Irish bar takes job applications on Snapchat
Ernest Cantillon described a typical Friday night at his Sober Lane bar as "wild", so it comes as no surprise that the businessman's latest hiring drive is out of the ordinary.
The Cork, Ireland-based watering hole is taking job applications for its new bar opening next month in Dublin through Snapchat, a social media platform that allows users to send bitesized videos and photos that disappear after being viewed.
Cantillon explained that the process was all about getting the right type of character for the job.
"If you want a profession, make an impression," Cantillon told CNBC in a phone interview.
"If I walk into a bar and the bar tender asks how my day was there is much more of a connection there. To be an accountant you don't need to tell a joke, but to be a bartender you do."
Sober Lane is hiring 15 to 20 people in a range of roles from chefs to bartenders and has already received around 1,300 applications in the 24 hours since the posting was advertised. Cantillon is looking to shortlist between 50 and 100 candidates and call them in for group interviews.
The bar has received entries from the serious to the bizarre. One entrant applying for a chef role filmed himself cooking, while another applicant sent a Snapchat message of themself juggling.
Cantillon said the use of Snapchat was efficient and appropriate for an "informal" industry.
"We cast an extremely wide net. The big thing is whether they can make that 15-second impression," he said.
While jobs such as waiters and bartenders often attract people looking for part time work, Cantillon said he wants to make sure that people can make a career at his bar, a recipe that has helped him build a network of establishments in Cork.
"We are all about careers, I don't see any reason someone can't make a good career as a chef or bartender. When people get a job here they take it very seriously and it gives us a huge edge," he said.
Sober Lane is known locally for its lighthearted nature. On its website, Cantillon's profile says he was "raised by wolves" and eventually became a "professional shirt model for the Casual Beard Monthly magazine".
Companies have tried innovative hiring techniques in the past. In 2010, advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi offered a writing job with a $70,000 salary for the best tweet they received on Twitter. In 2012, marketing firm Wieden and Kennedy challenged applicants to complete 10 social media challenges with the prize being a job at Old Spice. One task was to get the most people to become friends with your mother or father on Facebook in week.
