Here’s a confession from a guy who builds websites for a living: we launched a hiring site too late for hiring season.
Ely Works went live this spring. By the time it was ready, most of Ely’s summer hiring was done, and the wildfires slowed what was left. Outfitters had their crews. Resorts had their cleaners. We built the door after everyone had already walked through.
Most businesses make the same mistake from the other side. They figure out how to hire on the day they need someone. A guide quits in July. A cook walks out the week before a holiday weekend. Now you’re writing a help-wanted post at 10 p.m., taping a sign to the door, and asking around on Facebook, hoping the right person scrolls past.
That’s the scramble. It usually ends with hiring whoever’s available instead of whoever’s right.
Ely Works was built to end the scramble, and it does more than post a listing. Every application lands in one dashboard with the cover letter and resume attached. You move each person along as you go: under review, interview scheduled, offer extended, hired, or not selected. No more digging through emails and texts to remember who you called back.
Job seekers get the same help on their end. They build one free profile with their resume and the kind of work they want, from seasonal to full-time. They can bookmark jobs, apply in a few clicks, and turn on alerts for new matches and interview invitations. When an employer updates the status of their application, they get notified. Nobody is left wondering where they stand.
Winter hiring is starting now: holiday help in the shops, staff for snowmobile season, front desks at the lodges that stay open. Ely Works has six jobs posted, from a school to an outfitter, and 23 local employers have accounts.
Setting up costs nothing. A company account is free, it lists you in the site’s directory of local employers, and approval usually comes back the same day. You only pay while you’re hiring, and you can pause your account between seasons.
This week: go to elyworks.com, click “Companies” at the top, then “Create Company Account.” Fill in your profile with a short description of your business and a link to your website or Facebook page.
Then pick the one job you’re most likely to need to fill in the next six months. Write it up in Ely Works (the work, the hours, the pay) and save it as a draft.
When that job opens up, choose a plan and publish it. You’re hiring in ten minutes instead of a week.
If you’d rather not touch a computer, the Echo sells a package that sets it all up for you and pairs your listing with an ad in this paper.
Full disclosure: Ely Works is a joint venture between my business and The Ely Echo.
Richard Stuart builds websites and revenue systems for owner-operated businesses from his home in Ely. Have a question you’d like answered in a future column? Send it to ibuild@richardstuart. me. If something’s quietly costing you customers, let’s talk: richardstuart. me.
