I agree but it seems clear that HN could use some way of letting its like-minded visitors connect.
pg has built a singular and impressive user base, one which benefits from talking to and meeting each other.
I do agree a traditional jobs board would a lame add-on which would exist orthogonally to the stories/comments. Very soon it would be filled by stale jobs (startups move fast), recruiters and people who come just for the jobs section.
The current method of putting up a job post when it seems to be of most utility works, but just barely.
I just don't know if there's any feature you can add which would not feel like a cheap add-on but rather work within the current user-centric community.
The "is anyone looking" approach doesn't work well here. Unlike regular forum threads, HN posts will disappear from the front page very quickly even if people are still replying to it.
You could charge companies $350 per posting and $1000/month to search CVs and finance HN like this. Applicants would be rated by karma, and employers by the 'PG test', which would check whether they use Lisp, have source control, etc. It's a proven model!
Free to post listings, as long as the there is information about the company that is hiring. People can browse companies and listings by tags. Just put a "ycombinator" or "startup" tag there, and I'll approve it quickly.
Users that would like to get more details before applying can do so by registering and letting a comment on the listing page.
My startup is based in London so if you want to do something really high risk (and possibly rewarding) feel free to drop me a line - e-mail in profile.
This is really awesome! I'm still yet to see anybody from either side (seeking work or seeking workers) from New Zealand though... Are you out there!?!?
whereabouts in New Zealand are you? In Wellington there's been a pretty successful "Summer of Code" program run for the past few years, placing interns with startups (nothing to do with Google). I've been part of it both as a student and later as an employer, it's a great opportunity for both sides of the fence.
I wish someone (or I) had posted something like this when I was looking for an internship couple of years back...
Regarding the HN job postings, Can't we have a quarterly "Who's hiring" thread as a permanent fixture. A quarter seems like a good enough time for a company(even a startup) to look/plan ahead for hiring decisions.
Could always just extend the current jobs board for YC companies. I think the community would be effective in up voting real opportunities and flagging spam.