Hiring staff

In my old life, I was a lawyer specialising in employment and industrial relations.  When we moved to Lord Howe, I knew that it was not the best training for a new career in hospitality - but at least I would be able to handle the staff issues - right?  Wrong! 

The first waiter I hired lasted exactly 3 days.  The second person I employed was a kitchen hand.  It's a pretty horrible job - and the pay is lousy too.  You can't be too fussy.  There was only one applicant and I offered him the job.  He muttered under his breath a lot and we put him on the plane back to Sydney before Christmas. 

Most people don't send a photo with their CV.  This causes a bit of a dilemma - I don't like to ask for a photo, but I need to know if he or she is presentable and I can’t always interview in person.  I have had some success with checking Facebook for tattoos and piercings.  One applicant didn't have a Facebook page, but I Googled him and found this in a local paper: "A teenager allegedly threatened to kill his de facto partner, her six-year-old child or himself before a seven-hour siege at Buddina on Tuesday".  Didn't go ahead with that one... perhaps I'm learning.