
Ask HN: How do I build upon what HN did for OldGeekJobs.com? - johnwheeler
Here&#x27;s my story:<p>1. Last Wednesday, I read Tim Bray&#x27;s post &quot;Old Geek&quot; and it resonated with me because of experiences I&#x27;ve had.<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.tbray.org&#x2F;ongoing&#x2F;When&#x2F;201x&#x2F;2016&#x2F;09&#x2F;14&#x2F;Old-Geek<p>2. I immediately created an MVP with a static site and Google Form.<p>http:&#x2F;&#x2F;imgur.com&#x2F;a&#x2F;kTJK9<p>3. It made HackerNews and got a tremendous response:<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=12506232<p>4. Over the next 2 days, I built out a more robust version of the site with Flask and Postgres.<p>Quartz then picked up the story:<p>5. http:&#x2F;&#x2F;qz.com&#x2F;784118&#x2F;someone-created-a-tech-job-board-for-people-over-30&#x2F;<p>and now Inc.<p>6. http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.inc.com&#x2F;suzanne-lucas&#x2F;how-to-get-a-tech-job-when-youre-really-old-like-35.html<p>Now I&#x27;m iterating on PMF. I&#x27;d love to know what you think of the idea and how I can keep the momentum going.
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anexprogrammer
I'd suggest you start blogging often, now, while you figure out the rest.

Think in terms of shattering myths and prejudices, and if you can find some,
case studies of cool 55 year olds happy to be at a startup surrounded by 25
year olds, or expert in a new hot tech. You can poke fun at, well discuss, the
whole recruitment process and the remember algoritms on a whiteboard or how
many piano tuners in Seattle questions. Then there's the recruiters and the
blinkers of ageism, youngism, sexism, and seeking "like us". You've material
for a few thousand posts! It'll create something of a knowledgebase and become
google food for incoming searches.

Some companies believe that old programmers are expensive, or won't put up
with hours bullshit.

 _Recruiters and HR_ often believe they're no good, inflexible, unhappy to be
around young people, and all the other cliches. I've found that if you can get
past these to the people who actually matter the age matters far less.

I'd try getting to talk to senior folks at agencies when you can - get past
the layer of 20 year old sales to management who are probably older, and
probably more sympathetic.

~~~
johnwheeler
This is awesome advice. Thank you.

------
johnwheeler
Hi Everyone. Maker of [https://OldGeekJobs.com](https://OldGeekJobs.com) here.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a redundant comment but the text post
won't render links.

1\. Last Wednesday, I read Tim Bray's post "Old Geek" and it resonated with me
because of experiences I've had.

[https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2016/09/14/Old-
Geek](https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2016/09/14/Old-Geek)

2\. I immediately created an MVP with a static site and Google Form.

[http://imgur.com/a/kTJK9](http://imgur.com/a/kTJK9)

3\. It made HackerNews and got a tremendous response:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12506232](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12506232)

4\. Over the next 2 days, I built out a more robust version of the site with
Flask and Postgres.

Quartz then picked up the story:

5\. [http://qz.com/784118/someone-created-a-tech-job-board-for-
pe...](http://qz.com/784118/someone-created-a-tech-job-board-for-people-
over-30/)

and now Inc.

6\. [http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/how-to-get-a-tech-job-
when-...](http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/how-to-get-a-tech-job-when-youre-
really-old-like-35.html)

Now I'm iterating on PMF. I'd love to know what you think of the idea and how
I can keep the momentum going.

------
GFischer
First, I think you have to understand your own motivations - are you
interested in pursuing this as a serious side project and/or startup?

You found something interesting, a real or perceived market imbalance. If
there really is a shortage of talent, and a shortage of jobs for people over
30, you could provide a curated pipeline.

Now you have to find the other side - a job board is a two-sided marketplace,
and those are hard.

I'd talk with recruiters and HR people. Also with people that have been
involved with job boards. I'd try to find a mentor among those.

As a 35-year-old myself, something that you would have to address is
prejudices on both sides of the equation: companies that believe that "old"
programmers are no good, and developers that believe that company X is a
"bullshit" job (most older developers will be pickier).

~~~
johnwheeler
Yes - this is solid advice. Thank you.

~~~
GFischer
I just remembered that Y Combinator has accepted several job boards in the
past.

Maybe you can contact the founders of TheMuse, for example?
([https://www.themuse.com/](https://www.themuse.com/))

~~~
johnwheeler
[https://twitter.com/oldgeekjobs/status/778359329518780417](https://twitter.com/oldgeekjobs/status/778359329518780417)

~~~
GFischer
Well done :) I hope they answer !

------
afarrell
When I (age 26) was looking for a job, I remember needing to know if the
company sponsored visas (US->UK for me) and seeing that lots of other folks
had the same question. Naively, I would have said that older folks are more
settled and less interested in that. Upon actually reflecting on that, it
might just be an unjustified ageist assumption.

------
sfrailsdev
Frankly, I'd make it part of a non profit group to advocate for age blind
hiring. Get donations, pay yourself a reasonable salary, have the job board be
part of it.

~~~
johnwheeler
Why?

