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Log in with LinkedIn

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 6:30am Monday 19 July 2010

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We have released "Log in with LinkedIn" functionality across a number of our client job boards and recruitment agency websites. This is a first for the Australian & New Zealand recruitment industry that allows users to use their existing LinkedIn details to Register/Login with another site.
LinkedIn users already represent themselves with their real names and real identities. With the Log in with LinkedIn functionality, users can bring their real identity information with them to whatever site they visit on the web.

The process behind the LinkedIn authentication is quite similar to those who are familiar with Facebook Connect. By adding the Log in with LinkedIn functionality, we aim to
  • Increase user signups
  • Create trusted user authentication
  • Provides existing identity details
  • Speeds up the Registration or Login process
  • Allow users to refer content back to existing LinkedIn networks
Users can connect their LinkedIn account with any website that uses the LinkedIn API authentication methods. This could be at the website login, application form or anywhere else the developer would like to add social context, the user can authenticate and connect their account in this trusted environment.

The user will always have total control of the permissions granted and can revoke this permission through their LinkedIn account.

Contact us today to find out how you can integrate Log in with LinkedIn functionality into your website.


For example, a user wishes to register for an account on a job board. If the user has already registered, they can proceed to the Login panel, else proceed to the registration form and click on the "Log in with LinkedIn" button.



Once the user clicks on the "Log in with LinkedIn" button, a secure LinkedIn authorisation form opens in a new window. If the user is logged into LinkedIn already it will ask the user to grant access to the specific application. Otherwise, it will ask the user to login to their LinkedIn account.



After the user grants access to the application, the LinkedIn window will close and grant access for the job board to connect to LinkedIn and access the following details - First Name, Last Name, Position Title, Organisation, Location. These details will be used to auto populate the job boards user registration form.




After the user has granted access for the job board to access their LinkedIn profile. You can proceed to the Login form.




Users can either manually login with their username and password OR click on the "Log in with LinkedIn" button to automatically connect!



Search Jobs by Salary Range

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 8:00am Sunday 18 July 2010

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SEEK has released an updated search box that allows users to specify salary ranges. Although this "search by salary range" function is not new to the online recruitment industry. We wanted to have a look at a number of different ways your job board or recruitment agency can offer this function.
I don't recommended job boards adopt salary ranges in their search functions unless
  • You have more than 500 jobs
  • Every job contains salary information
  • Your search function can interrupt Annual/Daily/Hourly rates including super/comm etc.
  • Your search function is easy to use
If we look at the SEEK search box more closely, you will notice they allow the user to specify a [MIN] to [MAX] range for an annual salary or hourly pay rates.




MyCareer allows the user to search [MIN] and [MAX] range. JobsJobsJobs restricts the users to select a predefined salary range.

By having predefined ranges, the user is restricted to an initial search within those brackets.







But on the other side of the globe, Jobsite's [MIN] to [MAX] range is even more restrictive.




Another popular option is to display a sliding scale. Again, SEEK has been able to display one that can switch between an Annual salary and Hourly pay rate.

Jobs.co.nz main search function contains a sliding salary range. JobsJobsJobs used to have a sliding scale before the sites software was changed last year.




You could even allow the user to enter a value. Have a look at the search function on JobStreet which allows the user to specify a minimum monthly salary. Although allowing the user to enter a [MIX] and/or [MAX] range has its downfalls.




If we look at the job search form on APS Jobs, you can see it allows the user to specify a [MIN] and [MAX] range.

The system can interrupt both 80000 and 100,000 (fails on 80k - 100k) but it is not able to search based on a daily/hourly pay rates.

Try inputting 50 - 70 or 500 - 700 and you will see my point.

There are many ways to search jobs by salary. Whatever way you choose to implement, you need to make the process easy to use.

Mobile Recruitment Websites - Keep it simple

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 12:53pm Tuesday 13 July 2010

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Does your Job Board or Recruitment Agency website need a native iPhone, Android or BlackBerry application? More than likely the answer will be no. Save your money. You don't need to spend upwards of $5k+ for a single native application. But what you do need is a mobile enabled website.
While I am more than happy to create iPhone Job Search Applications for clients, you first need to understand your target audience. Do they use an iPhone? What about the Android? Do we really want users to apply via their mobile? How much is this all going to cost? Have a read of our previous articles on the subject of mobile recruitment.

What every website needs is a mobile optimised website that can detect, optimise and then render your website on a mobile device. We added mobile functionality to all our client sites that will automatically detect the type of device they are using, and give the user the option to view the mobile site OR the full desktop version if they wish.

See our recent work on Recruiter Daily Jobs on your mobile device, or click on the "view mobile version" link at the bottom of the page.

Keep it simple. Don't redirect the user to multiple screens. Present the user with a search form, clean and unobtrusive search results, add ability to subscribe to email alerts, shortlist jobs via email/sms or refer a job to a friend by email/sms.

What are you doing? Give us a call if you need advice.

Job ad of the month - I'm tired of writing boring adverts for boring Recruitment Consultants

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 8:26pm Monday 05 July 2010

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Did I miss the memo on funny job ad day? Today I came across a number of funny (and a few weird) job ad copies including "This is DOPE" and "If this sounds like your kind of gig, then please send us your CV and an idea of your salary expectations to one of the sexiest men on the planet (WTF)…our Human Resources Manager".
But there could only be one winner... This month’s winner is Engineering People who are looking for a Recruitment Consultant. Some of my favourite lines include
  • "I'm tired of writing boring adverts for boring recruitment consultants. So I thought a little honesty would not go a stray."
  • "Eat the nuts and sultanas (yes, I do offer almonds and the occasional peanuts) provided for morning tea"
  • "Complaints about this advert may be directed to Peter"
  • "I need a good lie down now, so call me, I'll be on the couch."
Kudos to Peter at Engineering People for the funny job ad. (points off for keywords loading).

Social Recruiting is a dirty word

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 10:00am Thursday 01 July 2010

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Today, I gave quite a controversial presentation to a group of Recruitment Agency owners on Social Recruiting. When I was first asked to present to this group a few months ago, I was initially asked to speak about "Social Media and it's use in the Recruitment process". I said no, I wasn't interested.
A few days later, they came back to me and asked why not? I was quite honest, and gave my reasoning that the topic had been covered by me to death previously and I was not going to regurgitate old content. Plus, this was not a paying gig, but I could make some new clients from within this group.

What I did not expect in that conversation was a second proposal to take the opposite view on the topic "Are we wasting our time and resources on social recruiting?". They wanted a straight to the point presentation as I was not there to sell them or push a product… just my own views and opinions.

The presentation slides may not make that much sense to those who were not at the breakfast. But the overall message is short but sweet.
  • Stop talking
  • Start doing
  • Walk the talk
You can download or browse the presentation slides below. All examples shown have been removed. Sorry.

DOWNLOAD Social Recruiting is a dirty word - PowerPoint Slides

You Are Here!

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 12:58pm Monday 28 June 2010

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Soon, all browsers will support the HTML5 Geolocation API by default. Geolocation is the core function behind sites like Foursquare which can work out where you are located. I have previously talked about using Geolocation services used for sourcing or stalking candidates, but it does have some other uses in online recruitment.
Working out users location is not new or revolutionary. We have all been doing this for years via IP address lookup services (although these are never 100% accurate). But now, we can get the user to opt-in and provide more accurate information.

For example, when you visit a location-aware website your browser will ask you if you want to share your location.

If you agree, the browser gathers information about nearby wireless access points and your computer’s IP address.

Then it sends this information to the default geolocation service provider (Google Location Services) to get an estimate of your location.

That location estimate is then shared with the requesting website script.

So how can we use this in online recruitment? We can use the user’s geolocation data to confirm the users credentials while





Applying for a role. If the user is not located within a certain area, you could notify them that you only accept applications from users in the following locations. (I don't suggested this. See previous article on Rejecting Candidates based on IP Address)



Contact details. Work out which is the closest office to the user and serve up that information.

Security checks. Collect the users geolocation data when they register, login, buy job credits etc.

I have modified a simple HTML5 Geolocation API script first written by Michael Spector with some extra browser checks. Try it on your desktop browser and mobile phone to see the difference.
<html> <head> <script type="text/javascript"> if (navigator.geolocation) { alert("Your browser supports HTML5 Geolocation API"); navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(position) { document.location.href = "http://maps.google.com/maps?q=" + position.coords.latitude + ",+" + position.coords.longitude + "+(You%20are%20here!)&iwloc=A&hl=en"; }); } else { alert("Your browser does not support the HTML5 Geolocation API"); } </script> </head> <body> <h1>HTML5 Geolocation API</h1> </body> </html>

XAuth. What is it?

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 7:00am Thursday 24 June 2010

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Extended Authentication (XAuth) is a new open platform to extend authenticated user services across the web. You may have noticed that more and more websites are integrating with 3rd party services to allow users to use their existing profile (ie Facebook, LinkedIn, OpenID) to connect with your site.
Unlike newly registered accounts, existing 3rd party accounts have rich profile data and services capable of driving tremendous referral traffic back to the originating website.
  • The average internet user has more online services than ever (Emails, Social Networks)
  • Many of these services provide APIs (OpenSocial, OpenGraph Protocol) thru delegated authentication (OAuth) to websites
  • Websites don't have an easy way of knowing which services a visitor uses so they present all available options and push the decision to the user
A solution was proposed called XAuth. XAuth tells a webpage "this is where the site visitor does social networking." Then, OAuth is the way the user logs in there, granting the site permission to access their info without seeing their password.





If you're familiar with OAuth, you might be wondering what the difference is between that system of secure authentication and XAuth.

Note: Do not confuse this XAuth with the xAuth (lower case "x", upper case "A") released by Twitter or X Window authorisation

XAuth tells you where to ask for OAuth from. Remember... the "auth" short for authentication is a little misleading as XAuth is actually a discovery service - not authentication! But just because the user has an active session on one provider doesn't necessarily mean that they'll want to use that provider to sign in?

Having a function that can automatically work out if the user is already logged in to another site can improve the users overall experience with your website.

Product Management Axioms

Posted by Thomas Shaw, 3:27pm Wednesday 23 June 2010

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For those readers interested in Product Management. Let's have a look at some product management axioms originally thought of by Saeed Khan in 2007, and recently summarised in his presentation on the topic.
  • Every Activity is part of a Sale
  • Nail it, then Scale it
  • Change is a process, not an event
  • Think horizontally, act vertically
The “Nail it, then Scale it” principle applies to software products in general and not simply web properties. Common reasons for not “nailing” it include:
  • Incorrect and unclear understanding of customer needs
  • Missing key functionality in the product
  • Flawed understanding of the competitive landscape
  • Improper pricing model relative to market expectations
  • Unaccounted changes in the market landscape
There may be other reasons, but if you look at all of those listed, two things are clear:
  • Additional work would need to be done to the product or company processes after the product was released to address the issues.
  • All of the issues could be addressed with basic research and analysis, and likely a little extra time added to the development and/or launch cycle.

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