sounds like some boilerplate we weren't aware of. thanks for bringing this up! will check it out and probably remove it. seems totally irrelevant, and i agree with your comments.
it's not about "highest bidder" - it's about efficiency and transparency.. in two weeks, developers have 5-20 detailed offers to pick from, and can then choose where to interview based on what companies look interesting, with all things considered. we're considering new names right now that make this clearer :)
Forgive me, I hadn't heard of the company before this article. The name suggests and the article flatly states that the developer is "sold to the highest bidder." If there is really nothing binding about the bids and the highest bidder doesn't necessarily end up with the candidate, is this a relatively standard recruiting website that puts an early emphasis on a position's salary?
> To raise conversion, it would be more beneficial to allow people to create a profile and then put themselves on the market at a point that they decide.
That is exactly how it works, although it sounds like we did not do a good job communicating it.
- first you create a profile, and submit it for review (not visible to ANYONE except for site admins at this point)
- receive an invitation to participate in an auction
- opt-in to the auction
- only then, when an auction starts, your profile will visible (and only to pre-approved employers during the course of the two week auction)
Thanks for the suggestion - we need to communicate this more clearly during the signup flow.
I understand that's exactly how it works. I was just pointing out the friction points.
The example that I pointed out is a major cognitive leap for an user and you'll see a high drop off rate at that point. For an user like me, I'm happy with my current position for the moment and I haven't thought about what time frame I am looking to make a jump but I may be willing to make a jump if the right opportunity comes along. The question of "When are you available to start a new full-time job?" is a major turnoff for me because I haven't made the cognitive leap to actually apply for a job.
DeveloperAuction should be in the position of collecting as many highly qualified people as they can whether or not they are actively looking. Over time, you can use this database to raise conversion by tempting/teasing the people in your system. Example: "Hey, XYZ, I know you said you aren't currently on the market, but there are these 8 companies that are looking for your EXACT skillset, might you reconsider?" What you'll find is that top talent are never actually "looking" but rather a better offer comes their way.
Also, I'm on the belief that registration forms should not turn people away (via required fields/errors) but rather encourage people to provide more information to gain more functionality (ie "Please tell us these information to submit your profile for review" or "You're 90% of the way there, provide this information to get closer to completing your profile.")
Anyways, just a thought. Best of luck to you guys.
There's no newsletter, but you can sign up now and will be notified when we start approving developers from your region. We already have a lot of people signed up different geographies, which will help us figure out what regions to launch next.
Edit: Fixed; confirmed as of 13:37 GMT+11, March 12, 2024.