Hundreds of hopefuls look to be hired on the spot at Hard Rock Ottawa job fairs
Hundreds of hopefuls look to be hired on the spot at Hard Rock Ottawa job fairs
Charge your phone and bring a snack: that’s the advice one Hard Rock Ottawa official has for job-seekers preparing to attend the hotel and casino’s second mass hiring event on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
Although the facility’s opening date is yet to be confirmed, the company is looking to hire hundreds of employees by the end of this month. In April, the process began with the first of three hiring events at the hotel and casino, which is still under construction, on Albion Road in Gloucester.
Though it’s called a job fair, Nanette Dean, vice-president of human resources, said the process developed by the Hard Rock company is unlike anything she’s seen in her career.
“I’m new to Hard Rock and new to the industry and, boy, it’s pretty exciting,” she said. “When I first learned that this is how Hard Rock attracts, assesses and on-boards large volumes of talent, for me it was pretty interesting.”
Before putting on the event in Ottawa, Dean said she got a glimpse into how it works at the opening of a Hard Rock hotel and casino in the U.S. Unlike a typical job fair, where businesses line up in booths and job seekers hand out resumes, the Hard Rock job fair is designed to pick out strong applicants quickly.
Applicants begin by creating a profile in the Hard Rock recruitment system. Then they go through registration and pre-screening to ensure they’re eligible to work.
After that, Dean said the priority is to find candidates with strong interpersonal and communications skills, so candidates are assessed in groups of 50 during a panel-style interview. The best are then picked from one-on-one interviews with hiring managers.
Dean said the process also aims to set the tone for the work: “It gives the candidates an opportunity to get a taste or a feel for what it would be like to work here. There’s a DJ playing great tunes, balloons and the sizzle reels. It really gets team members excited about what it means to spend a day on the job here.”
And prospective employees really do spend the day on-site. According to Dean, successful candidates spend five to six hours going through the application process. But it’s a day that, for some, ends with an on-the-spot job offer.
“It’s like Canada’s Got Talent,” she said. “It’s an audition-style process with four stages and the final stage is that golden ticket. This is not your typical job fair where you’re asked a couple questions then you leave and ponder whether to apply. This is you applying.”
Most of the openings are entry-level or management roles across a variety of departments. Dean said there’s a high need for employees in food and beverage positions, including servers, cooks and bartenders, to operate the 10 restaurants and bars that will be on-site. The hotel also needs hospitality staff, including room attendants, as well as receptionists. Security positions are also up for grabs.
On the first day, Dean said anywhere from 300 to 400 people were lined up to go through the process. In the end, more than 150 job offers were made.
“It exceeded our expectations,” she said. “When I left at 11:30 that night, one of the valets stopped me. He was standing in the lobby, watching the participants come down the stairs all day … he said he could see their excitement, how happy they were, calling their family members.”
More applicants are expected to flood in this week. The third and final job fair event is scheduled for May 22.
“We’re pretty excited,” said Dean. “This time, we’re telling folks, charge your phone, bring a charge, bring a snack and be prepared to be here for a bit.”
Mia Jensen