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Mankato’s Seasonal Walk-In Interviews
The City of Mankato has been faced with a challenging labor market for all positions —especially those that require seasonal workers.
When met with the hiring demands of the 2022 summer season, the city tried a new approach: walk-in interviews for summer, seasonal candidates.
Michelle Meitner, Mankato human resources coordinator, previously worked for a private sector employer conducting nursing open houses. In those open house processes, Meitner explained, the hiring team could accomplish in one day what previously took months of recruitment work. Meitner took the concept and applied it to the city’s public works infrastructure, operations, and facilities teams for recruiting summer seasonal help.
Meitner scheduled four weeks of walk-in interview days, which included two human resources staff and four public works supervisors assisting applicants with the application process, electing veterans preferences, and interviewing candidates and answering their questions.
Preparation for the walk-ins, which took approximately 16 hours, was key for ensuring a smooth process. Human resources staff collaborated with supervisors, coordinated calendars, and streamlined applicant-related paperwork and targeted marketing for the event.
The first week of the walk-ins included, true to Minnesota spring weather, a snowstorm, and only yielded one applicant. However, momentum increased throughout the process with the city conducting 15-20 interviews during the fourth and final week.
Mankato’s human resources department spent roughly $1,200 on this event, including advertising dollars for a local newspaper bundle, which was also posted on Career Builder and Indeed’s websites. The department also bought banners, signage, and informational flyers that Meitner said could be reused for future recruitment efforts.
The walk-in interview strategy worked well, according to Meitner, and Mankato faced little turnover with seasonal staff. For several summers, the city had been unable to fill seasonal vacancies with the infrastructure team, but with this 2022 initiative, four staff members were hired. Additionally, the city met its full capacity of more than 50 seasonal staff hired for the public works facilities and operations team in March. This impact saved time for supervisors and the human resources team who were typically recruiting throughout the summer in previous years.
Mankato is exploring incorporating walk-in interviews for other hard-to-fill positions within the city. Meitner will continue to monitor the process to evaluate unplanned turnover and determine whether any additional adjustments should be made for the upcoming seasonal hiring processes.