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Ask HN: computer dating, but for jobs--does it exist?

5 points by tutufan ↗ HN
You're probably familiar with the concept of computer dating: You fill out an extremely detailed questionnaire and some complex solver finds potential mates that are (in theory) highly suitable matches. (Or at least, this is how I imagine it, not having done it myself.)

It seem like this would be useful for matching job candidates to employment positions. Do sites like this exist? Current methods for matching seem inefficient and produce seriously suboptimal solutions. Is there a better way?

6 comments

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steventruong
There are a few job sites cropping up trying to tackle this but aren't fully scaled yet so I guess time will tell whether or not they end up being effective. The issue is, like dating sites, they're not going to be perfect solutions.
srconstantin
www.whitetruffle.com is the best I've found so far.

It matches based on skills and a few other attributes (like location and whether you have a US visa.) I've talked to them, since this is a subject close to my heart and I'm curious, and they're planning on adding a more detailed questionnaire and a little machine learning.

Right now they're restricted to New York and the Bay Area and they're focused on engineering positions, mostly at startups. But they do a pretty darn good job. I'm on there, and I get a job offer every few weeks or so, many from excellent companies.

tutufan
Thanks!

I think there's a real opportunity here for someone who can do this well. The current system works okay when you're just looking for a warm body with something dreary and obvious like "15 years of Java". But it's terrible for trying to match people who just f*cking love technology (and have the corresponding broad and idiosyncratic skillsets) to matching opportunities.

srconstantin
Oh, I think so too. For a while that was what I wanted to work on, except that I figured Whitetruffle were too good to compete with.

One critical part of a business like that is connections with the recruiting industry, because you're essentially asking employers to let you serve as their recruiter, and you need to build trust. You can't just build the site and wait for people to come. Whitetruffle got that part right: their founder is a former recruiter.

whichdan
There's Hirelite[1] which touts itself as "Speed Dating for Jobs." Not exactly what you're looking for, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

[1] http://www.hirelite.com/