While LinkedIn has made it easier to apply and search for jobs while maintaining a professional online presence, the formalness of the platform means it isn’t suited for some non-white-collar industries.
Industry (a recent winner of the TC Radio Pitch-Off) is a professional network exclusively for the service and hospitality industry. The website lets employees showcase videos and photos of skills specifically needed in hotels and restaurants, like bartending or cooking.
The service is free for users, while businesses pay on a subscription basis. Even if a restaurant or bar isn’t currently hiring, the service makes it easy to post jobs and keep a pipeline of talent for their future needs.
Cody Barbo, founder and CEO of Industry, explained that his company helps eliminate the awkward step of walking from restaurant to restaurant handing out resumes, which is inefficient for both the potential employee and the establishment.
The company also helps steer candidates towards specific jobs that they qualify for. For example, some jobs may require a culinary degree, and Industry will only show that job to applicants who have that degree listed in their profile.
For employees new to the hospitality industry, the site has a career-building section where it will suggest specific training and certifications that would help the candidate advance their career. The company is partnering with specific culinary schools and training programs to directly refer applicants, for which it will sometimes take a small referral fee.
The site is currently in a private beta in San Diego in which it saw sign-ups from 2,500 employees and 300 businesses (including popular California spots like Il Fornaio and Tender Greens). The service also facilitated an average of one hire per day, with over three hundred jobs posted. Industry is expanding its private beta throughout the West Coast this summer, and will launch nationwide this winter.
