The Jobster guys respond
Jobster blog has a good response to industry questions here.
And they're taking the criticism in a pretty good spirit, which is great:
My response: bravo! We intend to engage the industry in an ongoing dialog around better ways to reach and qualify top candidates. We're absolutely thrilled that such a dialog is underway. Any time we have folks in the industry reading about and commenting on alternative ways to source great talent -- beyond the old 'post and pray' models, that's a good thing.
Giggle. Believe it or not, that's the first time I've heard "Post and pray" -- a pretty good neologism!
And, you know, to their credit, they're right about this too:
Bringing about change ain't easy, ain't always clear to everyone, and ain't always fast. We've marching to a specific strategy with a step by step plan. WorkZoo is just a piece ... much much more to come. Enabling employers to get the right job in front of the right person at the right time will not happen over night ... step by step. As a former mentor of mine used to say: "long term winners filter out the noise and just play their game..." That's what we're gonna keep on keeping on doing.
I knocked the WorkZoo acquisition last week, probably unfairly. The Jobster guys are trying to do something new, and innovation doesn't come without some risks -- and that includes the risk of failure.
I forgot my hero Theodore Roosevelt's words on criticism:
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."
(As a matter of fact, I like that quote so much I'll do a full post below on it.)
So yes, it's easy to criticize, particularly any startup venture, and I'm sure what's good for the goose is good for the gander -- anybody with enough free time and pixels could undoubtedly make a great and penetrating critique of where we're failing at TheLadders.com.
So kudos to you, Jobster guys, good luck with your new acquisition, and don't stop innovating just because somebody with a blog might critique it. Remember Abraham Lincoln's words:
Never wrestle a pig. You get dirty and the pig likes it.
p.s. Who's the author of the post guys? It's tough to tell from the archive posts whether it's Dave or Jason or somebody else. If you added a "posted by" that would help a lot.
