Wellington employment service Im In on finding the right person for the right job

I'm In founder Thomas Maharaj.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

A Wellington employment support service has helped almost 600 jobseekers find work since opening in 2023.

I'm In opened its second centre in Johnsonville on Thursday as it scaled up to conduct 150 one-on-one appointments with applicants a week.

Business partners mingled at the launch: logos for Mitre 10, Bidfood and local tradies bounced in and out of view.

Originally contracted by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to help 15 vulnerable youth into employment, which it achieved in eight weeks, it has helped 150 jobhunters into the market since February.

Founder Thomas Maharaj cited unstable accommodation, drugs and AI in recruitment as the biggest obstacles to employment.

He urged employers not to judge applicants who had been out of work too quickly, "Sometimes there's some pretty amazing people that are absolutely keen to get right back in."

I'm In has helped 150 jobhunters into the market since February.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

To remove barriers, the organisation offered training, support writing CVs and cover letters, background checks and drug testing.

More important, Maharaj stressed, was matching applicants' skills and interests to the right opportunities. "And I think it's really important to note that this isn't about helping job seekers into work. It's about helping people find the right employment.

"So are you actually genuinely wanting to work at a supermarket and what's your why behind that? And sometimes people, it's just out of desperation, but of course, businesses are trying to vet people that might want to be there long term."

This was the case for Caleb Wilson. After graduating from university, he struggled to find work but was eager to start a career.

He found that I'm In's focus on tailoring positions to candidates made the biggest difference to his job search. He had applied to almost 100 jobs, many of which were not suited to him, with no success.

The service gave him direction and improved his CV: I'm In helped him film a video CV, which he said was a "big game changer".

"I think so many companies now are getting CVs and cover letters and resumes and they're not really reading them or they're getting an AI checker to do it for them. So to have a video where my future employer can see me and see what I'm about and almost know me before I come for an interview was a super game changer and that really helped."

He added it was "gutting" to be without work and on benefits.

Now, Wilson had found work as a sales and marketing cadet with Jolly Billboards. Smiling, Wilson described the motivation he had to get up each morning to go to work: "It's an awesome feeling being back in work and being able to contribute to society.

"That first paycheck was pretty wicked," he beamed.

Caleb Wilson.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

This approach had helped businesses to keep staff. Grant Wilson, the director and owner of refrigerated transport company Cool Runners, said he was hiring the wrong people before going to I'm In.

"Look, we, you know, deliver chilled products. I'm not a human resource bloke," he explained.

The service vetted workers who would be suited to physically demanding and solitary night shift work for him and trained them to get the right driving licence for delivery trucks. Drug tests by I'm In were also very helpful for Cool Runners.

"So I'm allowed to do what I do well properly and they now behind the scenes can go out and employ the right people for us," Grant Wilson said.

Bidfood assistant manager Fred.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Bidfood assistant manager Fred agreed the employment agency had "streamlined" the hiring process and saved his company time. He estimated that 90 percent of the staff brought on by I'm In were still working at Bidfood. "It's usually people who are really looking for work and very grateful to have a job and so most of them are staying."

Bidfood had opportunities to recruit two dozen staff through the service for their warehouses and trucks.

Regional commissioner for MSD Gagau Annandale-Stone said she "loved" seeing the organisation bridge the gap between people looking for work and employers looking for staff.

She said it was great for communities and growth in Wellington, where the unemployement rate reached 6 percent.

Regional commissioner for MSD Gagau Annandale-Stone.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

She praised the organisation's focus on young people and giving them the support they needed to get into work.

"They need someone to just listen, be in the moment with them, understand a bit more about them than the space they're in, what are the barriers, and then take them to a place where they feel more confident and then take them to market."

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