Episode Transcript
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It's Tennessee Matters on the Tennessee RadioNetwork. Welcome to Tennessee Matters. I'm
John Clark on the Tennessee Radio Network. The State of Tennessee is the largest
employer in the state, and there'sno better place to serve. They work
together to maintain infrastructure, protect naturalresources, and develop driving communities. Today
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I'm joined by Kimberly Mattlow from theTennessee Department of Human Resources. It's good
to talk about employment, and especiallyright now. Everybody's, you know,
want to be employed. What doyou do in your position in the Department
of Human Resources. So my nameis Kimberly Mantlow. I am the administrator
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for the Department of Human Resources,the Recruiting Division, and we recruit people.
Yeah, it's work for sake government. So what are you looking for
right now? You know, that'sa great question because we have openings every
single week. If you were toguess how many openings you think we would
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have. Let me ask you aquestion, how many openings do you think
we have every week? Oh?Gosh, three thousand a lot. Yeah,
I don't know. They're forty twothousand employees across the state. That's
just positions you have at this moment, but on a regular basis, we
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have two hundred to three hundred positionsthat we're posted on a weekly basis.
Okay, so the positions are prettymuch once they're in there, they're happy,
they're rolling out right along. Theydon't lose any anything by saying,
well, you don't have them,you just have two hundred positions, two
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or three hundred positions available, thenthat's pretty good. It's great because I
mean, we uh in state government. There's very few positions in state government
that we don't have that's not mirroredby the private sector. Okay, we
have accountants, we have doctors,we have dentists, we have nurse nurses,
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we have pace workers, we haverecruiters like me, so across the
board, it's very rare to comeacross the job that again, we don't
have that state that the private industryhas. So when again, as you
recruiting, who you're recruiting for,like right now, who are looking for.
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Our biggest need right now is honestlylaw enforcement. And that could be
with the TBI, it can bewith state troopers, it could be in
our alcoholic bread beverage administration. Itcould be with various other organizations. We
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also have a lot of openings foraccountants, attorneys, physicians, veterinarians really,
so yes, those are harder tofill positions. Wow, why is
it? Why? Just because ofthe skill set and until recently, our
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pay structure was not the best.You may have heard that about state government,
but we have so many other thingsthat benefit our employees. I mean,
if you want to work forty hoursa week or thirty seven point hours
a week, this is the jobfor you, right. A lot of
times with attorneys, they'll come outof law school and we'll offer them an
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opportunity, but they're like, no, I'm more focused on my earnings at
this point. They go into afirm and then they find they're working eighty
hours a week and that reduces theirreally their salary and their work life balance.
So within a few years they're callingus back saying, hey, do
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you still have some goods since?Because now I have a family, right,
and I want a better work lifebalance. So our compensation has improved
greatly. Governmentally has really made greatstrives in helping us to fix that.
It was a real problem before hecame along, So he's done a great
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job with helping us with that.So the people they come back now they
that they come when they come backand they have to start over, they
have to start applying for the job. How long does it take them before
they actually get it? That's great, that's a great question. We do
not move the way that the privateindustry does. We're manda and by legislature
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and by statute to move certain ways. So it could be anywhere from two
weeks to six weeks, depending onthe level of complexity of the opportunity,
along with how difficult that skill setis to find. Like veterinarians, we
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may search for six months for aveterinarian. So it kind of depends on
a couple of different things. Sowhat are some of those things that you
look for when somebody a veterinarian,for example, goes in and that's high
specialized, But what do you lookfor in terms of a veterinarian. Well,
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we're looking for someone of course whoin any state job, you really
really have to have a heart ofservice, which is not on any of
our job we'll find that on ourdescriptions, but it requires the desire to
help your community, to help whateversector that you're working with but also those
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skill sets as well. So wehave a lot of elite, highly trained
individuals that work for state government.Maybe they worked in the military and they
retired. We have hurdles that workfor us now in our leadership of our
leadership positions. So we're just lookingfor people that again have that harder service
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and they're willing to use your skillsets in that service. And you know,
when you look for somebody, Iknow you have certain things you have
to feel here here, But thenwhat do you do beyond that? Do
you make a recommendation yourself to thegovernment to hire this person? Well,
sometimes we do. For instance,if we meet an individual at a recruiting
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event and we think they would bea perfect fit for something we have open,
we do. We are able togive a recommendation for jobs that are
called executive service. Those executive servicepositions are a little bit different than preferred
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service preferred service, and this isall based on the recruiting or the reporting
structure. You can have doctors thatare preferred service, so it doesn't really
matter what the title is. Butthe important thing to know about preferred service
is it's on a thirty day selectionand that's in statute. It's in state
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law that we have to be verycarefully look at those people. The individuals
do have appeal rights if they arehired. That's the main difference between preferred
service and the executive service. Well, but no appeal appeal rights statement right.
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For instance, they get in theirjob and they have a disciplinary action
against them, then they can appealthat. But if your executive service,
like myself, you're at the pleasureof the governor. You're working at the
pleasure of the governor. So ifyour assignment is ended, it's just ended.
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Have appeal rights. Okay, nowwhat you mentioned you're hiring events.
You're hiring events. When do yougo to those those around the state.
Yes, so, yeah, wehave a lot of hiring events. We
actually we do in person events andwe also do virtual career fairs. We
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started doing virtual career fairs after COVIDbecause we couldn't go in face to face
events, so we started having todo the virtual career fairs. We usually
have at least two of those amonth, and then we can be at
any location during that month as well. We'll go to the larger cities like
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Chattanooga, Memphis, Knoxville, Nashvilleon a regular basis, but we also
sprinkle in those locations that are distressedor at risk underneath the governor's priorities,
and we go in we talked tothose individuals about coming to work for state
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government. The good news is,now, since cod happened, we have
a lot of remote physicians. Youdon't even have to live in one of
our cities, in a major city. If you live in could count for
instance, you can work at ajob where it's located in Nashville. You
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can work remotely. How do youdo that? As long as you have
like me, I don't know.I have a computer, I have a
phone, I have Internet. Aslong as you have those three things.
In most cases, in some positionsthat's not allowed, but a lot of
cases it is since COVID happened.But now in the case of a doctor
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or dentist, stuff like that,that okay, okay, okay. Now
Now in law enforcements, for example, what do you what do you have
that you are available that's available forlaw enforcement? Because I know a lot
of law enforcements looking for jobs,or I know it's tough because of all
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the different things technically that they've haddone to them, But what are you
looking for there? So law enforcementhas been a little bit more difficult to
hire for over the past couple ofyears. COVID happened, and just real
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honest, the social environment that reallykind to law enforcement officers sometimes these days.
So it's been a challenge for usto because what we do is we
go when we sell that to somebodywho's looking for opportunity. Maybe they didn't
think about being a law enforcement officer, but after they talked to us,
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you know, we sold them onthat idea. I think it is our
standards are very high for law enforcement. They have to be oh yeah,
So you know, we have actuallygone to other states. You know,
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if we found that we couldn't locateindividuals that were interested in law enforcement here.
That happened during COVID when other stateswere forcing a law enforcement to get
the COVID shots and there were massfirings because of that. We called them
and said, hey, we wantto come to work for Tennessee. And
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we have troopers here working now fromAlaska, Washington, Detroit, I mean
all different areas. So we capitalizeon that and what we pulled from just
like I said, hard working peopleyou don't have to have a degree to
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be a law law enforcement professional withstate government. We developed that, we
trained them. We're just looking forpeople who care about other people and want
to do a good job in protectingthis. Timnithy, Yeah, yeah,
well in a lot of cases militarythat military big in that. Yes,
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we recruit all the time. Atfor Campbell. As a matter of fact,
today they're having a mega job fareat for Campbell today and where they're
representing the state cavern. Okay,so so you go around, you yourself,
go around the whole state, uh, to these vincents such as they're
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having it for Campbell but not you'renot there today, but you go round
to those two. Right. Wedid have a recruiting team. So I
have awesome team that choose around theentire state and we recruit. Do they
have to take state tests or anythinglike that when they first get started or
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whatever whatever type of our doctors startor even be considered. They says,
yeah, tests. Yeah, No, you know, we used to back
before twenty twelve, there was aact that came in that was called the
Team Act. So that did awaywith all of our testing pretty much.
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We used to in our old worldhave to test for every job pretty much.
It's rod these humongous stacks of booksof people. It was very blow
tech, right right right, andso you had to take tests to be
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on a list. Well, wedon't do that anymore. So it's it's
very we are groundbreaking because it's notlike social or civil service anymore. You
don't get on a list and you'reentitled to that job if you're number one
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on that list. Instance, it'sbased on your skill sets and your skills
and the abilities, your education,your experience. So we looked at several
different things now versus the way weused to do it. So it used
to be used to like whoever's next, no matter whether they were good enough
or not, they went they went, okay, you had the qualifications to
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do the job set they would haveto be totally trained up. And thank
goodness, our governor over the lastfew years, Governor Lee and governor has
one before that had a vision tochange that and make it so that we
can compete in the market, rightright, that way you get the next
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one, yeah, exactly, whodid the best and the best, oh
gosh. And that is for everything, not to police officers or anything like
that that's for everybody. That's that'sfor We look for the best in every
position that we feel. Of course, I know the police officers, they
have to have a certain certain testthat they go get through. Yeah,
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they are the police officers are.They go through a psychological they go through
jud testing, they go through backgroundchecks, they go through a credit check,
they're checked probably I can say thatthe most stringent tests they all go
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through. So that one could takeyou a little while longer, but still
still. And then they have togo through a twelve week training so to
be trained to be in their job. So it's you have to be really
dedicated. Right, you're away fromhome. You don't go home at night.
Right, they'll let you go homeon the weekends, but so that
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twelve weeks you're away from Wow.Now and the other positions doctors, dentists
and so forth, what do youdo with them? They they're specialized too,
though, right, they have togo through certain things with that with
that being in that that regiment work. But what they have to go through,
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so they go through our regular recruitingprocess. They already bring with them
their skill set. It's kind ofthe opposite of a law enforcement tripper that's
never had training before. They cometo us already trained that skills and abilities,
and we match them up with thelocation that they're hopefully looking for,
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and then we do an orientation andwe spend time with them that way versus
doing all of the technical training.Okay, what are the sources? What
are the things you need right nowin terms of state employees that you have
that we but officers and doctors,And what are the positions do you have,
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like you know, administrative assistant orstuff like that, and and those
are those are good too? Yeah, So because everybody's job is important,
it's difficult, it's important, sowe we kind of look at it that
way. We value all of ouremployees equally. But our biggest need right
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now is in the Department of Correctionand it's for corrections officers in our facilities
like Riverband in Nashville. So thoseare our biggest needs. And also you
probably have heard Department of Children's Servicesalso has a big need for for program
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managers and case workers as well.What are some of the needs to have
that? And I know that benthe prison systems, I know they need
a lot of people. What dothey need in that now you know,
since COVID, and even before COVID, we have been recruiting full steam for
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them because it is a it's adifficult position. You have to have a
certain mindset to being able to work. You have to have a certain level
of maturity, and of course wetrain them to The officers inside the facilities
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go through a very similar training thatthe state troopers go through to prepare them
for their work. Right, right, And it's not I mean, yes,
it is an environment where you haveto be careful, but it's not
not something that people would have tofear. Right. Once you talk to
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an individual that has worked in afacility for twenty years, they'll they'll share
with you you have to gay attentionto what you're doing. But this is
just like any other job. Yougo there, you do your work,
you take care of what you're supposedto take care of, and you go
home at the end of the day. I would have a fear of doing
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that. I don't know why,I just would naturally. I would have
a fear not knowing that that youknow, yeah that just you know do
it like that? Yeah, Soso you just really just it's like any
other job kind of it's just likeany other job. It's different, and
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like I said, they're all important, they're all valued, and we certainly
have to have them right, right, right, right, Yeah, I
would have a fear. I reallygo out on the road being a police
officer on the road and be itthe inside the sail. I don't know
why, in the in the prison, I don't know why, just just
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me. Yeah, one of thefacilities you have support. But out on
the road, you know, you'rea lot of times you're by yourself.
So and it may be a perioda time before your backup comes. So
it's a it's a little bit ofa difference. And we do have a
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lot of individuals that start in saya facility, and then they've become a
trooper, okay, so it canbe a spring forward. Yeah, we're
really innovative when it comes to sharingemployees within the different agencies. If one
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if an employee goes to another agencyfor promotion or for a different role,
we don't look at that as thein term over right, that's success because
they've stayed with state governments. Right, So you know, you could start
out working in the Department of Agricultureand then by the time you work for
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thirty year career or however long you'rewith us. You could have worked for
five agencies as you you know,promoted and came through the ranks. Okay,
so you never look at somebody likeis going from agricultures something else?
Why does he want to move agriculture? What's going to something else? You
don't e look at that bad?You look at this how bad at all?
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That's good because he has all thathe has all that experience and they
are taking that with the next agency. Yeah, because normally, I know
in some businesses they look at itlike, well, why do you want
to leave us? Why do youwant leave us? Because they want to
grow, grow in the community.So what was the other you said?
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You know, child development services?You need to eat. What are some
of those? What is this joblike? So that's direct care a lot
of times case management and children thatare in stake testeding in foster care or
in a facility, either one.And they manage the children and make sure
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that they're being taken care of properly, that they're getting all the services that
they need. And so it's thatalso is it's an emotional job. You
have to again have that level ofprofessionalism and maturity to be able to manage
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that properly. I don't think Icant do that either. I'm flucking out.
I believe me. We have aj offer you somewhere do all work
for you. Don't worry if wehave career four als and other jobs.
Oh okay, okay, good good. Here I'm applying for a job now.
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I know, I just know,I know, I just hit these
jobs. I would be more preparedfor the prison than working for working with
children like that. That is thatis a tough job. Got it be
a tough job? It is,yeah, But but I needed job.
That's for sure a good job.So do you have you have openies for
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them and anybody anything else besides whatwe've talked about. Any I think if
you're looking for a job in sakegovernment, the best thing to do is
go to our website every week,because we get new jobs every week.
Okay, So I go to TNdot gov slash careers, and all of
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our jobs are lifted there every week, and you can apply online. Just
write online. You can apply themon and then the process is if it's
preferred service, it usually takes acouple of weeks before you'll be contacted.
If it's executive service, they maycall you the next day because they don't
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have to wait that thirty day periodas like the preferred service, and they'll
bring you in to talk with youor whoever they It depends. Sometimes the
hiring managers will have me do ascreening just to make sure that that person
is what right, the type ofperson they want to talk to you.
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Sometimes they do it themselves, soit just depends. And then do you
have to go through anything like wegot to do background checks or anything like
that, or a mental test orany type of tests, any type of
specialized test. It may surprise youknow. Stay Gap does not require background
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checks for about eighty five percent ofour position. I didn't know that.
Yes, okay, if you areagain law enforcement, if you're working with
children, of course, we dorequire background checks for those, But all
of those forty two thousand other positions, not forty two thousand if you take
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those out, But all of thosemany other positions do not require a background
check. Okay, they require othertests and are anything else? No,
not necessarily okay, just apply right, and if we will usually tell you
on that application or the job postingwhat the requirements are towards background checks or
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drug screen and learning that it's usuallylisted on that job posting Okay, is
there anything else we need to know? We need to know I'm wanting to
talk about. I asked these questionsbecause of people listening. They may want
to reply, is anything else anyto do? Just wow? Okay,
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I put it out there. Isay this. I've said this to everybody
that asked me why I work forThis is the best job I have really
ever had. And I'm not justblow and smoke. I mean yeah,
I mean even I wouldn't even wantto be Gatherner. I would want to
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be in this role that I'm intoday because it's really exciting. When you
get to meet people that need ajob and you find you have a job,
and you put that together and youmake that match. That is like
the best feeling ever because you havechanged that person's life, You've changed their
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family, you've changed their community.There's so many ways that you impact people.
And in my role, and alot of times people act like they've
won the lottery when you say,hey, we were going to offer you
this job, they get so excited. So it's just the best job ever.
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I'm glad to hear you say that. I'm glad to hear you say
that. Yeah, I would highlyrecommend state government. We have a great
stake government family. Yeah, that'sgreat. I'm glad to hear you say
that. That proves you're like youloves your job, and so you want
people to love their job too.I slightly yeah, yeah, and they
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should go where's website one more time? It's TN doc slash careers. And
you heard it from her, youshould get you get the job. So
we have all tons of openings everyweek. Apply with Stake Government. I
read to is if you have questions, we have ways for you to get
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in touch with us. If you'relooking for a job, reach out to
Okay, great, Thank you somuch for being on here today. Oh
sh and we're gonna have some peopleapply maybe on this just what you want
to do, all right? Thankyou, Thank you very much. That's
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Kimberly Mantlow from the Tennessee Department ofHuman Services. Find out more about them
by visiting TN dot gov slash HR. For questions or comments about today's program,
you can email me John Clark atiHeartMedia dot com. Thanks for listening,
I'll talk to you next week righthere on your local radio station on
Tennessee Matters.