

Ask HN: Review my startup, JobKaster.com - cajuntrep

It's been a long road to get here. I started this journey over a year and a half ago. After spending almost $10K on overseas developers, to learning that I can't do this alone and what a mistake that was, to finding a cofounder as passionate as I am, and to founding an actual team of allstar devs... We're finally releasing JobKaster Beta.<p>It's nowhere near where we want it to be, but it's time to get it out there.<p>I would love to get some feedback from the HN community.  I know we need more jobs and to update the design.  What else do you see that we can improve upon?<p>Link: www.jobkaster.com<p>Thanks,<p>Paul
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hardwaresofton
Hey Paul,

TL;DR - Front page could be snazzier, alert the user more clearly, log things

I'm browsing from chrome on a desktop (I'm not sure if the site also has a
mobile version) -- and I've got a few comments:

I see you guys are using bootstrap. I think, however, that there are a lot
more nice-looking bootstrapped site layouts however. If you look around here,
a lot of the launching pads and site layouts are incredibly simple, but the
simplicity, along with some fancy fonts, and well sectioned contents, make
them nice to look at (though a bit cookie cutter).

A bit more on the design of the front page -- I realize header bars are a
little boring and over done, but you guys probably want one. and having login
be a dropdown would definitely save you some space up there.

Getting an account should be something in Bold print, not just under there,
sort of hiding. The tag line to the right on the navbar you have there, should
really go under or near your logo, since that's one of the first places that
people look when they go to a website (top left -- theres some research on
this, but I am too lazy to go find it)

Also, That navbar as a whole is kind of placed awkwardly in the middle of the
page... I think you would do well to expand it to the whole page, or
something.

As far as the area with the map, this bootstrap template
(<http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/examples/carousel.html>) could help a
bunch. Not that you have to use the carousel, but I think you would benefit
from putting that map on some sort of blurred out picture of people working or
something (which could even be carouseling), and next to it (like you have
now) you can put a "Look for jobs now!" tag line with the search bar, and put
the results there, etc.

I think the ideal place to put things like a huge sign up button would be
under the results (or maybe in it's own row right under), and that's where you
can also put the "Looking for employees"/"employer?" button also, which will
take them to the info/pricing page.

The bottom part with the three columns of information goes wwell with the
example templates bootstrap has on their site, as well as a bunch of landing
pages that are out there: <https://www.gathercontent.com/> (example from
bootstrap, you can find a bunch of pages like this/better on HN, as you
already know -- just search "Show HN:" or something)

Basically, your site is just a tad too plain for my tastes at the moment,
given how awesome what you're doing is -- and how big it could get.

As far as functionality, I'm in Austin, TX, and searching didn't quite work.
You guys probably have a handle on that, but what I want to say about it is
that when things DON'T work out, and no jobs are found, or it doesn't know
where you are (which you should take care of, like if I'm not sharing my
location, it should maybe default to somewhere, or ask me?), a non-intrusive
modal (which might be an oxymoron... just maybe at least over the map, letting
me know nothing was found, rather than the head turn to the right side of the
page.

Just had a thought -- What if you overlaid the results, and maybe even the
search onto the map? You could get space for a bigger map, have search on the
top, results at left (I would prefer left, since that's where people's eyes
tend to drag over) -- and dim anything that isn't in focus/use?

This is all in my opinion, most of it isn't even about functionality, but if
you're looking for places to go, get the design devs to at least think about
these changes, I think they'd add a level of polish that your site would
benefit from...

It's true that it's the functionality that matters, but I think some style and
a little UI changes would do wonders

Also, I'm not sure you've thought of this -- but log EVERYTHING, in the most
inexpensive way possible. If your site takes off (and by takes off, I mean
over 10 users), logging things like how long people connect, where they
search, and trying to discover facts about your users will make you much more
than just a job classifieds page. And it will also help you make a better
business.

~~~
cajuntrep
Great feedback!

We are completely optimized for mobile.

We don't really have a designer on the team, and we all agree the overall
design needs some work so design/UI critiques are very, very welcomed.

I don't want to comment on each and every section because I honestly don't
have a design bone in my body, but I assure you I will be taking all of your
suggestions to the team to see where we can improve.

Love the overlay suggestion. That's pretty awesome.

Suggestions on log-in, signup, info/pricing, nav bar - taken.

Once again, thanks for the advice. This is where we really need some help so
it was most appreciated.

Paul

~~~
hardwaresofton
No problem, glad to help! I think the app is going to do really well if it's
as simple as it looks.

I also maybe have only one fake design bone in my body, I'm trying to learn as
I go, much like you all :)

~~~
cajuntrep
Maybe, but you had some great ideas on UI.

Plus it's hard to continue to look at things objectively when you've been
staring at it for the past 6 months! :)

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notahacker
Jobs in this region:

    
    
      - KFC Team member
      - Pizza Hut General Manager
    

Focus on the quality/variety of jobs as much as the quantity, and introduce
filters. Of course it's entirely possible that low end jobs are your main
target market (jobs are more interchangeable and commuting really hurts low-
paid employees' income) but at the very least, I'd want to be able to filter
by broad category and career level, even if only to show me there's nothing
likely to interest me.

~~~
cajuntrep
Of course, our main goal right now is to add a larger variety of jobs, but we
had to make sure the core functionality was in place.

Filters are in the pipeline, but without variety, there is nothing to filter.

We'll be working hard to add a larger database and variety of jobs in the next
few weeks / months.

Thanks!

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vitiell0
Hey Paul,

Site is looking good, however when I typed San Francisco into the search bar I
couldn't get it to relocate the map. Tried hitting enter, and clicking find me
just took me to my current location. Is there a way to view cities that you're
not in right now?

Also is there a possible list view sorted by distance instead of map view?

Cheers, Daniel

~~~
cajuntrep
Daniel,

Thanks for the feedback! I see what you are saying. It's working great if you
share your location and search in your area. But, if you're moving to say SF,
like you said, it's not taking you to SF, only using your current location.

We'll have to fix that. Great point.

The list view is on the way. We currently have list view functionality if you
are logged in as a job seeker. We did this to encourage signups, but I think
we will move it the homepage.

Then we'll just have to add sorting features. If it's not already there.

Thanks!

------
dgunn
Dude. DEBUG is True right now. If you didn't code this, tell the person who
did that DEBUG is currently True so he/she can change that.

Also, why did your devs create the entire django project in a single django
app? I bet that's difficult to keep track of.

~~~
cajuntrep
Dude, you might as well be talking gibberish to me, :)

But, the team said thanks, and it's fixed!

Regarding the Django project / app, they gave me an answer, but it was just as
over my head as your question was. They didn't seem to think this was an issue
though.

It's hard to learn to code when you're dedicating every waking hour after your
9-5 to your startup. I don't remember the last time I logged in to my
codeacademy account. I'll learn one day!

