Searching for jobs: A Sydney business owner’s bold attempt to find new employees

A Sydney business owner has taken a bold new approach to his recruitment process after receiving no new applications.

A few weeks ago, Andrew Holloway of Holloway Removals posted a job listing looking for a new sales guru.

After a few weeks, the company had only received a small handful of applications.

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At that point, Holloway decided to take a more honest approach and changed the details of the ad.

“We’re hiring…Low pay, bad hours, idiot boss, apply now.”

Suddenly, Holloway’s inbox was flooded with messages from other business owners praising his bold approach.

“I love Andy’s new approach to hiring. It’s all about the culture,” read one comment on the post.

Holloway told 7NEWS.com.au he wanted to find something that would make his company stand out from the crowd.

“We only had a few uses, so we thought we’d try something different,” he said.

He believes showing potential employees that he could make fun of himself would help, break down some barriers, and foster a positive work culture.

“We want people to think we can have a little laugh, but also convey a sense of professionalism,” he said.

“And I think making fun of myself puts people in a good mood and puts people at ease.

“It makes you think: I wonder what it would be like to work for a place like this?”

Holloway said that while the company didn’t want to just “hire anyone and everyone,” there weren’t many people to choose from.

“There aren’t many workers out there,” he said.

Businesses across the country are reporting staff shortages.

In a submission to the Jobs and Skills Summit, Australian Retailers Association Chief Executive Paul Zahra said Australia’s labor shortage needs to be addressed.

“We are at a critical juncture when it comes to labor shortages,” he said.

“With over 40,000 retail job openings across the country, the biggest increase in retail jobs is in retail.”

Zahra said a national legal working age framework could allow younger Australians to fill labor shortages.