The world is different right now, and yet, businesses are somehow expected to operate the same as they have in the past. There’s both spoken and unspoken pressure to return to “business as usual,” especially if you were already a remote team. Simply picking up where you left off leaves many unanswered questions. Chief among them: Is it appropriate to launch a new feature or product right now?
With multiple projects planned for an April release, we’ve grappled with this question. The answer has generally been an easy “no.” With so much stress, uncertainty, and overwhelming information in everyday life, launching just doesn’t feel right, especially if it’s gratuitously feeding off the crisis. For now, those projects will stay quiet, and we’ll open them up when it makes sense.
However, there is one project where we struggled to land on the right answer: People-First Jobs.
A new kind of job board
We announced People-First Jobs back in December, anticipating a launch in early 2020. Our goal with People-First Jobs was to draw attention to companies that exist to support the human beings around them and connect them with job seekers who share those values. We were sick and tired of hearing about “growth at all costs” work environments and wanted to shine a spotlight on companies that are team-centric, profit-focused, and sustainable for the long run. People-First Jobs was near completion in early March when we were faced with a decision: In the midst of a global pandemic, do we launch or not?
With so many layoffs and hiring freezes in the job market as a result of COVID-19, we believe that People-First Jobs can make a meaningful contribution in a moment like this. That’s why we’re launching it today.
We have some incredible companies onboard, including Wistia, Doist, Zapier, and more. While some have understandably paused hiring at the moment, we’re standing by our goal of raising awareness of the companies that put people first, both now and when they’re ready to hire again. And if you’re looking for a job, we want to help you find one that puts you first.
We have also adapted People-First Jobs to make it valuable for our imperfect existence as the world has changed. In addition to launching the site, the Wildbit team has collaborated with the inaugural round of People-First companies to curate a COVID-19 resource list. We’re sharing and updating that list as we find more useful information, including great people who have been laid off and are currently looking for their next home. If you have additional resources that might be helpful, please help us expand it.
We’re just getting started. We’d like to add more companies, especially those that are currently hiring. If you run or work for a company that meets our People-First criteria, fill out the form, and we’ll be in touch. For the duration of the crisis, we’ll list your jobs at no cost.
Stay safe out there. We’re all looking forward to the days when we can have launch parties. But until then, let’s support each other however we can.
❤️ Team Wildbit