I must admit I find the story about McDonald’s Australia taking job applications through Snapchat intriguing. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, McDonald’s and Snapchat have produced a special filter that puts a McDonald’s uniform on potential employees to make a 10-second video submission. After they have sent their ‘Snaplication’, McDonald’s then directs them to a website where they can download a regular application form.
McDonald’s Australia COO Shaun Rumin told news.com.au that as the largest employer of youth in the country, it was “trying to look for new and innovative ways to recruit crew people”.
He stressed it wouldn’t take the place of a face-to-face interview but it would be taken into account. “We’re looking for that positivity, bubbly personality, someone we think would be good in a customer service role,” Rumin said. “Based on what my daughter sends to her friends, you do get a bit of a glimpse [from a 10-second video].”
Well, maybe. But if McDonald’s can glean something from a 10 second glimpse of someone performing with a filter that puts him or her in its uniform, it does make you wonder what exactly it’s looking for in perspective employees. A welcoming smile, cheerful demeanour, strong voice and clear pronunciation? What should applicants say in their Snaplication to get noticed?
Perhaps the process is merely a new way to advertise jobs to young people and give them a helpful push towards making a formal application. If so, what great purpose does it actually serve? After all, it’s not really that radical and innovative if the Snaplication still requires people to fill out an application form to get an interview. In fact, you could say that the Snaplication isn’t really an application at all.
Also, how many people making a Snapchat video will actually go on to make a proper application? For that matter, how many people will make an application without using the Snapchat video at all? If a load of young people make a Snapchat video but don’t make an application (actually, even if they do) wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it something else? I don’t know what. Maybe “getting young people to dress up for the entertainment of executives at McDonald’s”?
To be fair, Rumin didn’t make any grand claims for the effects the Snapchat campaign could have on recruitment. “We’re not in desperate need for hiring,” he told news.com.au. “we’re just trying to look for new and innovative ways to complement our existing hiring process.”
Maybe the idea could catch on with other employers where wearing a uniform is part and parcel of the job (although I’d be wary of judging applicants on how they look in a police, firefighter, medical or soldier’s uniform). It could certainly bring a fresh perspective to companies trying to recruit someone “who looks the part”.
In any case, I can’t see it becoming a part of the IT recruitment arsenal any time soon, no matter how marked skills shortages might become. What filter would you use? What would a 10-second video tell you about a potential employee? How could it not be anything but frivolous? The best that can said for it is that Snapchat might help to reach potential applicants that aren’t interacting with more traditional forms of advertising and recruitment. So it might help to widen the pool of available talent, which could be a good thing. So long as the talent can be bothered to fill in a proper application form afterwards! I suspect that might not be a snap.
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