Jobsville explained by Gabe Zichermann, an expert in gammification.
Finding a job sucks and finding a job when you’re unemployed or a student really sucks. It’s worse than doing your taxes, especially because you don’t have the income to hire someone to do your taxes for you.
That needs to change.
Why can’t job hunting be fun?
After all, people pay big money to go big game hunting. Job hunting could like big game hunting without the slaughter of innocent animals. Instead, the way things work now, you feel like the innocent being slaughtered and even the most heartless employers know it.
Why can’t a you have the time of your life when you are unemployed? After all, you are free of the agendas of others:
- No boss you have to suck up to.
- No parents telling you what to do (hopefully).
- No teachers giving you homework and tests.
The problem is that there is no structure to the job hunt. Nobody is managing you; you’re all alone and it feels lonely. If you go without work too long your skills atrophy, your contacts go stale, and you slip into depression because you feel like you are no use to anyone.
There is a cure to feeling like you are of no use to anyone.
And that is being of use to people. Even when you’re not doing something for pay, do something anyway.
Right now, Jobsville is just an idea, not a thing, but ideas can change the world – they don’t have to be things.
Jobsville has alreaddy helped many job seekers transform their search for jobs and it has helped many employers make their hiring process more fun and humane.
How?
Simply by imagining what Jobsville might be, and then doing that. You don’t have to wait for me to provide inspiration. After all, you are more likely to do something you think of than something try to sell you. And it costs you less too.
Jobsville was inspired by Farmville, a weirdly addictive game where instead of finding a job (or going to work if you are employed) you spend an inordinate amount of time clicking on low-res graphic images to “grow” virtual crops to feed virtual cows that you give to your friends to suck them into the same time waster. It’s stupid; you might as well play Cow Clicker.
The thought occurred to me that the same time could be spent with your friends helping each other accomplish something that would impress an employer and finding those employers so you and your friends can impress them.
I put the idea to Gabe Zichermann, an expert in gammification.
Go here to find out what he said.
This is what I am doing right now:
- Helping employers design hiring processes that are fun and that transforms lives regardless of whether they land a job with the employer or not.
- Helping job seekers re-frame their circumstances and organize their activities to change the job hunt from a grind to an adventure.
- Looking for partners who want to create a product to help both sides of the broken job market make it less broken and more humane and enjoyable.
After you watch the video answer these questions:
You may also write to me at Brooke@BrookeAllen.com or you can call on the phone but you probably won’t because actually talking on the phone scares people. But if you get up the courage, just dial my number (but please don’t send me a text). I am at: (707) 276-6530
Brooke Allen 