Which groom? Final decision!

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zoeshiloh

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Ok, I have been interviewing for a groom and have narrowed it down to two people but can't decide between them. Both have good and bad points and both would get the same wage. Please help!

Groom one has almost no experience other than helping out at a riding school but she is very eager and would do anything I asked of her. She is a very pleasant girl and really loves horses and doesn't mind getting her hands dirty. I couldn't leave her to ride my horses or do feeds etc for a while though as she needs some training up.

Groom two has a lot of experience and her own pony. She is a brilliant rider and seems happy to get stuck in. But I'm not sure if she would be happy doing the more menial stuff. I have told her what job involves and she seems happy but I'm not sure she would continue to be eager. She is a super rider though and seems competent enough to be left on her own.

It seems like a no brainer I know but the other one seems so eager and a hard worker. I just don't know what to do. I am thinking of giving them both a trial run and then deciding but is that fair to get their hopes up and will I get a good idea of how they are?
 
First:

Can't train motivation and eagerness, but can get them to the exact standard you want and mould them. Think of them as a blank canvas!

Bit more effort in the beginning but you will have a great groom in the end
 
I would say that groom one might be better because if she's keen and motivated she will probably try much harder to do a good job and you will probably both be happy with the arrangement long after the time it has taken to train her.

However, it may be that groom two is just a little more reserved/nervous and actually does really want the job - sometimes some people just come across better in interviews than others! Often it turns out that they are the more genuinely enthusiastic ones but not always. How long did you see them both for?
 
I agree with the blank canvas, some people with more experience don't like to be told different. Whereas the blank canvas know no better
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You know what I wish people would have thought of that when I hvae gone for jobs as a groom, I know my horses and can ride ect but do not have the quallifications yet nothing !
 
I'd definitely go for groom one. If you are already getting vibes about the other its not a great start and in my book enthusiasm is worth a lot more than tainted experience.

You can train the first one as you like things to be done and have a willing member of the team.
 
groom one is the no brainer, she would want to live up to your expectations and exceed for you, whereas you may find groom 2 feels that they know everything and dont need to be told. eagerness over experience any day.
 
Assuming that both are capable of doing the job you want (within reason for the first one) and aren't going to put themselves or the horses at risk, it sounds as if you are more keen on the first one. She may be more work but it's important to have someone around who is pleasant and whose company you enjoy, if you are likely to see a lot of them. Your language indicates that you prefer the first girl, I think...

Depends how important it is that they can ride your horses. If this is a key part of the job then sadly the first one might not learn how to ride well very quickly - but I am sure she can learn how to do the feeds easily enough (unless you have an EXTREMELY complicated system...!).

Also depends on how long you are planning to employ them. If fairly short-term (as in less than a year) the first may not be worth the investment in training - but if you plan on keeping them long-term then she will be.
 
Swings and roundabouts. I think it all comes down to which girl you feel most comfortable with, and what 'talents' are more important to you at this moment in time.

Everyone has to start somewhere, it just depends on whether you have the time to nurture them. You can't job share with them can you?
 
Go with who you like, you could put hours training groom 1 for her to decide when she is able to the more challenging tasks she no longer wants to do the menial ones and she may well take the experience you have given her and use it elsewhere.

If they are both not working could you not offer them both a weeks trial?
 
do you need the groom to ride?

if so i would go for groom 2- it can take a long, long time to get some inexperienced people up to the stage you are happy with and some never reach it at all.

what exactly did groom 2 do to put you off? she may just be quiet?
 
Oh she certainly didn't put me off and was quite chatty not quiet it's just she has a lot of experience and I'm worried that she might find working for me boring at times. I think first groom is more quiet but she seemed nice and I don't think she cares what jobs she does as long as it's vaguely horse orientated.
 
Hard one isn't it? I can see pros and cons of both, most of which have been pointed out, but could add one thing: it's quite common to find that people who love horses but have little experience of working with them full time find it quite a shock when they realise just how much hard/menial work is involved. As a result, the employment period could be quite short! The real advantage of the one with experience is that she will at least have some idea of what is involved. Having said that, I think a lot of people will favour enthusiasm and trainability!
 
2, she knows what working with horses is like, and is still applying for jobs
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first one may be super keen now, as she is in love with the "idea"... 2mnths down the line she may have gone off the ideal
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Why not trial each of them over a weekend to see how you get on together and how they handle the horses.

ps they could have read your post!?!
 
You do seem to be favouring Groom 1, and she is young keen and seems happy so long as she's 'doing something with horses' Groom2 - how long would she stay till she is bored as you say? does she see herself off after a few months working for someone else in a grander enviroment?
If it were me and I was still in doubt I would be honest with both and say you're finding it very difficult to decide, therefore the fairest way is a 2nd 'working' interview.

In which you invite them on separate days to attend a 2-3 hour 'working interview' whereby they'll be doing a bit of the job and you want to see them in action around the horses + see a litle of their riding. Start time obviously crack of dawn so you can see how they are for time keeping!

Then I'd focus on my areas of concern with each.
So Groom 1 you would explain the feeds, I presume most stuff is labelled and you have a plan of who eats what, so to check intelligence and ability to think for herself you would explain and leave her working for a bit and say anything you're not sure ask first, stay near enough to keep an eye w/o interferring - if she doesn't ask anything I would worry, equally if she asks you to repeat loads and still gets it wrong I would also worry! ( of course if she asks loads 'about it' questions eg why does this horse have that suppliment?' then shows interest and keen-ness to learn.

groom 2 I would set too to start with the most boring mundane tasks eg mucking out, tack cleaning see if she's still cheerful after!

Actually having written all that I've decided definitely I'd go for Groom1. Eagerness over experience any day, it's a rareity in school leavers IMO.
 
if it was me groom 2 for sure....but then I would be looking for someone to ride the horses, make up the feeds...someone who i was confident to leave in charge if I had to go out for the stay..stay away at a show etc
 
I agree, I'd like then to do a couple of days each then hve a very frnk talk about how they feel about the work. You could try giving 1 things which you know she cant do yet and see how easily she picks thingsup and try giving 2 menial tasks and see how she feels.
Or you might decide to do what my friend did, employ 2 part time!
 
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