Regardless of whether or not you have faith in our political leaders’ ability to put Americans back to work, some founders intend to make Washington, D.C., the place to look for job filling innovation. Local startup Barrel of Jobs is disrupting the job search process by employing social recruitment to find the best people to fill job vacancies.
So we’ve all had a chance to get to know job search engines or job bulletin boards like Monster, CareerBuilder, and Simply Hired. These sites are a tremendous resource for general listings. I’ve used them myself and found work thanks to them. And I’d be happy if I never had to use them again. No matter how efficient the engine, there’s still no doing away with the time consuming search–filling out forms, sifting through options, creating yet another profile, etc. Locating the right job takes time and effort, unless some one brings the offer to you.
Flipping The Job Search
Barrel of Jobs operates on the premise that referrals are often the best tool for filling positions. By offering incentives, the company hopes people will spread word of opportunities to others. Jobs can be shared by email, URL, and through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. A board tallies referrals, offering prizes to the most productive and influential job recruiters. Each week, the top influence receives a fifty dollar prize. There’s also a weekly drawing for another $50, all participants eligible. What’s more, when a position is successfully filled, everyone in the referral chain splits a $130 reward.
Companies love referrals because it saves them time and money they waste on fruitless advertising and interviewing. Furthermore, The Barrel of Jobs model taps into a pool of ideal candidates that might not be actively looking for jobs–people content with their current work but open to something better as long as they don’t have to put in the leg work themselves, disgruntled folk grateful for any work in this economy, or people looking in the wrong direction. Barrel of Jobs hopes employees and friends will roll the jobs out in front of the right, qualified individuals.
Social Good
Few things are as demoralizing as lack of work or unsatisfactory employment. It goes without saying then that helping some one find a dream job is just about the greatest thing you could do for a person. Most of us could still use a kick in the pants to better help our neighbor. Good karma never hurts, but a little extra helps build momentum or causes us to pause and ask, “Who do I know that might want this job?” rather than gloss over a listing and go on with our hectic lives.
If reducing the number of unemployed or underemployed isn’t enough social good for one day, you can donate the rewards Barrel of Jobs offers. The startup partners with Year Up (focused on training and educating urban youth), The Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (specializing in programs that teach entrepreneurship in low-income communities) and The Wounded Warrior Project (providing assistance to wounded service members).
The Job Coopers
CEO Chris Hertz co-founded Barrels of Jobs along with the Vice President of Engineering, Craig Zingerline. Hertz is also the CEO and founder of the IT consulting firm New Signature. He sits on the board of CrisisLink as well, a nonprofit organization that provides free crisis services.
Politics aside, we could all stand for some D.C. help in keeping our wallets full. Here’s to better paychecks for everyone with a little help from our friends.
