Last week, The Linux Foundation launched it's new Linux Jobs board and normally, I applaud anything that The Linux Foundation (TLF) does but not this time. And I think it's great that TLF has a job board on Linux.com, however, the execution lacks the luster I've come to expect from these guys. So, what's my beef with something so positive as a job board? What would make anyone, much less me, irritable at a Linux job board's implementation and launch? It's simple, really. To call something a Linux Jobs Board, what would you expect to see there? Linux jobs, perhaps? Yes, they have those. So, what, you ask, do I have a problem with?
The "Linux" Jobs Board also has truck driving jobs, nursing jobs, AIX jobs, Solaris jobs and more jobs that have nothing to do with Linux.
Now, I do realize that the businesses that post to the job board pay a fee for their postings to the board. There are two options. Option 1, which I don't really understand, costs 49 cents per matching view--not sure exactly how that works but the second option is clearer: $99 for a 15 day posting and $199 for a 30 day posting. With Option 1, your posts are also placed on the Job Thread Network.
To be completely fair to TLF, the jobs that don't relate to Linux aren't explicitly part of Linux.com's job board but are shown to you when you perform a job search. They are "sponsored" links from another job site called LinkUp.com.
Would you, as a job poster, have a problem with these "sponsored" links appearing along with your paid job postings? I would. I don't think it's fair to the paid job poster to associate these distracting, non-Linux jobs with the ones that we want to see--the Linux jobs.
I also saw a few jobs listed that have to do with AIX, Solaris and even Data Architecture.
I know that no environment is 100% Linux but my problem is that, if you're looking for an AIX administrator with Linux experience, you could look elsewhere. If you're looking for a Linux administrator with AIX experience, then this is the place to use.
The Linux Foundation is a top-notch organization. I am glad that they chose to post Linux jobs on their linux.com site. But, I'm a little taken aback at the way in which it's done. I also understand that there's probably some monetary benefit to having those non-Linux jobs on the linux.com jobs site but it's distracting and, in my humble opinion, not fair to the paying companies who're looking for candidates.
I might be fighting windmills here but do people actually ever get jobs from job boards? I've never done it. I've never sucessfully secured employment through a headhunter, professional search firm, outplacement company or job board. Does anyone ever get a job via Craigslist?
In my experience, though lots of people will dispute it, newspaper ads and networking through friends and family are the best methods of getting a job.
To my friends at The Linux Foundation: I appreciate your job board effort. I think it's a good thing and there are some very cool jobs on there (none geographically close to me but that's another story). Unfortunately, the alien job postings bother me.
Is anyone else bothered by those other postings or is it just me?
