Using a web font for icons is nothing new, but we’d like to share our experience using Pictos Server on our most recent release (job listing stats).

Pictos Server is simple to use. Sign up, customize the icon set you’d like to use, and serve it up. It’s that easy. With over 600 icons to choose from, you’ll probably be able to find what you need.

We needed only a handful of icons for the listing stats feature. So, our custom Pictos font was fairly lightweight, less than 12 KB.

One of the caveats of using Pictos Server over hosting a custom font file is a limitation in Internet Explorer 9, namely CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing). Drew Wilson, creator of Pictos Server, is fervently working on update. So, this limitation shouldn’t be around much longer.

In the meantime, we created a simple sprite sheet to replace the font in Internet Explorer 9:

Designing in the browser has been touted as one of the biggest advantages for using a web font for icons, and we couldn’t agree more. For example, shortly after launch, we began receiving support concerns about whether emails were being lost from applicants. We can only track when someone clicks the “Apply for this job” button, not if they follow through. So, we tried to make that clear in the interface. But, we knew we had failed by showing an icon of a torn piece of paper with a heading of ‘Clicked “Apply”.’

A clearer representation of what was actually happening was needed, and we landed on a mouse cursor with a title of ‘Clicked “Apply” button.’ The change took only a few minutes using a web font:

Not only do these icons look great on the desktop, but they look absolutely lovely on mobile devices and tablets, and especially nice and crisp on devices with retina displays.

We think using a web font for icons is swell. Give them a try if you’re not already.

–Adam Spooner (@adamjspooner), Authentic Jobs’ front-end ace.

We’ve lifted the covers on a new feature for employers: Statistics for any listings you’ve posted to the site. You’ll see overall views, referrers, email notifications sent to candidates, and so on.

You’ll also enjoy easy access to transaction data and PDF receipts.

Of course, we can track only data that resides on our end. So we can tell you how many people have clicked the “Apply” button, but we can’t tell you how many people have actually submitted applications after clicking it (that happens via the email address or URL you specify). In the near future, we’ll be able to provide you with that data once candidates can apply through our site.

So, give it a go. Post a new listing or view statistics for an existing listing by clicking the edit link we sent in the confirmation email after posting.

Over the years, we’ve received emails from candidates who told us they found an attractive job opening on our site, applied, and subsequently never heard back from the employer or client.

This results in an immediate sadface for us. We believe all candidates should be afforded the decency of a response. It’s difficult to encourage this because we don’t facilitate communication between companies and candidates; that happens off-site.

This will all change when Authentic Crew is available. Companies and candidates will be able to communicate directly with one another regarding job opportunities.

At that point, because we’ll be in the business of facilitating communication between users, we’ll ask both the company and the candidate to be responsible enough to respond. We’ll do this by conspicuously stating your response rate, something we’ve been thinking through for quite some time.

Here’s an example:

Companies and candidates will be encouraged to respond as their response rate will be clearly stated. The higher the response rate, the more willing you’ll be to make contact.

No more sadfaces. We hope.

Drop us your email and we’ll notify you when Authentic Crew is ready:

Adam Spooner is a rare find. He’s a master of front-end development with a strong understanding of both UI design and back-end development. His soft skills are terrific. And he’s an auto restoration geek in training.

Adam joins the company today as our first full-time hire. Among the many applicants that responded to our listing, his passion and experience led the pack. Folks like this don’t come along often, and we’re pleased as punch he said, ‘Aye.’

Please join us in giving Adam a warm welcome. The Twitters are probably a good place for that: @adamjspooner. He’ll help us continue to connect companies and creative professionals seeking to make a better web, and for that we’re grateful.

Welcome, Adam!

I started Authentic Jobs six years ago with the intent of connecting companies and creative professionals to make a better web. Little did I realize the company proper, Authentic Jobs Inc., would be one of those who — not once but several times over — made the connection with creative professionals.

Myles, easily the most pleasant and skilled engineer I’ve ever worked with, was found through a freelance listing I posted to the site. He’s stuck with me for nearly five years now in a part-time role.

Ben, who deftly architected the advanced HTML5/CSS3/jQuery stuff found under the hood of our site, was snatched a couple years ago through another freelance listing. His business partner, Marc, later joined the fray. A few other contractors, also found through freelance listings, have come and gone since.

And I’ve met countless people through email or at conferences who have made connections both ways, as well.

Foodie Feast

Recently I posted a listing for a Front-End Developer (archived copy here). If successful, this will be the company’s first full-time hire. Nerves and all that for me, for sure.

Here are the results from my listing:

• 71 people applied
• 27 of those applicants (or 38%) were archived in a folder titled “Not Qualified” due to lack of experience, time zone, etc.
• 5 (7%) were archived in a folder titled “Contractors”. They were seeking contract or freelance work, rather than full-time work.
• 31 (44%) were moved to a folder called “Qualified”. Their skills and experience, at the very least, seemed to match what I was looking for.
• 8 (11%) were placed in a folder called “Shortlist”. These are the candidates I’ve begun following up with.

I was quite pleasantly suprised — very surpised, in fact — at the volume of qualified candidates who applied. Authentic Jobs has always been focused on quality over quantity, and so 71 applications for a single listing is pretty atypical.

I’ll say that again: It’s unlikely you’ll receive as many applications as I did if you post a listing to Authentic Jobs. However, it’s 100% likely you’ll have access to the same great pool of candidates. Whether or not they apply is, of course, another story.

Why They Applied

In retrospect, here’s why I think so many applied: I didn’t restrict myself to local candidates. This easily accounted for the majority of the volume. Only about a dozen of the applicants were here in Florida.

The location for this position was listed as “East Coast, Florida even better”. I don’t have much choice, as Sarasota (and Florida in general) isn’t exactly a hotbed for web talent. But having worked with several remote contractors over the years and having spent some time in the role of remote contractor myself, telecommuting is second nature to me. In fact, it really deserves to be second nature to any company doing business on the web.

Note, however, that I wasn’t looking for anyone in any time zone. Having done the contractor thing for some time now, I’m familiar with trying to schedule calls and coordinate development over multiple time zones. It’s not easy, especially when urgent needs arise. For that reason, I was open to candidates only in the same time zone as myself.

Additionally, I think we’ve got a great product. It’s a product, a brand, an app that people believe in and can rally behind. And it’s one that works well for its customers. Several candidates mentioned having previously gotten jobs or freelance projects from Authentic Jobs.

Takeout

So, what are the takeaways here? Obvious, I’m sure. You’re likely to see a greater number of qualified candidates if you’re willing to consider applications beyond your commuting boundaries. Of course, it isn’t mandatory for finding great candidates through Authentic Jobs or similar services (two of the candidates on my shortlist are here in Florida). But it’s certainly helpful.

Equally important is having a product, a brand, an app that those of us who invest our careers in can be proud of. Ours is not an industry begging for work. There’s no shortage of it right now, and that means we have the fortunate privilege of being a little picky and choosy when it comes to jobs and freelance projects.

Final takeaway? I sure wish I could have used Authentic Crew during my search, as it would have greatly aided in the process of acquiring, filtering, reviewing, and messaging candidates. Soon, Cameron. Soon.

–Cameron Moll, Founder

tl;dr – It’s that time again for our annual New Year’s promotion. Visit one of our listing partners for a discount code.

Long version – Get a jump start on hiring new employees and finding freelance contractors with our annual New Year’s promotion: 50% off any listing. But there’s a catch. You’ll need to visit the tweet streams or websites of our listing partners to find a discount code. (Hint: It’ll look something like TWELVE___.)

We typically offer a discount this steep only twice a year, so take advantage of the promotion while it lasts. Expires midnight on January 12.

One of the reasons we’re hiring a front-end developer (position is now closed) is the need to finally wrap up Authentic Crew, a project that’s been in development for quite some time but has been second in priority to operating and maintaining our flagship site, Authentic Jobs.

In 2012, we’re resolving to launch version one of Authentic Crew early in the year. We’ve spent many hours discussing things with the right people and crafting the right experience to help companies and web professionals connect with each other.

For web professionals, your profile on Crew will provide an at-a-glance snapshot of your skills, work experience, endorsements, and portfolio:

Your profile will be a “living” profile, curated by you from places you’re already actively using: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and partners such as Behance and Forrst.

For employers, you’ll have access to matching candidates for the listings you’ve posted to Authentic Jobs, as well as an easy way to communicate with them:

Sign up to be notified when it’s ready. And try not to chuckle at our signup page in need of an update accompanied by an experienced front-end developer. (Hint hint.)

Happy New Year, everyone.

An early Christmas present for us, and a surprise to boot: The Authentic Jobs iPhone app has been featured in the iTunes App Store, in the section titled “Great Free Apps” (iTunes link).

We’re thrilled to be featured alongside Nike, Etsy, TED, and Stamped, and we’re encouraged by the positive reviews that have been coming in.

Update: The app has now passed 15,000 downloads in its first two weeks. Rejoice!

A mere four years after the first iPhone went on sale, we’ve got our first app. We think it might have been worth the wait. (We’re super pleased with how it turned out.)

Head over to the teaser page or download the app in iTunes.

The app contains a few unique features we haven’t yet implemented on the site, such as favorites, listings by location, and a company directory based on active listings:

The Gonçalves Brothers

Instrumental in the design and development of our app were the Portugal-based Gonçalves brothers. As regular users of the site, André and Rui came to us with the app nearly 75% completed. They wanted to build the perfect app for themselves, and it ended up being the perfect app for the Authentic Jobs audience at large.

After settling on an agreement, we worked with André and Rui to finesse the final 25% and polish the many interaction details found throughout the app. They were fantastic to work with, and any praise for the user experience of our app should be given to the two of them. (Give ‘em a shout out: @andre_goncalves & @ruiaureliano.)

Go forth and grab a copy of the free app. Happy job hunting!

P.S.

That’s Cameron’s actual iPhone 4 on the teaser page.

That’s the amount you helped us raise for charity: water. Those are real dollars meant to help real people lacking clean drinking water. Absolutely amazing.

True, we didn’t reach our goal of $35,000. But you generously contributed a very substantial amount of money nonetheless, and it’s $1,618 more than last year. All who contributed deserve recognition, and they can be found at the bottom of our campaign page.

In particular, we’d like to recognize one donor who gave $4,400, by far the largest amount contributed. StyleHatch, proprietors of unique, premium Tumblr themes, redirected funds they were going to contribute to their own charity: water campaign and put them towards ours. This came as a surprise to us, and we’re both honored and humbled.

Lastly, the winner of the limited edition Colosseo will be announced later this week, signed by Cameron Moll and Scott Harrison. Having worked closely with Scott, we can confidently say charity: water appreciates your efforts immensely.

Cheers, thanks again, and here’s to another successful year of supplying the most basic component of human life: water.

Note: Unexpectedly, our campaign terminated around 6pm Eastern time yesterday. To allow donations to flow in through the end of the night, we were given the option to extend the deadline to December 1. So, if you didn’t have a chance to donate, you can still do so.