Whatcha whatcha whatcha want?
There may actually be a window of time coming up where programmer (not to mention Sound Designer) extraordinaire Nick Keenan and myself can implement some upgrades and additions to BackstageJobs.com and TheContactSheets.com. I have some things I know we need to do, but I also know that you might have some ideas as well.
Check over the list below, and feel free to add suggestions in the comments (e-mail address is required, but never published, sold, or added to a mailing list).
- RSS feeds. Hopefully with some filtering, so you can get just the Chicago feed, or the Lighting Designer feed, etc…
- Advanced search option to not display unpaid jobs. (There is already the option to not display internships, or only display internships)
- Saved searches option (you know, that thing we talked about having 2 years ago… )
- Activation e-mail resending. In case you didn’t follow the instructions the first time, or your company e-mail system spiked it.
- Ability to change or reset security questions/answers.
- Easier access for webmaster to edit or remove Contact Sheet listings, especially reported ones.
- New requirement of an activated account to post Contact Sheet listings (too many spam listings being posted).
- Work on forcing browsers to actually check the site when using it, instead of only reading local cache. May require hardening security. (Trying to end the frustration of browsers/systems that simply refresh the page when you attempt to log-in)
- Some additional categories of jobs. Suggestions?
- Mobile version?
- Addition of more snark. Also adding the Wilhelm scream every time a user encounters an error, and more cleavage and pectoral muscles visible.
Now, the chances of everything being implemented are slim. But we will try to prioritize items that will benefit the most people, and items that are simple to add/correct. All suggestions are welcome.
Hudson & Gaines
Require unpaid, or “low-pay” jobs to be in a separate section.
Reminder notices for employers that they still have a job listed on the site. Possibly going out starting 30 days after posting, with additional reminders every 2 weeks afterward.
Also, figuring out a workaround for Yahoo and AOL’s terrible e-mail system that displays e-mail sent to Yahoo or AOL incorrectly. (Sort of like we had to do to dumb down the sites for Internet Explorer…)
Perhaps a favorites or something similar. A user could mark listings to return to and apply for at a later time rather than re-search.