Please log in to view this article.

Whats a private job board you ask? Well Railyo is. According to their site:

Railyo is a global network of Ruby On Rails Developers. It’s a private network, all the members are handpicked (based on their portfolio/projects/skills/..) to ensure the quality of the network.

From a design perspective there are almost no graphics on this site. And thats ok because they use colors and text very well. Its amazing what you can do with a well planned page layout using CSS and Railyo offers a glimpse of that. The homepage tells you exactly what they do and I like the 2 column layout that explains why they are different than other tech job boards and freelance sites. Stating why you are different is important so you can set expectations. And it helps set you apart from the competition.

Now for the “private” aspect. Railyo is a new type of service that is cropping up. Others include InterviewJet.com. Their main premise is to curate the best candidates based around a certain niche. In this case they are targeting Ruby on Rails developers.

I like this business model because it helps recruiters save time and in theory see the best candidates. (and as you know time = money) But that is also the challenge for Railyo. How will they get enough candidates to fill the pipeline? They need to be laser focused on building their candidate database with enough top ruby developers to make it work over the long term.

TIP: think of products that help recruiters/employers save time. If you can help make their job more efficient with a certain part of the recruiting cycle you can charge for it!

Please log in to view this article.

Please log in to view this article.

The NY Times has a blog that critiques websites and I stumbled across this post about a site called DirectApproachSolutions.com that claims to be the ‘eHarmony of jobs‘.

The Times asked readers to comment on the site and they gave it scathing reviews but I wanted to chime in as well.

First of all, lets start with the domain name. Its WAYYYY TOOOOOOOOOOO LONGGGGGGGGGG!

The number one rule of picking a domain is to go as short as possible. Nmmber two is getting the words jobs or careers into it somehow. DirectApproachSolutions.com does neither. Nor does it give the visitor an indication of what the site does. Its a generic, unremarkable domain name.

Other problems I noticed:

• The browser title starts with “Job Search NYC”…if it’s a local site the homepage gives no indication of that.
• The logo is boring and generic looking.
• The homepage is text heavy and does not draw the users eye to any one area of the page.
• The premise: the online job search industry is littered with a long list of companies that claimed to be the eharmony for jobs.  Jobster, RealMatch, Climber…to name a few. The idea never really caught on with job seekers or employers.

Please log in to view this article.

Here’s my critique of CleanTechRecruits, a renewable energy job board. 5 min. Free.

Please log in to view this article.

Please log in to view this article.

Here’s a critique for a brand new job board, that doesnt list the same old postings. [visit job board]

Want your job board critiqued? Chris will deconstruct your site for $99. Contact him today!