Billy Pearsall's tree trimming business is booming these days. But as his schedule fills up, he's needed to do some hiring, and finding those workers hasn't been easy.
"They're just not reliable. Some of them can't pass background checks, drug screens, and the things we require to be able to put people, reliable people, who want to work safe on my customers' properties," said Pearsall, with Central FL Tree Care.
Mike Callaway's on a mission to make it easier for employers to find good workers. Callaway came home from serving as a military contractor overseas and had trouble finding a job himself. Scanning through the large job search sites was frustrating, because a lot of the openings were far away, and didn't pay enough to cover the commute.
"And on Facebook of all things, people were posting 'My company is hiring,' or, 'I saw in the window at McDonald's that they're hiring,'" Callaway said.
So he created Polk.Work, a Facebook page and new website with listings exclusively in Polk County.
"If we share these posts to groups on social media, it's almost like they go viral. John Smith will share it. Then John Smith's friend will share it. Next thing you know, it's been viewed by six or seven thousand people," said Callaway.
Callaway reviews every ad to make sure they're legit, and dozens of local employers, including Central Florida Tree Care, have already hired people using the site.
"It just made it easy and effortless to find good help," said Pearsall.
And Pearsall has advice to anyone trying to get hired.
"You have to be persistent. You've got to return phone calls. Be punctual. Just those little things like that right there, make all the difference in the world to someone like me," Pearsall said.
You can view the job listings for free at www.polk.work or on their Facebook page.
