Publican turns to social media to snap up the best bar workers
Ernest Cantillon, the Cork businessman behind the city’s Sober Lane venue, has launched a recruitment drive for staff for his first Sober Lane pub in the capital, with applications only being accepted via Snapchat.
Sober Lane D4 now hiring, applications via SnapChat only "SoberLaneD4". Make an impression if you want a profession. pic.twitter.com/XsEq68k4Uo
— Sober Lane (@soberlane) June 26, 2014
A social media photo and video messaging app developed in 2011, Snapchat has become one of the trendiest ways for smartphone users to communicate.
Users can ‘chat’ with friends through photos, videos, and captions — like texting with pictures or videos.
However, what sets Snapchat apart is its self-destruct feature. The photos and videos, known as Snaps, can only be viewed for a short period, from one to 10 seconds.
They are then deleted from the recipient’s device and from Snapchat’s servers.
Last month, the app’s users sent 700m photos and videos per day, while Snapchat Stories’ content was being viewed 500m times per day.
Mr Cantillon, 31, tweeted his recruitment ad early yesterday morning, inviting applicants to fire off their Snaps to the new Dublin pub’s Snapchat profile.
He said they were swamped with some 200 applications within an hour.
Once viewed, the Snaps were gone, but Mr Cantillon said they will follow up with applicants using their Snapchat profiles.
“First impressions are everything in our game,” he said.
“Sober Lane Cork is quirky and different. It’s all about fun, and it’s driven by our staff, who pick the music, and we don’t do uniforms.
“If someone has a good personality, it will come across on Snapchat and we’ll offer them a job or invite them in for a chat.
“If they have the right personality, we can teach them the skills they’ll need to work with us.
“People often see working in bars as transient work, but the people we have working with us see it as a career.”
Mr Cantillon uses a range of social media tools to promote his various business interests in Cork — Sober Lane, Electric, and the Sugar Cube.
He used the online crowdfunding tool, linkedfinance.com, to raise cash to fund an expansion of the Sober Lane bar on Sullivan’s Quay into an adjacent, former bookmakers office.
Mr Cantillon said the success of that venture led him to embrace Snapchat for the recruitment drive for the new Sober Lane pub in Dublin, which is due to open near the Aviva Stadium on July 16.
He needs to hire between 15 to 20 people to fill vacant bar, wait staff, and chef positions, and he plans to open two more bars in the capital over the next six to 12 months.
