Posted by Brian McCullough
via Cheezhead, we learn about a new employment website targeting the Life Sciences industry: Beaker.com.
Obviously, I can’t resist posting about this site so I can make the same Muppets gag that Joel did.
But also, because I think this sort of thing will be a trend for the foreseeable future.
Niche Job Boards have long carved out, well, a strong niche serving specific industries. And some of these niche sites have not been proper job boards at all, but in fact, grew organically from pre-existing communities. I’m thinking specifically of sites like CafePharma for pharmaceutical sales jobs. Often, the authoritative job site for a given industry is not a well-known brand name.
In the age of Ning and social-networking software anyone can do, I think that industry-community sites will become more common. After all, where better to search for a job in your industry than at the water-cooler site where your colleagues hang out to shoot the breeze?
This is clearly what Beaker.com is after:
Beaker offers life sciences professionals a dynamic, online community that will help manage all stages of their career. For life sciences organizations, Beaker will serve as a hub for the industry, where they can more effectively and efficiently reach the best talent in the market.
Says CEO Jeffrey Clark, “We have brought together the most popular functions of social networking for working professionals and customized a platform for the life sciences industry, providing a highly specific and relevant experience. I am thrilled to offer this resource and see how the community of life sciences professionals helps shape it from here.”
And maybe Beaker.com will be successful. But as someone who tried and failed to launch a web 2.0-ish job search startup… take it from me… creating community is not as simple as plant the seed, water, and watch it grow.
Often, the most successful community sites, targeting specific niches, industries or users… they have to grow organically from within the communities themselves. Communities don’t respond well to top down organization, unless you can match that community’s voice and fill a need they cannot fill anywhere else.
So, good luck to Beaker.com, and let me know if you run across any other industry-specific “community” sites that pop up.
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