The “Dashboard” function is your account homepage. It is intended to provide you with an overview of your account, communicate key updates on your connections and jobs, and serve as starting point to access the other features of your account. You can return to your dashboard at any point by clicking on the “Dashboard” tab in the toolbar or by clicking on the BluCollr logo in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

There are four basic elements of the “Dashboard” – Account Overview, Activity Logs, Newsfeed and Recent Jobs.

If you are an Employee user:

- The Account Overview section provides metrics on the number of jobs you have applied to, the number of jobs you have completed, and the number of users you’re currently connected to.

- The Activity Logs section provides key activity updates on your connections. For example, if one of your connections updates his/her portfolio or changes his/her location, this information will be displayed here.

- The Newsfeed section displays newsfeed items and articles posted by your connections.

- The Recent Jobs section displays jobs that have recently been posted by your employer connections as well as jobs that you may be interested in based on your location and industry.

If you are an Employer user:

- The Account Overview section provides metrics on the number of jobs you have posted, the number of applications you have received, and the number of users you’re currently connected to.

- The Activity Logs section provides key activity updates on your connections. For example, if one of your connections updates his/her portfolio or changes his/her location, this information will be displayed here.

- The Newsfeed section displays newsfeed items and articles posted by your connections.

- The Recent Jobs section displays jobs you have recently posted, which allows you to quickly access these job posts and review recent applications.

To create your free portfolio, start by navigating to the “My Profile” tab on the toolbar at the top of the homepage. Once you're there: 

Introductory videos must first be uploaded to a third-party video sharing service such as YouTube. Many of these sites provide free video editing software/tools that will help you create your introductory video. Once you’ve uploaded your video to a third-party video sharing service: 

- Open the video in a separate window and then copy the URL for the video; on YouTube, this can be done by right-clicking on the video and selecting the “Copy video URL” option.

- Navigate to the “My Profile” tab on the toolbar at the top of the homepage and then click on the “Portfolio Update” tab.

- Paste the URL for your video into the “Introductory Video” field and then click save.

You’re all done! Now when users view your portfolio/profile and click on the video icon near your profile photo, your video will appear in a separate window within BluCollr. For more information on introductory videos, please see the “What should I include in my introductory video?” question below.

To apply for jobs you must be using an Employee account.

- Start by navigating to the “My Jobs” tab on the toolbar at the top of the homepage. While in the "My Jobs" section, click on the blue "Browse Jobs" button to access the job search function.  

- While in the “Browse Jobs” function, you can search for jobs in your area by selecting your “Location” and “Category” in the search fields on the left-hand side. The system will return the jobs available in your selected “Location” and “Category.”

- You can click on these job postings to learn more about the job as well as navigate to the job-poster’s profile to learn more about the organization/company advertising the position.

- If you’re interested, click on the “Apply” button within the job posting; a dialogue box will appear that will allow you to provide additional information about your specific qualifications for that job.

- If you’re selected for the job, you will either receive a notification from BluCollr or the employer will reach out to you directly through our messaging system or by phone/email if you have provided this information in your application.

Does your company host a jobs board on your corporate website or use a third-party HR software solution to manage your job posts? If so, then let us do the work for you!

Our web integration technology allows your team to continue managing your job openings and recruitment processes through your existing corporate infrastructure, while we handle the back-end details. You simply need to submit the URLs you want posted and we take care of the rest! To learn more, please visit Advertise with Us or contact hello@blucollr.com

Alternatively, you can manually post jobs on BluCollr. To post a job, login and navigate to My Jobs:

- Click the Post Job button

- Choose the appropriate "Category" and "Skills" for your job, then click "Next."

- Enter a "Job Title" and "Job Description." The Job Description is the primary text field for your job post - use this section to describe the position, desired qualifications, required certifications, etc.

- Choose a "Location" for your job - this will auto populate the other location-related fields. We recommend using a major metropolitan area or large town rather than a specific neighborhood or address to ensure that users are able to find your job. Then click "Next."

- This brings you to a several optional fields for your job post. We recommend including a proposed salary if you have one (e.g., $15 / hr). Otherwise, click "Save as Draft."

- This will return you to the "My Jobs" page; your draft job posting will be visible at the top of your queue.

- If you're ready to publish your job, select "Publish" and submit your payment information. If you need to edit your job, simply click on the title of your job, then click "Edit Job" and you'll be returned to the job post wizard.

For additional information, please check out "Five Tips for Creating a Job Post that Will Get Noticed" or contact support@blucollr.com. 

Promoting a job is a great way to increase the visiblity of your job posting to potential employees. When you promote a job, your job posting will be displayed at the top of the Browse Jobs and Search Jobs results for users matching your posting's Location and Category. Job promotions last for 48 hours and will incur a fee of $5.  

- First, you’ll need to create a job posting – for more information on how to create a job posting, please see the “How do I post a job opening?” question above.

- After you’ve created a job posting, navigate to the “My Jobs” tab on the toolbar at the top of the homepage. The job you created will appear on this page within the “Open Jobs” tab.

- Find the job you want to promote and then hit the “Promote This Job” button next to the job posting. This will take you to a “Payment” page.

- On the “Payment” page, enter your credit card information in the fields below. Please note that your card payment will be processed through Stripe; BluCollr will not retain any of your credit card information.

- When you’re done, hit the “Save” button and your job promotion will begin immediately.

- A record of your payments can be found in the “Transactions” tab.

To hire employees you must be using an Employer account.

- First, you’ll need to create a job posting – for more information on how to create a job posting, please see the “How do I post a job opening?” question above.

- When applicants apply to your job posting, you will receive a notification that will appear in the “Notifications” tab; you can also view applicants by navigating to the “My Jobs” tab on the toolbar at the top of the homepage and clicking on the “Open Jobs” tab.

- Locate the specific job you posted and click on it; this will bring up the job posting as well as a list of all applicants who have applied for the job.

- At this point, you will need to conduct any additional due diligence you wish to perform on your applicants prior to hiring them. This may include viewing their portfolios, contacting them through the messaging function, or conducting a traditional phone/in person interview.

- Once you have selected your preferred candidate, simply click the “Hire” button; please note that once you have hired an employee through the system, all other applicants will be rejected for that job.

- From there, we would suggest contacting the employee through more traditional means (email/phone) to provide a formal job offer, particularly for permanent positions.

- After you have hired an employee, the job will move from the “Open Jobs” tab to the “In Progress Jobs” tab. The job will remain there until you select the “Completed” option next to the job posting.

- Start by clicking on the connections icon above the toolbar – the icon is displayed as three figures standing together on most web browsers.

- After clicking on the icon, a dropdown menu will appear that provides three options: “My Connections”, “Find Employees” and “Find Employers”.

- If you click on the “My Connections” option you will be able to see your existing connections as well as any pending connections – these are connection requests from other users.

- If you click on the “Find Employees” or “Find Employers” options, you will be able to browse or search for other users you may know or have worked with.

- To connect with another user, simply click on the “Connect” button on a user’s portfolio/profile, which can be found under the profile photo.

- Start by clicking on the notifications icon above the toolbar – the icon is displayed as a bell on most web browsers.

- After clicking on the icon, a dropdown menu will appear that includes a “View Notifications” option.

- Click on the “View Notifications” option and you will be able to view all current and past notifications.

You must be connected with another user before you can send messages to or receive messages from that user. For more information on connecting with other users, please see the “How do I connect with other users?” question above.

- Start by clicking on the messages icon above the toolbar – the icon is displayed as an envelope on most web browsers.

- After clicking on the icon, a dropdown menu will appear that includes a “Messages” option.

- Click on the “Messages” option and you will be able to view all current and past messages and conversations.

- You can also send messages from this screen by selecting one of your connections from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

- Alternatively, you can send a message to another user by accessing their portfolio/profile and clicking the “Message” button under the profile photo.

The newsfeed function allows you to post a message and/or links to articles, videos and websites that may be of interest to your connections.

- Start by navigating to the “Newsfeed” tab on the toolbar at the top of the homepage and click the “Add New” button.

- A dialogue box will appear that includes two fields – “Title” and “Link”.

- If you are posting an article or video, use the “Title” field to create a title or short message about the article/video and then copy and paste the URL for the article/video into the “Link” field.

- If you wish to simply publish a text-based post, just type your message into the “Title” field and leave the “Link” field blank.

- When you’re done hit the “Save” button and the message/link you have created will appear in the newsfeeds of your connections.

Referrals, which are found on a user’s portfolio/profile, can only be provided by other users who have been hired by or worked for another user through the BluCollr platform.

As an Employer user, you must have hired an employee through BluCollr to provide a referral. For more information on hiring employees, please see the “How do I hire an employee?” question above.

- After you have hired an employee and the job has been completed, make sure you have marked the job as “Completed” through the “My Jobs” section. Once a job has been marked as “Completed”, the job will move from the “In Progress” tab to the “Completed” tab.

- Open the “Completed” tab and find the job posting you used to hire the employee for whom you wish to provide a referral. Click the “Provide Referral” button and a dialogue box will appear that will allow you to create your referral.

- First, chose a star rating for the employee (with five stars being the best).

- Next provide a written referral for this employee based on their job performance.

- When you’re done, click the “Save” button and the referral will be sent to the employee, who will have the option of whether or not to display your referral on their portfolio/profile.

As an Employee user, you must have been hired by an Employer through BluCollr to provide a referral. For more information on being hired through BluCollr, please see the “How do I find and apply for jobs?” question above.

- Once an employer marks a job as “Completed” you will receive a notification that will ask you whether or not you would like to provide a referral for that employer.

- Click on this notification and you will be directed to a page that displays the original job posting.

- Click the “Provide Referral” button and a dialogue box will appear that will allow you to create your referral.

- First, chose a star rating for the employer (with five stars being the highest).

- Next provide a written description of your interactions with this employer.

- When you’re done, click the “Save” button and the referral will be sent to the employer, who will have the option of whether or not to display your referral on their portfolio/profile.

For information on how to hide or display a referral, please see the “How do I hide or display a referral from another user?” question below.

Whether you are an Employee or Employer user, you can choose to hide or display a referral at any time.

- Start by navigating to the “My Profile” tab on the toolbar at the top of the homepage and then click on the “Public Profile” tab.

- Scroll down to the referrals section at the bottom and you will see all of your existing referrals.

- To hide any of your referrals, simply click on the “Hide from Profile” button next to the referral.

- To display any of your referrals, simply click on the “Display on Profile” button next to the referral.

- Remember, referrals that you choose to display will be accessible to anyone who visits your portfolio/profile, even external users.

Your password can be changed at any time by clicking on the “My Profile” tab in the tool bar at the top of the homepage and then clicking on the “Change Password” tab. If you feel your account has been accessed by an unauthorized user, please contact info@blucollr.com.

We suggest that you try to limit your portfolio to 5 -10 photos of your best work. Including too many photos can be overwhelming for potential employers or clients, so try to choose photos that highlight the broadest range of your skills. Remember, you can add or delete photos at any time, so remember to bring your phone or camera to your next job site and take some photos of your most recent work!

Get creative! What you include in your introductory video will largely depend upon your profession; it can be a slideshow of your work, a promotional video you’ve already created for your business, a short personal introduction, or a video of you performing your trade. We would recommend keeping your introductory video to a minute or less in length – introductory videos are intended to provide your target audience with a brief overview of who you are and what you can do. For more information on how to upload an introductory video, please see the “How do I add an introductory video to my portfolio/profile?” question above.

Get creative! If you’re a bartender, include photos of your signature drinks or photos of yourself serving and interacting with customers. If you’re a trucker, include photos of yourself standing next to your truck or looking out at the open road from the inside of your cab. If you’re a mechanic, include photos of yourself working on a vehicle or of your tool set. If you’re a security guard, include photos of yourself in your uniform or standing guard near a job site. The possibilities are endless. Remember, your portfolio helps you market yourself to potential employers, contractors and clients – think about what they might want to see in a potential employee in your industry, and then get out your phone or camera and take some pictures!

Keep it professional! We would suggest that you avoid posting anything that could potentially limit your ability to be hired for jobs or attract potential employees. As a rule of thumb, posts related to politics, religion or sensitive social topics should probably be avoided. Remember, the goal of using BluCollr is to maximize your ability to find work or attract top talent – posting anything that could potentially alienate you from prospective employers or employees is likely to be counterproductive.

For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions page.

Employee and Employer accounts have slightly different features designed to serve different user bases. A key difference is that you can only post jobs from an Employer account and you can only apply for jobs from an Employee account.

If you think you’ll need the flexibility of both, we would suggest creating two separate accounts. For example, if you’re a small contractor who sometimes needs to hire employees, but also periodically takes on independent side-jobs, we would suggest creating an Employee account for yourself and a separate Employer account for your business. Please note that you will need to use two separate email addresses to do this as each email address can only be linked to one BluCollr account.  

Unfortunately we cannot currently switch the status of your account. If you would simply like to enjoy the functionality of both types of accounts, we would suggest creating a second account. Please see the “Should I create an Employee or Employer account?” question above for more details.

Whether you are registered as an Employee or an Employer, your portfolio/profile will be accessible to all BluCollr users as well as external non-users who have the URL for your portfolio. To see what your portfolio looks like to other users, click on the “My Profile” tab in the tool bar at the top of the homepage and then click on the “Public Profile” tab. A new window will open that will display your public portfolio as it will look to other users. The URL for this page is unique and can be shared with anyone, including BluCollr users and non-users alike.

For more information, please see our Privacy Policy page.

If you have searched several Categories and Skills, but still can't find your trade, please feel free to submit suggestions to info@blucollr.com. Our goal is to make BluCollr as comprehensive as possible, so your feedback is greatly appreciated.

In the meantime, we would suggest selecting an existing Category and Skill that most closely matches your trade, and then using the "Description" section within your portfolio to describe your specific skill set.   

BluCollr does not perform background checks or conduct any other type of employment verification on our users; however, all users are expected to provide true and accurate information about their qualifications and/or business practices, as detailed in our Terms and Conditions. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of both parties to perform reasonable due diligence before entering into any professional relationship facilitated through BluCollr, similar to any other employment networking or recruitment tool.

For more information, please refer to our Terms and Conditions page.

We run ads on BluCollr in order to keep the platform free to use for the working men and women of America. The ads you see on BluCollr are targeted to you based on your location and profession – we don’t perform invasive data harvesting or ask you to provide information that isn’t needed to find a job or hire an employee. Because we target our ads based on your profession, and work with a number of brands that serve a broad range of trades, you’re likely to see ads and special offers for the tools, goods and services you need to do your job. For example, if you’re a carpenter you’re likely to see ads for power tools and work apparel; if you’re a restaurant owner you’re likely to see ads for restaurant supply companies and wholesalers; if you’re a mechanic you’re likely to see ads for tool manufacturers and auto parts suppliers. In other words, the ads we’ll be targeting to you are for offers on goods and services that are likely to be of value to you from a professional or business standpoint.     

For more information, please see our Privacy Policy page.

As a business, you want to get your product messaging in front of the right people. BluCollr's proprietary ad targeting process accomplishes just that. We provide our advertising affiliates with highly targeted advertising opportunities based upon our users' industry and location, all while maintaining the ability to respect our users' valued privacy. Interested in becoming a BluCollr advertising affiliate? Contact us today at info@blucollr.com.

For investment opportunities, please contact investors@blucollr.com.

Our founders grew up in working-class families in working-class neighborhoods, and spent their formative years employed in a variety of manual labor industries. They’ve always been proud to be “blue collar” guys, but have also noticed that the term has taken on a negative connotation over the years. Our founders created BluCollr to reestablish pride and interest in the skilled and unskilled trades by showcasing the craftsmanship, professionalism and job-satisfaction within these industries to a broader audience through a modern, user-friendly platform. We’re proud of our working-class roots and, with this in mind, we chose the name of our company to reclaim the term “blue collar” and return it to its rightful place as a source of pride for the working men and women of America. 

If you wish to deactivate your account, please contact info@blucollr.com. Please note that in order to deactivate your account, you must contact us using the email address used to register your account. You will receive an email asking you to confirm your intention to deactive your account and, once you respond, you will receive a final confirmation that your account is no longer active.