After I was hired for my previous job, I was told the five applicants before me failed the drug test...
I once got one of six open slots, out of over a hundred applicants, because there were only three of us guys who showed up (to a downtown office building, for a position with some customer contact) in suits.
Talking to the interviewer several months later, he said the entire pile had been thinned down to ~20 just by ruling out the ones who showed up in shorts, obscene shirts, with prominent facial piercings, etc. He showed me a few of the "annotated" applications, which would have one line in the interviewer notes, along the lines of "dress shirt and chinos: save for later" (and by that time they'd actually called that guy back and hired him into another position) or "slob and reeks of weed: do not consider now or future." They didn't actually listen to any applicants' answers to the interview questions until the second interview, and hired the six of us immediately upon completion of our interviews.
And were does this extra money to raise wages come from?? Ever hear of Supply and Demand ?? Charge more and lose customers, then you have to reduce headcount ?
A real search for dead wood will usually turn up plenty pretty high on the pay scale. The above company had, at its peak, 375 full time employees, and one part time HR rep. Honestly, watching the top-level attrition rate of the Trump administration reminds me of the number of upper management I watched get escorted out the door there.
