Hire Employees & Find Jobs in the Foodservice Industry with These 3 Companies
In today's restaurant landscape, labor shortages1 and a high turnover rate2 have made it increasingly difficult for operators to hire and keep the right employees. Staffing a restaurant is further complicated by the need for seasonal help, competition between businesses for top talent, the ongoing industry debates over benefits and wages, and the possibility of being short-staffed if someone calls in sick. Finding new hires for long- and short-term positions is difficult, and advertising job openings on general job sites and through word of mouth isn't the most efficient or effective way to attract quality candidates. If your restaurant is looking for employees or you're an industry professional looking for work, these foodservice industry job sites want to make the process easier.
Poached Jobs
Locations: Dozens of cities across the U.S.
Types of Businesses: Restaurants, bars, hotels, event companies, country clubs, and more
Types of Jobs: Bar, floor, barista, kitchen, management, hotel, and counter
Portland, Ore.-based Poached Jobs was founded in 2011 to offer the restaurant industry a faster, more effective hiring method. Today, it offers thousands of positions in dozens of cities across the United States, from restaurant meccas to small towns and suburbs.
Jobs posted by Poached members can get additional publicity on general job sites and can be boosted for premium placement as an ad to maximize visibility. The Poached team also maintains a blog to offer resources and advice about industry life, issues, and trends.
What Employees Can Expect: Poached's website lets you search by job type and location, or for specific job titles, companies, or keywords. Jobs on Poached are color-coded – green for culinary, orange for bar, grey for management, etc. – so it's easy to identify which type of job is being shown even if you aren't searching by specific job type. Job seekers can upload a resume or take advantage of the site's built-in resume builder to create a new one.
How it Works for Businesses: As with other platforms, businesses must pay to post jobs on Poached, with members paying $35 per post and nonmembers paying $49. Memberships cost $10 per month and include access to job boosting and an interview scheduler tool that can be used to set up and track interviews with prospective hires.
Why You Should Try This Foodservice Industry Job Site: Poached Jobs offers an easy, streamlined approach to advertising and applying for jobs in the foodservice industry, as well as end-user features like the Interview Scheduler for hiring managers and mobile compatibility for job applicants.
Culinary Agents
Locations: 50+ cities across the U.S.
Types of Businesses: Restaurants, hotels, event & catering services, and specialty stores
Types of Jobs: Culinary, pastry, dining service, wine and beverage, administrative, and more
Founded in 2012 by Alice Cheng, Culinary Agents currently partners with more than 22,000 businesses across the United States. Up-and-coming talent can use the company's website to read free resources on industry insights and career development or browse a "Virtual Mentorship" page that offers a closer look at the careers and advice from established chefs, CEOs, restaurant group directors, and other industry professionals.
Culinary Agents also functions as a networking platform where businesses and individuals can create profiles and connect with other users.
What Employees Can Expect: Instead of uploading a resume, registered users are encouraged to complete their on-site profile, displaying their summary, work experience, education, skills, interests, languages, and recommendations that have been given by other users. If you don't have a resume handy but want a physical copy, your completed Culinary Agents profile can be exported as a PDF. As a job seeker, you can be matched to open positions or apply manually to jobs you're interested in and message that position's hiring coordinator after applying.
How it Works for Businesses: Culinary Agents is free for potential employees, but businesses must pay to post jobs. Pricing includes a pay-as-you-go option and monthly subscriptions, as well as custom plans for unlimited postings and other specialized uses. Postings for full- and part-time positions, seasonal work, internships, and externships are active for 30 days. Hiring managers can close the posting if the position is filled before then, and there is no extra charge to reopen the posting within 30 days of it closing if that hire doesn't pan out.
Why You Should Try This Foodservice Industry Job Site: In addition to the opportunity to network with other industry professionals, Culinary Agents lets prospective hires search specifically for jobs posted by restaurants that have won James Beard Awards and other top industry honors.
References
- Restaurants are Scrambling for Cheap Labor in 2019. Bloomberg. Accessed September 2021.
- How High Employee Turnover is Affecting the Restaurant Industry. Michelin Guide. Accessed September 2021.
