I love the job board business but could never have imagined the roller coaster ride that it is... sometimes talking to other job board people is just good therapy, because many of these things or some variation on them will happen to everyone sooner or later. This morning, I started this list in frustration after a database server crash.

Competition

Inspired by Sahar's how to ruin your health, here's my advice for how to fail in business on the Internet:

10. Write long e-mails, click more, faster. Most people read carefully and repetitive strain injuries do not happen to entrepreneurs.

9. Think about nothing but your business as long as you are awake. Do that 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, year in and year out. It’s good for your health and relationships too!

8. Stay highly focused. Avoid networking and do not attend events outside your niche. You can get more done at your desk than anywhere else.

The free classifieds and free job boards have fascinated me for years, perhaps because back when I was starting LatPro, the hottest thing around was headhunter.net. It was growing like wildfire and was perfectly free. Times have changed a lot since then and there is a whole new crop of free job boards -- here's the list:

A job widget is a tool used by a job board to display its jobs or search box on other web sites. It's basically a banner, button or skyscraper with customized content which is of course job ads. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, look to the right for the LatPro widget and below for a really good example of a jobs widget from jobtonic.com. For more about them have a look at Born's widget reviews. Here's a list of job widgets:

You can still start up a job board in the spare bedroom and work like the devil. But, venture capital firms have been backing job boards for years and with the right pedigree or a prior success in an employment related business, VC money might be waiting for you. Venture-backed job boards may also benefit from the business experience and resources of the backer along with the cash. Either way, you'll work like the devil to succeed.

Here is a list of vc backed job boards and their backers:

As the job board industry blossoms and matures from a few big generalist boards to a niche job board for almost every demographic and industry, it's only natural that employees of the large boards are spreading their wings and running their own boards:

The past few years have been big ones for the Job Board industry. They saw the launch of scads of new job boards in large and niche markets. This year seems to be following suit. Here are some of the most recent new job boards hitting the market.

June 2008

• virtualjobcandy.com for virtual and  telecommute jobs.
  

May 2008

• GeographyJobs.com jobs in... geography!

April 2008

It feels like job board acquisitions in the US are accelerating. The two primary buyers seem to be Jobing.com and onTargetJobs.com (see interview with oTJ founder and chairman) but other contenders may include Dice, JobServe and Jupiter Media. Kennedy Information has also recently compiled a report entitled Mergers & Aquisition Dynamics for Employment Web Sites.

For those interested in European Job Board acquisitions, see Julian Stopp's list.

Here's the list:

RecruitingNevada.com acquired by Greenspun Media - April, 2008

I especially enjoy sports and coaching movies because they often provide a great metaphor for business life. Here's a list of the ones I've enjoyed:

The Heart of the Game