No CV required on new construction jobs portal
A website designed to engage youth in Auckland, Christchurch and regional North Island areas is flipping traditional job recruitment on its head.
Fletcher Building has launched an online ‘‘Facebook-like’’ job application platform called Switch Up to help young people into jobs in the construction industry.
Applicants create an online profile and apply for a type of job rather than a vacant position.
There is no need for a CV or cover letter. Instead, applicants select where they would like to work and in what areas.
The site has videos of Switch Up graduates showcasing their tasks and daily life on the job.
Fletcher interim chief people officer Claire Carroll said by showing rather than telling what a job looks like, the website could help young people to visualise their future career.
The website offers roles in everything from building or retail work to forklift driving.
Applicants were invited to an open day to meet employer representatives.
At the end of that process, provided they passed a drug test and impressed the host, some applicants were offered a job.
Matthew Taylor was the very first graduate of the Switch Up programme. It was the ‘‘simple, less formal’’ recruitment process that appealed to the 29-year-old.
‘‘I saw a Switch Up ad on social media and then went to the website. I watched the videos and they were good because I got to see what the jobs looked like,’’ he said.
‘‘Going to the open day, I got to meet people from different businesses … There wasn’t the same kind of pressure and nerves you feel with a job interview.’’
Following the open day, Taylor was offered a job with concrete pipe manufacturer Humes as a welder, in south Auckland.
His manager, Bruce Huata, said Taylor came in ‘‘work ready’’ and the company was grooming him for more senior roles. ‘‘We need more young guys like him.’’
Fletcher Building provides all applicants, successful or not, with feedback. Those deemed not quite work ready receive texts detailing what they can do to improve before applying again.