JOBMATCHBOX

A couple of months ago, I asked my LinkedIn network if they take take job descriptions seriously. I also asked them to be honest. Outside of the occasional comical answers I got more negative feedback (directed at HR departments and recruiters) than expected. If you want to see what everyone had to say click here. One thing that I’ve found that most job seekers have in common with each other is that they don’t feel like job descriptions are a very good indicator of whether or not a company should consider them.

In fact, job descriptions are considered by be laundry lists. One person said that they were concerned that HR departments might actually take job descriptions seriously. Since my departure from agency staffing and internal recruiting I have had a chance to put a lot of ideas to the test. I’ve been experimenting (mostly on my own jobs) with some really interesting and potentially innovative (I don’t want to toot my own horn) approaches to job descriptions. If you are an HR person close your browser now, this isn’t for you!

What I’ve found is that some of the core elements of a job description actually cause people the most trouble. For example, when a skill is presented as a requirement people tend to think of the requirement as a challenge that they a) can overcome or b) might be able to overcome or c) can’t get past. An example of a challenge that someone might not be able to overcome could be “performing calculus and advanced physics as part of an average day”. This is an example of what I would consider to be a limiting parameter. Most authors of job descriptions (and I’m talking about the ones who didn’t copy and paste one written by someone else) think about requirements as limiting parameters. Job seekers don’t.

So I what I have found to be useful is an active effort to deconstruct the traditional notion of job description requirements. This begins with eliminating the requirments section.

Yes, I just said ELIMINATE the job requirements section.

If you are still reading then you must not think I’m crazy and you are probably much more like the target audience that I’m looking for anyway. Job descriptions work much the same way. Remember that I warned HR people to close their browser a moment ago because this wasn’t for them. You may recall that I talked about video resumes and video job ads quite a bit over the last few years. In talking about these tools I didn’t suggest that they would replace traditional resumes and job descriptions, but that they would help like minded employers and job seekers to connect. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Video isn’t an easy endeavour for most companies or people and isn’t event necessarily the best way to go about getting your intended audience’s attention. So I’m going to talk about a few ways to get to the people who you want to be talking to in the first place.

You can start by throwing out the job description. After you’ve done this you should write down as many things as you and your team can think of that describe someone who would be a great member of your team. NO SKILLS, just attributes. For example, if you are looking for someone who is going to build a web 2.0 application you should probably write down “uses Facebook”. I can’t imagine hiring a web 2.0 programmer who isn’t on Facebook. Next you might want to write down “likes computer games”. Web 2.0 people tend to be on the edge of their seats for new games (at least in my experience). Sure, there are people who are not, but that isn’t the point - a lot of these types play computer games. Next you might want to write down “owns iPhone or N95 or Treo or Geek Devices” Etc.

Once you’ve figured out what the attributes of a person are, now it is time to write down the attributes that your office offers that someone looking to build web 2.0 applications might be interested in. An example might be “flexible hours for programmers who work late” or “super amazing starbucks machine in office” or “iPhone hackers present” or “computer games happen HERE”.

After you’ve figured out the attributes that represent incentives for both parties to talk you’ve got your work cut out for you. Now all you have to do is decide what you can’t live without. For example, “must be smart and have built own web pages for fun on the side (maybe even for others to make extra cash)”. For a non-entry level position you might even throw in a line of code that has to be translated into the requirement. For example, if a person has to know PHP you might want to say something like “must know how to install LAMP without a script”.

Now here comes the part that you are not going to like.

Once you have all of this information in one place you might not have a page long job description. You may not even have more than a paragraph or two. Do not be afraid. You should take what you’ve got and get it up in places where you know that your target audience will be found. For example, Facebook…or Jobmatchbox.

When you spend too much time in the social media community you get the sense of what Matt is talking about when he writes that Brandstreaming and how it is different than engagement (i.e. interaction).  He makes a good point about how community engagement isn’t the same thing as achieving spame (not a typo, though it has been before).  I’ve decided that “spame” is the state of SEO nirvana achieved by consistently tossing out content with no meaning, no originality or just plain poor taste.  The alternative, as Matt suggests, is to interact with the community.  In interacting with the community you develop your niche or at least get a sense for what represents value to your audience.  I can’t say that I’m an expert at this, but I’ve definitely been exposed to the good, the bad and the ugly. 

The team here at Jobmatchbox wants your office to win Rock Band or a Nintendo Wii.

To enter, submit the following by email to email@jobmatchbox.com by August 13, 2008:
Employer Name
Employer Contact Name
Employer Daytime Phone Number (not your cell)
Employer Physical Address
1-2 Paragraphs That Summarize Your Company
Group Photo of Your Team

Winners will be drawn at the August 2008 Social Matchbox Event.

RULES:
Entrant companies must be within a 35 mile radius of Washington, DC (20036); void where prohibited.
Only one prize will be awarded per company; odds of winning based on entries.
Only companies from 2 to 150 employees are eligible to participate.
No purchase necessary to enter; must be over 18 to participate.
Prizes are not redeemable for cash and must be accepted as-is.
Entry grants usage of names, likeness, photographs, or other submitted information (this may include here).
Jobmatchbox.com waives responsibility for any injury or damage to persons or property as a result of acceptance of prize offered.
Deadline: all entries must be submitted to email@jobmatchbox.com by August 13, 2008.

The following message was sent to members of a technical user group that I’m a part of.  The setup is simple, a recruiter spammed people ASKING for them the do the work required to invite the recruiter to connect with her (the recruiter).  It isn’t just recruiters engaging in this really lazy person’s effort to grow their Linkedin network, it is a lot of open linkers too.  I’m an open linker and I’ll still be the first to put report a message from someone sending a message like this as spam. 

The fact that the recruiter did this and had it come back to bight her is a great example of why recruiters should tread lightly.  The people and communities that they are engaging are more than just job board resumes asking for attention.   

Here is the email that was sent around to the discussion group by one of its members along with the message sent by the recruiter. 

“Have others who have posted to the group also gotten this email?

<snip>

Many of you have expressed an interest in connecting with me on LinkedIn.  Here is the link  http://www.linkedin.com/inviteFromProfile?from=profile&key=*******&firstName=********&lastName= ******** - where you can use any method you wish to of connecting with me - you may need to enter my email address ******@****.com - and I will be only too happy to hit the “accept” button on your invitation.
If you received this message my mistake, please disregard.

Thanks and have a great day.
 
<snip>
Technical Recruiter”

So, last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the TwinTech event at Local16 here in D.C. The venue was classy, the people engaging, and the conversation lively. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Full set of my shots available on Flickr. More pictures here and here and good recap coverage by The Washington Post here.

- Kurt

A few months ago I sat in on a discussion at SocialDevCamp East titled “Who Needs VC’s”. The panel was inspired by a group of people looking for funding, including a few who had been trying really hard for a long time. Much of the discussion centered around whether or not the Washington, DC area was a place where startup companies could find funding. While there isn’t a universal answer to this it is always good to see a startup that comes out of nowhere and gets funding, especially one that isn’t launched by a geek celebrity. Today’s public announcment that Living Social, a Georgetown based company, landed $5 million in venture capital from two LOCAL funds (Grotech and Steve Case). Contrast this with another the S o c i a l Gaming Network, a company that left the area for California after receiving funding. Both are web 2.0 companies and both were inspired by Facebook’s F8 open platform initiative. Both are companies run by good people. Let’s hope that the trend toward Web 2.0 startups getting DC funding and growing DC roots continues.

“Welcome!” they said to me on my first day. At the time, I thought they simply meant the traditional, you know, welcome to your first day of work. But really, it was more like, “welcome to the wild ride that is the web startup culture.” No matter what, these last couple of weeks has meant a very different work experience than what I was used to.

I’m Kurt, a senior at the University of Maryland. I joined Jobmatchbox almost three weeks ago as the “Social Marketing Intern.” What does that mean? I think it’d be impossible to define it as one “job”, but if I had to pick a few, I work with social media experts to promote area job opportunities and companies. Additionally, I do some photography at DC tech and social events, and I record, cut, and edit video footage of various startup happenings and get-togethers. I also occasionally blog (the results of which you’re reading right now) and do some graphic design.

Though I’ve only recently found myself head-first in the eclectic sea that is the DC tech/web social scene, I feel very much at home as someone who has long admired it from afar. I was most pleasantly surprised to learn that, no, I don’t in fact have to move to San Francisco or Seattle to experience it and, yes, there are cool people doing cool things right here where I live and grew up. I look forward to getting more involved as time goes on and meeting lots of interesting and engaging people. Also, a special thanks to the folks at Jobmatchbox for 1) bringing me on and 2) making me feel so welcome. Wish me luck.

Hi, my name is Erin and I am one of the interns here at Jobmatchbox. I will be contributing an occasional blog entry and working behind the scenes at Jobmatchbox. This is my first experience in the DC tech/web industry. Here’s a look back on my first couple weeks on the job.

My cover letter began:

Dear Hiring Manager,

I saw your job advertisement on Jobmatchbox for a recruiting
associate, and I have great interest in pursuing this position in
order to gain experience in human resources and recruiting….

Beginning a summer internship with a start-up company looked like a
great opportunity for me to get experience in a different field. I
really had no clue about the industry, but I had a great interest in
the internship position they offered me. I always considered myself
up for a new challenge, and this job seemed like the perfect challenge
for summer 2008.

Before my first day, I only knew that I wanted to help people find a
job they could hold onto for years, and I hoped this company could
show me how to connect people with their ideal job. I soon found out
that working for a small start-up company required me to step up and
take on a lot of different responsibilities.

After the first day of work, I did not know how I felt about my new
internship, because it was totally different from any other of my
previous jobs:

…having less than five employees in the office, sitting next to the
company partners, completing meaningful projects that moved the
company forward, working in relaxed atmosphere where your opinion
counts, starting out all projects with flexible guidelines…

Now writing this post, I know that I am ready to make the most of this
opportunity, where I can see myself making a mark on the future of
this company and its practices. I always saw myself as an optimistic,
idealistic person who wanted to make a change in the world… at least
in this position I can see how my efforts are making a difference in
this company :)

Look for my next post or contact me at email@jobmatchbox.com or follow us on Twitter @Jobmatchbox.

We are proud to announce the second class of interns here at Jobmatchbox.  They are Erin and Kurt.  Kurt responded to an ad posted on Jobmatchbox that was published to the Refresh DC website.  Erin replied to a targeted ad that we ran on a social media property.  Both of them have been amazing and we can’t thank them enough for choosing to spend their summer with us.  Both Erin and Kurt will be contributing to Jobmatchbox so look for their thoughts on job hunting, hiring, startups and social media.

We are already starting to look for interns for the Fall semester so if you are interested send us a Tweet (Jobmatchbox) or an email (email@jobmatchbox.com).

We have heard from a lot of people asking when the next Social Matchbox will happen.  Every company that I’ve talked to since the event has told me that they hired someone who they met at the event so it is worth having another one.  With this in mind we are working on the next event, to be held either in Baltimore or Tyson’s Corner.  We may hold one in both places. 

If your startup company or interactive firm would like to participate let us know ASAP.  Depending on the number of participating companies this time around we may hold the event on more than one evening or extend the event time and insert more time for networking. 

We are also talking to new and returning sponosors, if you would like to become a sponsor let us know.  We are currently seeking a title sponsor for each night in addition to a food and beverage sponsorship. 

All inquiries should be directed to email@jobmatchbox.com .