Apploi, A Job Hunting App, Raises Over $7 Million In Series A

Applying to jobs seems easy: you roll into a shop, fill out an application, and wait for a call. But aside from nicer handwriting, how do you stand out from the crowd of applicants? You use Apploi.

Apploi’s CEO, Adam Lewis, launched the company to allow service industry workers put their best foot forward in job interviews. Designed as a sort of central system for applications as well as a way to share videos of your personality and skills, it’s already helping hundreds of folks find work at H&M, Uniqlo, and J. Crew, among others.

“When I was running my previous company I was asked by a large restaurant company to review their recruiting processes and see if my previous service would be a useful resume tool for them. I was shocked as to how they were using resumes to recruit hourly customer service staff,” said Lewis.

“I went undercover in NYC and applied to several service and support jobs. I repeatedly saw the same thing — long lines outside stores, companies shutting off revenue generating space to hold hiring events, where jobseekers (often customers too) were waiting in line filling out long forms before a three minute interview with the assisitant manager. Otherwise companies were sending these jobseekers back to computers to apply in a similar way as they would for a corporate position.”

The company offers a mobile and browser-based application process and also sets up hiring kiosks in malls and busy areas where multiple employers can grab walking traffic. Users can submit multiple applications and even show off their skills by shooting short videos.

“We re-thought the job application and we’re not focussed on the resume as the currency of application. It’s more interactive (candidates can answer questions that are set by companies in multiple formats) and provide companies with the data that they need to make informed decisions — often hiring cycles for these jobs are less than 24 hours, and personality, commitment, passion and time-availability are much more important for many of these jobs than exam results,” said Lewis.

The company raised $7,407,800 in Series A with Andrew Heyer, CEO of Mistral Equity Partners, Simon Jacobs, former owner of Hale and Hearty, among others. Tony Wang, president of Three-W International, and Heyer will join the Board.

The company hopes to expand its reach and bring more kiosks and employers online. The site is humming along right now and they’ve served over 80,000 job seekers a month in 36 states. They expect to be in all 50 states by Summer 2015. No word if they’re hiring, but feel free to submit an application.