’s…these things are expensive…and mandatory for our work…if youre rough on gear and dont know what a PDA is.,…dont waste my time applying!
6/ We are very H&S conscious…this means lots of audits…training…audits,,…paperwork… more training…and audits!! If you cant deal with the necessity of that….dont waste my time applying….
7/ Must be able to pass a drugs test, and ongoing random drug and alcohol tests…and THIS is MANDATORY!!!!
8/ Mustnt be a whinger

Things Im offering…..

A BLOODY JOB!!!!! and the chance to do something other than sit on your arse. . . 

 

Most employers have stories of staff who aren’t up to the job for which they apply.

Those who need people who can cope with physical exertion, being outside in all  weather, learning and adhering to health and safety requirements, and being drug and alcohol-free could write books about the good, the bad, and the downright hopeless.

Work like this isn’t easy and own’t suit everyone but it has compensations.  It’s easy to save when you don’t have the opportunity to spend, it’s good for fitness and doing a hard job well, even if it’s not what you want to do, makes it much easier to get a better one.

No greater upskilling than work

Quote of the day:

But for the unemployed, especially the young and unemployed, there is no greater upskilling than being in the paid workforce, being productive, and learning to do a good job.Rodney Hide.

This was part of his second column promoting the idea of auctioning the jobless on TradeMe.

The first column is here.

Paying to implode

If you’ve ever wanted to demolish something big, here’s your chance to bid for it on TradeMe:

Naylor Love & Ceres NZ, the contractors demolishing 14-storey Radio Network House in Christchurch, have donated this fundraising opportunity for someone to ‘push the button’ to detonate the explosives that will bring the building down, to the Canterbury Earthquake Heritage Buildings Fund – http://www.savecanterburyheritage.org.nz  

The current bid is $8050.

Turners turns to TradeMe for Police and Customs auctions

Turners has turned to TradeMe for the sale of property retrieved from crime scenes by police or seized by Customs..

The monthly auctions where things like jewellery, beer fridges and television, go under the hammer, will now be moved online.

Turners has been running the auctions for 15 years but says it can make more money on Trade Me.

“I guess the reason for that (is) people don’t have the time to come to a public auction on a Tuesday or a Wednesday or a Thursday because they’re working or they’ve got other pressures, ” branch manager for Turners’ commercial division Jason Tredgett says.

On-line auctions are open to a far bigger audience of potential buyers than live ones and also cheaper to run.

Alcohol and tobacco which aren’t permitted to be sold on TradeMe will still go under the hammer the old-fashioned way.

The dog ate his homework too

If explaining is losing then Trevor Mallard has well and truly lost the debate over his scalping tickets to a music festival.

Mr Mallard says he did not buy the tickets for the purpose of making a profit and saw nothing wrong with selling them when he discovered he could not use them.

He also says the anti-scalping law applies only to large international events like the Rugby World Cup, not music festivals like Homegrown.

I didn’t mean to, it just happened and this is different are up – or more accurately down – there with it’s not my fault, someone else made me do it and the dog ate my homework when it comes to attempts to excuse or justify misbehaviour.

It certainly looks like hypocrisy when, as a Minister, he sponsored legislation outlawing scalping.

It’s yet another SMOG (social media own goal)  and also looks like stupidity when a man who wants to help run the country can’t operate a TradeMe account.

It’s yet another opportunity for the government to have fun at his expense:

Someone who cares about the Labour Party should quietly disconnect his computer.

SOE selldown could gross $6.8b

The partial sale of state owned energy companies could gross  $6.8 billion.

Could is the operative word.

However, there is a dearth of local companies listed for potential investors in New Zealand.

Superannuation funds, Iwi, ACC and community trusts will all be keen to invest in SOEs and the over-subscription for TradeMe when it listed shows there are willing buyers.

Historic home for sale

One of the beautiful historic homes in our neighbourhood is for sale.

Burnside Homestead was built in the mid 1980s 1890s by John Forrester Reid. It has been owned by only two other families since then. The Hudsons bought it from the Reids in 1930 and the current owners, Alison and Bruce Albiston bought it from them in 1974.

The Albistons have lovingly renovated the house, updating it with heating and extra bathrooms in sympathy with its Victorian origins and maintained the garden and parkland with the mature trees which surround it.

The house has at least nine bedrooms, four bathrooms and two en suites, separate servants quarters, a private bedroom with en suite upstairs, a billiard room, large commercial kitchen and scullery, dining room and the grand octagonal hall with a sprung floor.

The coach house near-by was recently converted to provide two more bedrooms with a kitchen and living area.

Most of the furniture in the house is original and includes a grand piano.

The Albistons have been running the homestead as a B&B  and hosting small conferences.

Burnside is only 15 minutes from Oamaru and only a few kilometres from the route the Alps to Ocean cycle way will take.

The property is listed on TradeMe for private sale.