Kara's Cupcakes Now Recruiting at Colleges ― For Counter Staff

Alex Hochman

Emily Cardemon talks with students in the USF cafeteria.

​Kara's Cupcakes has a new strategy for hiring its "Retail Cupcake Ambassadors," i.e. counter staff. Rather than post job listings on Craigslist, the company's now sending representatives to recruit at local colleges. Kara's has developed relationships with the University of San Francisco and the California Culinary Academy, as well as with junior colleges near its Napa and San Jose cupcake shops.

Emily Cardemon, who oversees Kara's recruiting efforts, was recently tabling in the student cafeteria at USF. "Local students are more likely to have a passion to be involved with something in the city, being green, and having an eagerness to be a part of who we are," Cardemon said. Craigslist applicants? Not so much. "Not that we haven't found good people," Cardemon said, "but also a lot of people who just want a job."

If student interest is any indicator, Kara's is on to something. During the 10 minutes we spent talking with Cardemon, a dozen students approached the table and took an application. Of course, free mini cupcakes might have had something to do with it.