As more culinary job seekers use the internet to find job leads, many food truck owners are using sites like Craigslist for hiring and to post job opportunities to reach potential candidates. Why wouldn’t they? According to Craigslist, they accept more than 100 million classified ad submission each month.
In our opinion the pros outweigh the cons, but here’s a look at the pros and cons of using Craigslist for hiring for you to make up your own mind.
The Pros And Cons Of Using Craigslist For Hiring
The Pros Of Using Craigslist For Hiring
- Affordability. Craiglist job ads range in price from free to $25 in most cities. In a recent discussion with a Florida food truck owner he estimates that he found nine of his 10 current employees via Craigslist. “From a cost standpoint, it’s so inexpensive to use, and each ad will typically get three or four great resumes.” This vendor said he may receive a dozen or so resumes from unqualified applicants for each ad, but he said it doesn’t take him too much time to identify these candidates.
- Customization. Craigslist is unlike other job sites that set strict limits on the number of words or characters. It allows employers to include as many specifics as they’d like and to customize each ad’s appearance with a logo or other images.
The Cons Of Using Craigslist For Hiring
- Unqualified Applicants. You may not get overwhelmed by responses to his Craigslist ads, but many other food truck owners do, especially those in parts of the country with high unemployment levels. I’ve spoken with vendors who have received at least 70 responses to each of their Craigslist ads.
- Minimal Talent. Although many people use Craigslist to find a food truck, or used kitchen equipment, many food truck job seekers prefer to look for work through other means, such as Monster Careerbuilder, Mobile Cuisine and culinary school job boards.
- Short Lifespan. When posting a job ad on Craigslist it will be listed at the top of the page which pushes older ads down the list. Since all ads are listed in reverse chronological order, the newest ones always have the most prominence. Craigslist does have a search function, so this posting will show up if someone searches “food truck” but the search results are also shown in reverse chronological order, so the food truck job falls below new listings for similar jobs each time another job in that category is posted.
Although Craigslist for hiring does have some limitations and problems, with some planning, many of these issues can be overcome. The added effort of screening applicants is seen by some food truck owners as worthwhile because even with the extra labor involved, Craigslist helps them keep advertising costs down.
RELATED:Â 5 Steps To Hiring Great Food Truck Staff Members
The Bottom Line
Ultimately you’ll see the key advantage of Craigslist is its low cost. If your food truck experiences high turnover and you are frequently looking to replace staff, the cost of soliciting applicants can add up.
Have you used Craigslist for hiring for your food truck? How was your experience? We’d love to hear your thoughts. You can share them below in the comment section or on social media. Facebook | Twitter
