A Dutch company hires people without a cover letter or resume — all they have to do is put their name on a list to work at the company.
ADVERTISEMENTInstead of submitting a cover letter and resume to work at MamaLoes, a Dutch e-commerce company specialising in children's items, all you need to do is add your name on a list and wait for a call.
It's the first company in the Netherlands to attempt "open hiring", where people who want to work simply start working. There's no interview or questionnaire.
The concept came from Greyston Bakery, a Yonkers, New York pastry shop founded by a Zen master who was inspired by a Buddhist principle of non-judgement.
The bakery provides the brownies for Ben & Jerry's ice cream and the ice cream company's website says the bakery has a favourite saying: "We don’t hire people to bake brownies, we bake brownies to hire people."
The bakery partnered with the Start Foundation — a Dutch venture philanthropy fund — to launch open hiring programmes across the Atlantic.
"We started hiring people without asking any questions, so that is called open hiring, we've been doing it for several years now," said MamaLoes director Loes de Volder.
They do not judge "on the names or experience, only when they say I can do the job. We let them do the job and prove themselves," de Volder told Euronews.
Of the roughly 130 employees of MamaLoes, around eight were hired through "open hiring", de Volder says. Those who are newly hired start at minimum wage but can grow within the company.
Among those who joined the company through "open hiring" include Cormé who is 55 and lost his job after becoming sick.
Natasja, a 47-year-old single mother, and Thomas a 37-year-old who worked freelance in the music industry and struggled to balance working hours with childcare, also joined MamaLoes through "open hiring".
"When you give people chances, they want to do their best for you and they are loyal, trustworthy, this is a good thing. We have a lot of people now working at MamaLoes for a long time because they are committed to us, we are a big family," de Volder said.
But in her view, it's not possible to work only through "open hiring".
She explained that "to grow a company you need skilled management" and that now that their company has a foundation, it's easier to work "with people who only want to work".
There are 100 people on the company's waiting list for work.
In terms of any concerns associated with hiring without a background check, de Volder says: "We give everyone a chance".
A team of researchers in the United States looked at applicants for sales and customer service jobs in the country and found that people with criminal records were no more likely to be fired than non-offenders.
The 2017 study said those with criminal records were less likely to quit their jobs, but they are also more likely to be fired for misconduct.
In the Netherlands, open hiring is still in the pilot stages in part under the direction of the Open University in Amsterdam. At MamaLoes, they have a support system in place for employees and have conversations face-to-face every week.
ADVERTISEMENT"We have a life coach that works with the people, we talk with them and we want to find out what works with them to stay at work, when they do illegal things, we have to fire them but this is a pilot for people like me and you who deserve a chance," de Volder said.