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Turner Mining Group Talent Manager Shares Advice for Landing an Operating Job
For decades, the key to landing a good machine operator job was all about having the right experience behind the controls. But for a new breed of companies, operating skills aren’t the only thing they’re looking for.
What’s more important? Fit. Attitude. Heart. At least that’s the case for Turner Mining Group. It’s a contract mining company that employs 250 people across the country — a number that’s growing weekly.
Liz Freeman is talent acquisition manager for Turner. She’s self-described “people person” who grew up in construction — her dad was a general contractor. Turner is the perfect place for Liz to mesh her two loves.
“When Keaton Turner [the company’s CEO] hired me he said, ‘I want people with good hearts. We can teach them how to operate and we can teach them how to be safe, but we can’t teach them how to be good people,’” Liz says. “This is hard, hard work and you’ve got to love the tribe you’re working with.”
We asked Liz a few questions about her recruiting and hiring process and advice for equipment operators looking to break into a company like Turner Mining Group. Here’s what she said:
According to Liz, don’t make your first question about money. “Yes, it’s important, but we don’t want people who are just here for the money. We want people whose first concern is culture and growth.”
What should you ask? Here’s a few questions she recommends:
“I also tell every candidate to reach out to a company’s current employees. Message the machine operators on LinkedIn or Instagram. Tell them you’re interested in a job and ask what it’s really like there. What’s great? What could be better? What’s the growth path? How do they treat their people? You’ll get such a raw, transparent view of the company that way.”
Big thanks to Liz Freeman for sharing her insights on what today’s employers are looking for in an equipment operator. Curious to learn more about Turner Mining Group and job opportunities there? Be sure to follow the company on Instagram and LinkedIn.
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