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Ask HN: Review my startup: JobKaster Google Maps for Jobs

9 points by cajuntrep ↗ HN
Hey guys / gals, after validating the idea of using the Google Maps API to search for jobs and a successful beta, we've relaunched - implementing much of the feedback and comments from both the HN and Reddit communities. Plus, we've got an all new design which I couldn't be more excited about!

Would love to get some feedback from you guys. What do you love? What do you hate? Any WTF's?

Currently we're focused on service type jobs and food service as these types of jobs are most dependent on location, but we'll branch out soon.

Thanks for your support!

The site can be found here: www.jobkaster.com

Regards,

Paul Chittenden Co-Founder JobKaster

paul@jobkaster.com

8 comments

[ 9.9 ms ] story [ 32.9 ms ] thread
adamtaa
Quite frankly this falls under the great category of "why didn't I think of that". I like this idea and the website is beautiful. Please make with the mobile app that automatically provides directions to the job you applied for on the website. Well done you guys.
cajuntrep
Thanks! We're still a while away from the mobile app, but great idea!
dalek2point3
have you looked at mapbox.com? they make beautiful openstreetmap based maps -- which you can really use in powerful ways because you have access to the raw data. It will definitely pay off in the long run if you're looking to build a map-based app.

PS: not affiliated with mapbox in any way.

cajuntrep
We've looked at Mapbox, but decided to go with Google Maps for now. There are some cool things we can do with Google Maps, but it's still an option for the future depending on the direction we decide to go. Thanks for the feedback!
nanijoe
This is pretty awesome,I'm not even sure you need to branch out any time soon. You guys could overlay the map with transportation options at some point in the future?
cajuntrep
We're going to prove ourselves in this market in the short run, but long term we'd like to branch our into other job markets. We definitely want to add in the transportation options soon.
jesusmichael
From a technical perspective its beautiful. but what's makes you different from the other 100,000 job sites? they all have mapping and you can save a search and get alerts and drop them on a map... So I guess I don't get it...

I currently work for a big job board and have been working in the JB online market for 10 years.

cajuntrep
Thank you for the feedback and great question!

Why build another job board really? Job boards are dying (so is SEO, right!?) and with the advent of LinkedIn, I can easily find the recruiters or hiring managers in the companies I want to work.

But people will always need a way to find open positions. That's what job boards are all about.

The landscape may be changing, but there is still opportunities to do things better.

JobKaster was built because the other 100K job boards couldn't do what we wanted them to - a simple local job search.

Traditional job boards use a zip code based search using distance from the zip code. It seems that this would work, but when I was searching and ended up frustrated, the results were returning up jobs 15 miles out of my specified range.

I think the difference here is the fact that location becomes the most important aspect of the job search where on the other job boards, it is simply another filter.

If you work for one of the big job boards, you probably have several niche boards under your umbrella as well. Each of those serve a specific niche which is the same thing we are trying to do.

We want to help people find jobs when location is paramount. I hated my commute, and I just wanted to find something closer to home. My Co-Founder, wanted to find a job close to the beach. But what about others? What about the single mom that wants to be close to her child's day care? What about the guys and gals taking public transportation to work? What about students trying to find something close to campus? I could name 100's of examples, and I think JobKaster fits that niche quite well.

I would love to talk about this more in depth, especially with someone who has so much experience in job boards. Feel free to shoot me an email at paul@jobkaster.com or we can continue the discussion here if you like.