I enjoy working on the platform! Wanted to open the article with this line because, in my case, it feels like some sort of mental health refuge.
This week I also shipped some updates to the platform which I'd like to outline below.
Work Hours (aka. Work Schedule)
Let's face it, all candidates want to know the budget first and then the job requirements. But how many stop and ask about the work schedule or if they must be available in a different timezone? Not that many, as I learned from personal experience and from talking to recruiters.
Timezone availability and working hours are often mentioned very late the interviewing process. This is the source of a lot of frustration, because employers also forget to mention it.
To mitigate it, the platform now allows employers to specify working hours and timezone requirements. If candidates need to be available during specific hours, on in a specific timezone, now they will know.
Remote jobs by timezone
I created two dedicated pages:
One to list all available timezones so that users can either search for a timezone or pick from the list.
Another one to list all remote jobs that require availability on a specific timezone which acts like a serach/filter.
No more Facebook
I removed the option(s) for people to share jobs from the platform on Facebook and WhatsApp. I've grown so sick of Facebook's practices around its users' data and overall stance on privacy that I decided to out it from the platform.
As a side-note, I'm also in the process of getting rid of Facebook for personal use.
Email/Twitter customer support
If you have been around for long enough, you probably know I had realtime customer support. I provided it through HubSpot's Customer Support solution. It is an amazing piece but also an extra system/provider who learns about my user's browsing habits. And for the number of support tickets I get, it's pointless to share that data with yet another platform.
Support is now available through Twitter(@weremoteeu), the support page or through an email to [email protected] .
UI update(s)
Narrowed the sharing options to just Twitter, LinkedIn and email.
Moved the view counter next to the sharing options
Optional Budget
This was a tough decision. From the get-go, one of the main things I enforced on the platform was the mandatory budget. Transparency is part of the identity of the platform and my own identity. But the ultimate goal of the platform is not to provide job budgets. It's goal is to offer remote opportunities to candidates. And I have passed on one-too-many good companies which had awkward policies around salaries. All in the name of keeping true to the transparency credo.
But sometimes, the most well-intentioned beliefs and approaches can prove limiting. So I am making budget optional, for now.
In the future, I might make it mandatory again but allow employers to make the budget transparent only to selected candidates. That will happen once an employer accepts a job application. This will allow companies to respect their internal policies, while also being transparent. sharing the budget with selected candidates.
See you next week!
While you wait for the next article containing updates, sign up for a candidate account. I promise to use your data to get you remote jobs. Does that work for you?
Are you an employer looking for candidates? Sign your company up for an employer account.