Tumbleweeds

As you may have noticed, postings on here have been few and far between lately. This is partly due to other commitments (and UCLA going to the Final Four), but it is mostly because there just isn't much going on right now.

The site's development has hit some delays as the developers deal with fixing--and re-fixing--some design issues, and I have decided to save most of my advertising resources until the site is at least in beta version.

Things are coming along, however slowly. I encourage you to take a look at the updated site design here, and please feel free to leave feedback in the comments section.

In the meantime, I have been working with several organizations in order to develop mutually-beneficial partnerships. These include the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, which is a feeder into several job markets in the DC area and otherwise; MilitaryJobHunts.com, which helps military personnel transition into the civilian workplace, and InternZoo.com, which helps companies find interns (and vice-versa).

If you would like to get in touch about a mutually beneficial partnership, let me know. And if you're looking for a job or looking to refer one, make sure to pre-register here!

Updated Temporary Splash Page

There's been a lot going on behind the scenes lately, most of which has dealt with uninteresting things like the site's back end admin development. On a more interesting note, the temporary splash page has been jazzed up a bit with some color and the new logo.

Primer on Accepting Credit Cards

I've been shopping around for a credit card merchant for awhile now, and to be frank, the whole system seems rather opaque and rife with potential for fraud, waste, or both. I was glad to find this Forbes article a couple days ago, which does a decent job of giving a primer on the whole process. Some links to preferred merchants and examples of best rates would have been helpful (as would have some notes on e-commerce businesses specifically), but it was good nonetheless. I recommend it to anyone who is looking to set up a merchant account in order to accept credit cards.

What is Referral Union?

Probably the most common question I get is "What is Referral Union?" There are several answers to this, and each serves a different audience. Let's explore a few possible audiences and the responses, but first the short answer:

Short Answer AKA the Elevator Pitch (This is probably the toughest one and is always in flux): Referral Union is a community of job-seekers and current employees of companies who offer referral bonuses. It introduces applicants, who benefit by getting a foot in the door to a great new job, to those working for their target companies, who are fiscally rewarded by their HR departments for referring qualified new applicants.

A bit more detail: Referral Union maintains two databases--one each for both applicants and current employees. Much like match.com, members of both databases can browse, search, and message anyone they're interested in, which will hopefully lead to successful pairings. From time to time, you will receive suggested candidates in your inbox; these are based on some keywords you entered when you created your profile. Yes, if you have a job but are looking for something new, you can create both accounts. You sly dog.

Potential Current Employees: Referral Union is a way for you to find qualified applicants to fill openings with your firm and earn the referral bonuses associated with them. Referral bonuses range from around $500 to as much as $10,000 and are one of the easiest ways to supplement your income. In addition to the fiscal rewards, many companies include such company-involvement activities on their yearly assessments, so you look good while taking an active role improving your company/practice/division/whatever. Once you create an account and upload your profile, which includes your contact info, your company's info, and select your account type, we will help you identify and screen the candidates. All of your contact information is kept confidential until you chose to release it to applicants.

Potential Applicants: Referral Union is a way for you to guarantee your resume gets put in front of an actual person. Instead of submitting it to a corporate career site where it might disappear or waiting for someone to email you after posting it on Monster or CareerBuilder, you can partner with someone who has an active interest in getting you hired. Because the current employee you link with has a financial interest in getting you hired, she will help you customize your resume and put it in front of as many people as appropriate. Don't think referral bonuses are a big deal? A search on Google for "referral bonus" returns over 900,000 hits. Some of these are unrelated, so let's narrow it to "'referral bonus' hire". Google returns over 100,000 hits. Even the Army offers one. Once you create an account and post your resume you can choose to either seek out potential matches or wait for them to come to you. Just like current employees, all your contact info is kept confidential until you choose to release it to a current employee.

My Friends: [see short answer above]. Also, why you never see me anymore.

Various Management Types not Interested in Receiving the Bonus but Who Want Good People Working for Them: Referral Union is a way for you and your company to make on-boarding more efficient and effective. Referral bonuses have long been a way for companies to bypass traditional methods of hiring new candidates, and their merits are well-known and documented (otherwise you wouldn't offer them). By flattening the professional market, we encourage the maximization of information sharing. This, combined with sophisticated filtering systems--both human and otherwise--increases and optimizes your candidate pool.

My Mom: I'm sorry I don't call enough, and I promise I'll send back your house keys as soon as possible...

Value Added

While mulling over the conception of a Launch Party sometime over the next couple months, I came up with an idea of how to add value to both our applicants and current employees.

In order to extend the Referral Union community beyond the internets, I'm going to explore the idea of regular (perhaps monthly) happy hours that both applicants and current employees can attend. This would include drink specials, free appetizers, etc, and give both parties an opportunity to interact in a real-world environment. This would also help ensure applicants are good fits for the companies to which they're applying.

From a marketing standpoint, I might encourage members to bring a guest or two and include a free drink (or two) for each guest that registers. It's also a good way to get the word out about the site and encourage some 'buzz.'

The social and professional scenes in the Washington, DC area (where we're based) are very happy-hour-centric, and this sort of event is right up the young professional's alley.