LA startup creates a job platform for people looking to work with pets

As the pandemic roiled the economy, Seda Bolulu was among those unique entrepreneurs who opted to run full-speed into the chaos, launching a new business while thousands of others collapsed under lockdowns.

Bolulu, with a background in recruitment and business development, launched PackHire.

The Los Angeles-based business is an online, job-search platform created by pet people for pet people. Bolulu believes animal lovers should have their own place to search for jobs that cater to their skills, background and interest in working in pet care.

PackHire.com connects job seekers with a variety of jobs related to grooming and boarding, veterinary care, rescue organizations and nonprofits, work at major pet retailers, pet insurance, dog walking, management at a pet store, or data analysis at a pet care startup, among other positions.

“As the human-animal bond continues to grow, people spend more money on their pets, which drives growth and investment in the pet industry, leading to more jobs and ultimately the need for qualified and passionate employees to support these businesses,” she said.

PackHire also can be a useful resource for employers frustrated by the quality of resumes they are receiving. It allows them to post jobs, search PackHire’s database and work with industry expert recruiters to find quality candidates with specialized backgrounds.

We asked Bolulu to provide an overview of how PackHire works. Her answers have been edited for space considerations.

Q: When did you start PackHire and what motivated you to launch this particular kind of job-search platform?

A: I started PackHire in 2020. Prior to the pandemic, I had been searching for new opportunities for myself in the pet industry. I found the job search process in this industry to be very tedious and time-consuming.

After speaking with founders and executives in the pet industry, I learned that most pet businesses post their positions on several online job boards which quickly becomes very expensive. One survey revealed that over 65% of resumes employers in this industry receive are completely irrelevant. Hiring armies of recruiters and supporting their teams with expensive candidate-tracking software to sift through the hundreds of resumes was also costly.

Todd, a year-old German Shepherd is available for adoption. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has partnered with PackHire, an employment search engine a recruiting firm, for the pet industry for its April Pet Adoption & Fundraising Week. (Courtesy of scpLA)

Q: How does the PackHire website work?

A: Job seekers can simply visit our website (packhire.com) to search jobs. Those interested in posting their resumes to our database or applying to a job listing will need to create an account. Employers interested in posting with us create a user profile and can post their jobs, search our candidate resume database, or contact industry expert recruiters to help find top caliber talent for their organizations.

Q: Is the pet industry facing a shortage of workers for some of these jobs?

A: Yes. There are currently over 1.5 million jobs in the pet industry, according to author Mark Cushing who wrote Pet Nation, a Love Affair That Changed America.

The veterinary industry is particularly affected by a shortage of staff. One of our business partners, an animal hospital with hundreds of locations across the country, says they are always recruiting veterinarians and specialists as more people own pets and care for their health as they would any other member of the family.

Q: PackHire recently partnered with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the April Pet Adoption & Fundraising Week. Your goal was to find homes for five pets and raise money to go toward animal medical expenses, behavioral training, vaccinations, spay and neutering, and purchasing much-needed pet food and supplies. How did that go?

A: Today was our first day and we were able to get one kitten, “Carrot,” adopted. We also raised nearly $200 through our joint Instagram Live effort with spcaLA. We are confident we will find some more homes and secure more donations for this amazing organization.

Q: What’s the cost for using your service?

A: There is no cost for job seekers. Employers looking to hire pay to post their jobs and we have pricing options from single postings to packages and monthly subscriptions. We also have customized pricing solutions, advertising options, and charge placement fees for enterprise clients looking to utilize recruiting services. As an example, an employer would pay $85 to a post single job opening for 30 days, or $320 to list five job openings for 30 days.

About Seda Bolulu

• Title: Founder and owner
• Organization: PackHire
• Residence: Playa Vista
• Education: A bachelor of arts degree in international development studies with a minor in political science from UCLA. MBA candidate at USC with the class of 2021.
• Previous jobs: Director of business development and recruiting at Update Legal, admissions recruiter at the Art Institute in Hollywood.

Five things to know

• I’m a HUGE “I Love Lucy” fan. Seriously, ask me any trivia and prepare to be impressed.
• I’m a mama to Meeko, a German spitz/pomeranian mix, and Uma, a short-haired tabby.
• Learned leash training for cats as a pandemic skill. Happy to share tips and tricks.
• Was once chased by a bear in Yosemite!
• Prefer dessert over dinner —anything chocolate, but can’t resist churros and flan.

Source: https://www.dailynews.com/2021/04/30/packhire-a-job-search-platform-for-people-who-like-pets/