I first saw a posting for Jobaphile over at Edgelings and thought that indeed the gates to Hades had been cracked open, and the souls of the undead had taken over Human Resources departments. There's a good reason not to believe headlines, as this job auction site is really just a version of eLance or other freelance gigs. It seems that you're bidding on getting jobs, but you're not actually paying for the right to get hired, you're bidding on how low you'll work for a project.
It really is a reverse-auction site.
Still makes it creepy. I've been in staffing for 10 years. Nothing new is under the sun, and that includes social media and job auction sites. Jobaphile, in addition to being poorly named, is another example of people wanting to get something for nothing. $15 for a Ruby on Rail developer? Not in this country, bub. And if that's your max bid, what do you really want to happen?
If you're a candidate or an employer, know this - the old idea that something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it is true, but if you treat human labor like a commodity, you've got to add in the cost of compliance and legal fees. You may be able to get someone to be a deli clerk for $9 rather than $10, but the cost in getting someone who doesn't hurt your business is usually worth the extra buck.
Chalk it up to another story sensationalized by poor reporting. Move along, and careful what you read on the interwebs.
