Instawork Provides Job Training and Placement for Immigrants, Homeless, Ex-Convicts and Others
The food-tech startup offers free, one-on-one job placement for hospitality industry positions.
Instawork is a mobile app that quickly matches job seekers to local hospitality jobs. The company recently expanded its team of bilingual Community Ambassadors (CA) who provide free one-on-one support to Instawork applicants throughout the entire job interview and hiring process.
The Community Ambassador program originally started out as a way to collect feedback from applicants who weren’t showing up to the job interviews they scheduled through the app. “Businesses get frustrated when a candidate books an interview and ends up being a no-show,” explains Instawork’s Head of Applicant Operations, Andrew Jones. “We needed to find out why these folks weren’t showing up.”
Instawork hired their first CA, Tania Guerrero, in December 2016. She quickly learned that many ‘no-shows’ are a result of the significant challenges that applicants face during the job search process.
“There are a lot of folks who are living in poverty or homeless and can’t afford transportation or childcare. I frequently speak to undocumented workers who are scared to show up to a job where they don’t know anyone. I also come across people who have a work visa but have never worked in the US before, so they get nervous and end up bailing last minute,” Guerrero shares.
She added that she often works with non-English speakers and teenagers who have limited support at home. “It’s all very new and scary to them. I make sure every applicant I talk to knows that I’m committed to getting them hired. I’m here to help reduce the anxiety associated with job searching so they can get on their feet.”
Guerrero’s compassion formed strong bonds with the people she was helping find jobs. They starting passing her number around to their friends and soon built a community based off of word-of-mouth and trust.
Andrew continued, “Tania’s efforts opened our eyes to the real issues our users are facing. Her passion inspired us to take it a step further.” Guerrero’s insight prompted Instawork to host a series of free legal workshops across the Bay Area and Seattle to provide clarification and guidance on immigration law changes with a top immigration attorney.
In efforts to reach even more people, Instawork expanded its CA program. They have collectively placed over 2,000 job seekers to local businesses this year.
CA’s help applicants set up an Instawork profile, which serves as their online resume. After identifying the jobs that would be the best fit based on their experience and career goals, the CA’s will assist applicants in drafting a cover note, provide interview training, and will even cover the cost of transportation to the interview in some cases.
“The best feeling is getting a notification that says the applicant you were working with landed a job.” said one of Instawork’s new CAs, Paola Merino, who was referring to the company’s proprietary, internal monitoring system that alerts the company when a hire is made.
On Merino’s first week as a CA, she reached out to an applicant who opened up to her about her fear of being judged at interviews because she’s a transgender woman. “We became friends and exchanged our personal stories. I assured her that she has nothing to worry about and set her up on a bunch of interviews. She ended up getting hired as a receptionist at a spa. She was so excited,” Merino recalls.
“That’s not to say that we don’t run into people who don’t have any special reason for why they didn’t show up to an interview,” Merino adds. “That’s when we have to give them a little push and some tough love. Sometimes someone just needs to hear, ‘you got this.’”
The CA’s have placed applicants at some of the top restaurants in the Bay Area including Gitane, Sens, Left Bank Brasserie and Bistro, Vina Enoteca, Waterbar, SPQR and Rich Table.
Instawork’s CA team welcomes job seekers to reach out to them whether or not they’re an Instawork user. They can call or text (415) 582–6709 or stop by Instawork HQ at 500 3rd Street, Ste. 240, San Francisco, CA. 94107. Instawork will cover the travel costs for job seekers who come into the office for an in-person meeting.
For those of you interested in job searching on your own, simply download the Instawork app to find out who’s hiring near you. You can always reach out for help later on.
