Hey, didn't I just chat with you about that job? No? Hmmm, it must have been some other web savvy job seeker looking for a way to connect directly with employers for real-time Q&A or updates.
You're sure that wasn't you texting me? Okay, okay. Perhaps I gave you too much credit... or maybe you've just been so busy that you haven't had time to keep up with all the latest geeky advancements in the job search arena. So I'll help you out with this one - and it's a doosy.
Jobirn is the latest beta project that's got RecruiterGuy's eye. It's a real time "job chat" website with company insiders and/or recruiters. The idea behind it is simple - it's a referral network that attempts to connect job seekers with employees of various companies through channels like video conferencing, chat (even through IM like Google Talk) to make that connection. The site's goal is to help job seekers get a referral for that ideal job and for company insiders to help find the right candidate. My favorite part? It's free! (okay, my favorite part is the idea behind the use of the existing technology to help job seekers to expect more... but free is pretty great.)

Signing up is pretty simple and takes just a few minutes. The longest portion of my registration was waiting for my employer email to be validated so that I could officially "represent" on my company's behalf. I love the fact that this validation is in place and is the only lock down - thus creating a radically transparent approach to employment branding.What this means is that any employee will have the ability to talk straight about it's employer directly to potential job seekers.

While this may or may not be the initial plan that Jobirn had in mind - it's genious. What better tool to help make a company radically transparent to it's public? The only downside I saw to this open registration process (other than if you've a few hundred employees on the payroll that are miserable) was the duplication of employers with slight differences in addresses or locations.

It would be ideal if Jobirn works toward a tiered list of companies with multiple locations - meaning that perhaps all employer registrants that come in under xyz.com email domains are put under a single employer profile - where they can of course list multiple locations. I believe this could streamline the listings of employers on the site and make it considerably easier for job seekers to find someone to connect with.

But wait - there's more!
Jobirn offers up batch job posting (via xml) and posting management to registered job seekers as well as a slick feature called Parallel Candidate Search which would seem at a glance to be the subcontracting of recruiting agencies to assist in searching for candidates.With various search features that let you customize your search by company or even alumni and multiple social networking features such as a "Who's Online" and "News For You" and a currently super-basic job board there is much promise to this little engine that might. Give it just a few minutes and watch the incredibly simplified FLASH introduction and demos that greet you when you stop in.
Perhaps I'll talk to you then - after all, sending me a quick question via Jobirn lands your on my blackberry in live chat should you find me online.

also posted here...