As retail stores continue mounting a comeback in 2018, one local firm plans to fill them with employees.
Sterling, Va.-based Capango has launched a new job marketplace app specifically for the retail industry.
The mobile-first platform connects job seekers to opportunities without requiring resumes, instead using 15 questions, a 60-second video and “powers” and “passions” instead of just hard skills.
“We don’t think it’s appropriate to ask a retail worker for a resume – it has nothing to do with them being a great ambassador of your outlet,” CEO Stefan Midford said.
Capango is designed for both the nearly 40 percent of Americans who are working side jobs and the retail employers who are trying to fill nearly 725,000 vacancies this year with qualified talent.
It was developed by the team behind Natural Insight, a cloud-based retail workforce management platform and DC Inno 2018 Tech Madness Finalist. That and Capango are two platforms under the South 49 Solutions umbrella company, which is based in Sterling, Va.
Midford said the idea for Capango came two years ago from Natural Insight’s clients, who said workforce management was steady, but it was difficult to find well-fit employees and turnover was too frequent.
“We came up with these categories that allow you in 15 questions to find a better job, and that’s going to make a happier, more qualified employee,” Midford said. “They’ll stay longer, and if they’re enthusiastic and knowledgeable, everybody wins.”
He said Capango’s D.C. market already has job listings including greeting card merchandisers, pet store brand ambassadors, contract merchandisers, fixture installers and retail store associates.
Capango partnered with retail association Shop!, which has more than 350,000 job seekers and 2,000 companies in its network, to invite them to transfer to the new app this week. In the past two weeks, early adopter employers have posted thousands of open positions on the platform, Midford said.
Natural Insight’s clients alone are looking to fill more than 80,000 job openings in 2018.
Employers pay Capango for candidates they contact or that express interest in their job postings. It presents employers with a ranked list of qualified job seekers immediately upon posting an open position.
Though nearly a dozen major retailers went bankrupt last year, the retail industry had 15.9 million jobs and more than 723,000 job openings in April this year, nearing an all-time high, according to the National Retail Federation.
Another web-based retail jobs marketplace is AllRetailJobs.com, which says it has 19,000 registered employers and recruiters, and 1.5 million resumes in its database.
