Job board shark tank: some survive…and some don’t

I’ve been covering the job board world in this blog since 2009. During that time, I’ve covered lots of startups. I thought it might be interesting to go back and see how many are still around. You could call this an inspirational – or cautionary – post, I guess. A job board shark tank, as it was. So let’s take a look:

• SkilledWizard: From September 2014. “A job board that looks a bit different, and is aimed at the skilled trades (electricians, plumbers, etc.). Candidates create a profile, search jobs and companies, sign up for job feeds, and so on.” Dead.
• Gigats: From September 2014. “Gigats is not a job board; we are a job matching service“. In other words, the candidate is going to get jobs via emails from multiple sources. Still going strong.
• MyJobMatcher: From August 2012. “Not surprisingly, this site takes your resume and matches it to a bunch of jobs (apparently using a fellow named Bob) to find the right job.” Still going strong.
• TalentSprocket: From February 2013. “It bills itself as ‘the first machine learning system for erecruiting ‘ – in other words, it tries to automate and improve the entire process of hiring, from job ad creation to sourcing and selection.” Dead.
• KROW: From July 2013. “Did I say semantic already? Well, KROW also uses semantic matching to analyze your CV and create ‘your personal work DNA’.” Now thriving as BeWorkHappy.
• ApplyApp.ly: From August 2012. “Using either your LinkedIn profile or resume, AplyApp.ly finds you jobs – with a twist. You can include location (nothing unusual, and limited), job type (intern, professional, etc.), and your MeyersBriggs rating.” Not exactly dead – now part of Resunate
• Raise Your Flag:From September 2014. “Raise Your Flag will certainly show you jobs – but it also shows you job paths: how to get from where you are to a specific target career.” Still going strong. (Although the home page graphics made me seasick!).
• TheCrowdWorks: From September 2014. “As you might guess from the name, TheCrowdWorks is essentially a job board with a crowdsourcing piece that allows the candidate to answer questions from other candidates and then get badges.” Dead.
• HireArt:  From July 2013.”It wasn’t immediately obvious to me what HireArt was: a video interviewing platform? a job board? a staffing site?” Still going with focus on startup jobs.
• Railyo: From February 2013. “This site is what I call ‘hyper-niche’ – it focuses exclusively on developers specializing in Ruby on Rails. There’s a twist, though – the candidate has to ‘apply’ to the board, where he/she is screened (presumably by other developers before being allowed to participate in this ‘private network’.” Still going strong.
• IdealCandidate: From September 2014.”A LinkedIn-centric site for sales candidates. You sign in via LI, enter your desired compensation, pick your industry sector, run through a (time-consuming) culture-fit assessment, and then finally you see a profile and (hopefully) some matching jobs.” Still going strong.
• JobFig:  From February 2013“This site is built around a personality test that the candidate takes; the results are used to ensure ‘right fit’ with employers and jobs.” Still going strong.
• HireStarts: From August 2012. “HireStarts says it is a social network for connecting employers with college students. It’s what I call a candidate pay site, charging the job seeker to participate (it does have a basic free membership), and also charging employers to participate.” Dead.
• DeveloperAuction: From August 2012. “Yes, it’s exactly what it says it is: a place where developers can auction themselves to the highest bidder.” Now thriving as Hired.com.
• Gozaik: From July 2013.”Gozaik is a job board focused primarily on Twitter. You search, find a job, apply via Twitter (you create a Gozaik resume with video, etc) or the company website, and use GoMail to communicate with potential hirers.” Gozaik is gone to Monster.

My very unscientific look at all the listings (including the ones not included above) show a failure rate of about 50% – honestly, a bit better than I had imagined.  Maybe the folks that decide to launch their startups in the recruiting world are better informed and prepared than the average startup? At any rate, congrats to those who are still in business – and to those who aren’t. Both have made this industry vital and alive!

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