By Doreen Hemlock
These are tough times for employers looking for front-line service workers at restaurants, retail shops, hospitals and other locales. The COVID-19 pandemic made remote work more common, so fewer people are applying for in-person service jobs. And those who do apply often seek work only close to home. What’s an employer to do?
A Miami area startup is testing out a solution that works like a dating app: Both companies and employees create personal profiles, complete with photos and even videos, if they like. Then, both sides try to match up, as best they can.
Seekr.work is piloting the concept in parts of Miami, convinced that traditional job sites based on resumes no longer make sense now that employers are short of staff and willing to employ people with limited experience, provided the jobseekers have positive attitudes and personalities.
“The resume isn’t sufficient for either side, when it comes to front-line service employees,” says Chief Executive Officer Michael Zwerner. “Businesses are frustrated, because they’re essentially looking at a blank piece of paper for employees who are just getting started … And jobseekers also are frustrated, because they say: I’m more than just a resume. How do I show people who I really am?”
Besides allowing images, Seekr also is building a feature called “Vouched,” where teachers, colleagues and former employers can basically add online references for the jobseeker. An ex-boss might say, for instance, that the employee often filled in as manager, though a resume can’t include that formal title.
“We’re looking to learn more about the attributes and skills that businesses usually find out about someone on the job: Are they on time? Are they honest?,” says Zwerner, of the online references.
Testing out the concept from South Miami to Brickell
Lux Parking, FTX Arena, Carrot Express, Chicken Kitchen and Papa Johns are among some 100 employers now trying out Seekr. The platform is available for business locales from South Miami to Brickell, say co-founders Zwerner and Darren Himebrook [pictured below]. More than 300 jobseekers also are using the app.
For now, the service is free. But starting next year, Seekr aims to charge employers a fixed price per location to advertise for jobs. That price would vary by city, but likely run about $200 per locale in Miami, Zwerner says. Companies could customize settings on their job ads to target applicants who live nearby, perhaps within a three-mile radius of the restaurant or hotel, the co-founders say.
The localization feature is a key reason Papa Johns operator Warm Management is testing the app. Existing job sites such as Indeed.com don’t narrow searches sufficiently, drawing resumes from folks too far away to properly fit a restaurant post, says the company’s recruiting director Patricia Vargas: “If you have to pay for an ad, you don’t want people applying from Hollywood for a position in Homestead.”
Seekr now works out of Zwerner’s home in Coral Gables, operating with a team of four. So far, the group has raised about $350,000 in funding, mostly from friends and family. It aims to complete a $1 million seed-funding round soon, Zwerner says. That effort got a marketing boost in late October, when the startup pitched at a Venture Atlanta conference, one of just a few Miami companies selected.
Merging ideas from friends and family
Zwerner came up with the idea for Seekr after a friend in Miami complained about trouble finding yard workers for his roofing company. The buddy said he’d been scanning Instagram and other social media to learn more about applicants. Meanwhile, a relative had joked about how job-hunting was like online dating. Zwerner put the two ideas together to envision a startup and called his longtime pal Darren “to talk me out of this.” Instead, the duo became co-founders, keen to grow the venture nationwide.
Both in their early 40s, the co-founders each bring different skills to the startup. Zwerner is a certified public accountant and certified financial analyst, with an MBA from Yale University and experience at accounting, consulting and investment firms. Darren worked in digital marketing and production for varied companies and has a degree from the Savannah School of Art and Design. Each moved back from New York to their Miami area hometown area during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Papa Johns recruiter Vargas sees potential in jobsites with more visuals, as stores vie to hire drivers and others: “You can say anything you want on paper, so photos and videos help show companies more.”
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