Has Simply Hired Lost Their Way

   

I like Simply Hired … they have a passionate team of talented people, and they have a great mission, reflected in the following statements from the Simply Hired site: 

   

1)  Job Search Made Simple

   

2)  Our goal is to make finding your next job a simple yet effective, enjoyable journey.

   

3)  Simply Hired is powered by people who want to make things better. We want to create cool products, but not at the expense of the individuals who use them. That means building solutions that make sense to your mom, your uncle, your teenager, and even your dog. (OK, maybe not your dog.)

   

However, the screen capture at right (click on the image for a larger view) conveys much different messages … it says:

   

1)  Please click on the ‘Post your resume’ ad so we can make money.

   

2)  Please click on one of the three ‘Featured’ ads so we can make money.

   

3)  Please click on one of the ‘Sponsored links’ so we can make money.

   

I’m all for making money, but not a single organic search result is displayed above the fold – plus, none of the three ‘Featured’ ads is appropriate to this search, reflecting the problems discussed in Simply Hired Violates Job Seeker Trust.

   

Looking at the three ‘Featured’ ads in more detail:

   

1)  The ‘Operations Supervisor’ ad would be relevant if it were for the correct geography, but clicking on the link shows that the ad is for a position in Ontario, California rather than Portland, Oregon;

   

2)  The ‘Territory Sales Supervisor’ ad is a poor fit for an individual seeking a job as a transportation supervisor; and,

   

3)  The ‘Get Paid To Take Surveys From Your Computer’ ad is a spam ad listed as ‘nationwide’ on CareerBuilder – not only is this ad totally irrelevant for the search string, SH is displaying the geography incorrectly.

   

Bottom line, it appears to me that the team at Simply Hired has lost their way.  With no organic results ‘above the fold’, job search is not made simple, effective or enjoyable.

   

We all lose our way sometimes, and I take hope in the following from SH:  “…open communication with our users (and developers) is at the top of our list. So tell us when we screw up, and tell us when we rock the house. Give us your feedback and your ideas, and in return we'll listen, and we'll deliver.”

   

Simply Hired, are you listening?

   

Comments

[Insider Info]

that's because the folks who crafted the original mission statement are no longer working at simply hired.

Ask people who have left the company about why they parted ways and you'll find them saying many of the same things...

[lutao]

you're right, but maybe you push they little too much. Vertical job search can't make money from jobposting like Careerbuilder and Monster. They provide free tool for candidate with ads.

[Bob Wilson]

Thanks for posting Insider. Is there a lesson here regarding the risks of outside investment?

I've wondered if the VCs funding SH have pushed for a different vision and staffing changes.

[Bob Wilson]

Hi Lutao ... perhaps I am being too hard on SH ... I hope not.

I'm not concerned that SH is generating revenue through paid placement ... it's their specifc implementation that seems both poor and contrary to their stated mission.

Take a look at www.indeed.com for a better way to mix paid placement with organic search results.

[phil carpenter]

Bob -- we appreciate these candid comments. And as you and I discussed at the Direct Employers conference, the implementation of Featured Jobs that you see on the site is v1.0 for us. With the feedback that we get from customers, advertisers, and industry observers, we'll certainly tweak our design.

We're just as committed to our mission of making job search simple now as we were at launch. And we're not just listening to comments like these -- we're acting on them. Stay tuned for more.

[Bob Wilson]

Thanks for the excellent response Phil!

OK, I understand that v1.0 products aren't ideal; but it has been almost two months since the initial rollout of 'featured' ads ... that's not a long time in many industries, but in the web world, frequent updates are common.

It makes sense to tweak the design based on customer feedback, but what does your heart tell you? Is the current layout best for jobseekers? If not, then better to update your mission.

Best wishes.
Bob

[Jeff Tokarz]

SimplyHired = SimplyHijinks

[Barry Beano]

indeed.com is not showing any more paid placements. They seem to have stopped the sponsored jobs...