cormac – Page 4 – Au Pair Ireland Blog

Downloading Jobseekers’ CVs is now easier

We’ve just finished streamlining the download process for Jobseekers’ CVs, all downloads are now made using Ajax (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) what this means is that when you click the Download button, the CV is downloaded without leaving the page, and, when the CV has been downloaded, clicking the link to open it, opens it in a modal window on the same page, again using Ajax. Using Ajax like this means you don’t have to leave the search results page to download or view a CV, and you don’t have to click the back button to return to the results page, this should save you a lot of time.

We’ve also implemented the Ajax opening of CVs (and also of the jobseekers’ photo’s) on all of the pages that have links to jobseekers’ CVs – the Job Applicants page, the Downloaded CVs page, the Shortlisted CVs page, and the Private Notes page.

Hopefully this more consistent user experience, and reduced download and page load time, will make using the site a more plesant experience for you. If you can think of any other ways we can improve the site please let us know, below.

Also, we’re still in the process of converting the site to a responsive design, thanks for your continued patience.

Site Redesign and Refresh

We’re currently in the proces of converting the site to a responsive design (a fluid layout that rebuilds itself to suit different screen sizes), we’ve already converted the job description template, and in the last few minutes the new homepage layout has gone live. We are going to continue the redesign by converting all of the pages in the logged-out area of the site and then we’ll move onto the the host family section, followed by the jobseeker section. This will take a few months to complete, unfortunately, and until then you may experience a mixture of layouts – ie. you might go from a responsive page to a desktop page, to a responsive page which isn’t an ideal user experience, but in our opinion is a better way of doing it than attempting to convert the hundred or so templates in the background, we apologise for any invonvenience, and appreciate your patience.

If you encounter any issues in the meantime, or have any feedback, please let us know at [email protected]

Instant Messaging

[ Update ] We have removed this instant messaging service as it was adding considerable time to page loads

We’ve delighted to announce that we’ve just added instant messaging functionality to the site. Just like Google Talk and Facebook Messenger, it allows two-way instant messaging, and sending of files.

This new service could be a massive time-saver for both jobseeekers and host families, saving you having to wait for a reply from an email, or from your AuPairIreland.ie mail box, it can also be useful for host families who are not quite ready to share their contact details with the jobseeker.

Live conversations can only happen if both the host family and jobseeker are online, however if either party is offline when a message is sent, they will receive it next time they log in.

For Host Families

Host families must initiate the chat, jobseekers are unable to do so, and you can only have conversations with jobseekers whose CVs you have downloaded, so when you log in for the first time after registering your Who’s Online list will have no members.

You’ll find the chat panel on the bottom right-hand-side of the screen, clicking that opens your Who’s Online list, online users have a green circle next to their name, and idle (jobseekers who are on the site but have not been active on the site for five minutes) have a yellow circle, offline users have a grey circle. If a user is offline you can still message them and they will receive it when they next log in, so you could, for example, send them an offline message to arrange a instant messaging chat at a pre-arranged time/date.

This functionality is available to both premium members, and users availing of our free trial.

For Jobseekers

Jobseekers cannot initiate conversations, host families can contact you, but not vice-versa. But once a conversation has been initiated you have the same messaging features the host families have.

We’ve also added a chatroom for Au Pairs, as a lot of au pairs who come to work in Ireland can find themselves isolated, knowing no-one in the town/city they are working in. This is a great way to stay in contact with existing friends, and a great way to make new friends. You’ll find the au pair chatroom on the bottom of the page as soon as you log in to your account.

Instant Messaging Features

Features include:

Send a File – useful for sharing photos, certificates, etc
Save Conversation – You can save your conversation to your computer for later reference
Report Conversation – You can report the conversation to us if you feel it is appropriate to do so

Conversation Logging

Given the nature of the site, and for the protection of both the host family and the jobseeker, all chats are automatically logged on the chat server. This would only be used for later reference if a conversation was reported.

Rights of Domestic Workers

This is a very useful document, and should be considered by both host families and au pairs/ domestic workers. http://www.employmentrights.ie/en/Publications_Forms/Domestic_Workers_Rights_2014.pdf

Host family references, for Au Pairs, from previous Au Pairs

We’ve just added a new question on the host family’s Post Job page, the question is “Have you previously employed an au pair you could offer as a reference?“ – if a host family has previously employed an au pair, and they are willing to share that au pair’s contact details with the new au pair, they can indicate so here.

This information will appear on the job description page as a bullet point “This host family has previously employed an au pair they could offer as a reference”.

Sharing a previous au pair’s contact details with the new au pair allows the new au pair contact the old one, to get an idea of what to expect in their new job, the working conditions, what the family are like, etc.

We would ask host families to share this information, if possible, as moving into a new home, in a new country, with a new family, would be a daunting prospect for anyone, talking to someone who has experienced it before would be a massive assurance for the au pair, and their family.

We would suggest the host family only share the previous au pair’s contact details with the job seeker they are considering offering the position to.

Searching for an au pair by location

We had an enquiry today from a host family enquiring how to search for job seekers by location – say “Ireland > Dublin > Dublin 13” – that was an easy question to answer as the functionality was always there, however the answer didn’t make much sense. To search by location, prior to today, the host family had to use the advanced search ( http://www.aupairireland.ie/employers/search.php ) tick the box “Only show jobseekers located in Ireland”, then they would see options for the county, followed by area if Dublin was selected.

We’ve now made the search form a little simpler, and more intuitive, we have added an option “Jobseeker Location”, you can select any country, or, if you select Ireland, you will then see another option for county, followed by an option for area/postcode if you select Dublin.

I’m not sure why we had it the old way, in retrospect it doesn’t make much sense!

Next and Previous Jobs listings on Job detail pages

We’ve added yet another piece of new functionality! This time however it’s for the job seekers‘ benefit. We’ve included, at the bottom of job details pages, “Next Job“, and “Previous Job” links, including job titles and thumbnail of the host family photo, if they’ve added one.

By default this functionality works by the date the job was added, so if you click “Previous Job” you’ll see the last one added before the job you’re currently on, however this is a little bit more clever, it also remembers your search queries, so if you search for “Au Pair Jobs Galway” and click through to the first job on the results page, clicking the “Previous Job” link at the bottom of the page should bring you to the next most recent job added in Galway.

This new functionality should save au pairs a fair bit of time on their job searches, as it completely removes the need to return to the job search results page.

New Functionality added for Host Family accounts

Our last blog posting, prior to this one, was a call for suggestions for new functionality, thanks to Sandra McGarry we’ve implemented a load of new features for host family accounts, and fixed quite a few bugs. You can read Sandra’s suggestions here: http://www.aupairireland.ie/blog/new-functionality-any-suggestions/450

My Private Notes – At the bottom of each jobseekers mini-cv there is a text box that allows you to add a private note on any of the jobseeker accounts, these notes could be anything really – “not in Ireland”, “will work with elderly” etc. it’s just a spot where you can save details of that jobseeker that are important to you. We’ve now added a My Private Notes page, this page displays all mini-cvs that have notes attached to them in one handy location
Jobseekers’ names linked to mini CV in Inbox and Outbox – we’ve linked the sender and recipient name in your Inbox and Outbox to that jobseeker’s mini-cv, this will give you a quick reminder of who it is you’re mailing, which can be quite handy when your job has had a lot of applicants
Shortlist sorted by time/date – The Shortlist page now lists shortlisted jobseekers by the time/date they were added – most recent listed first
Last Message functionality – When you are viewing jobseekers’ mini CVs, if you’ve messaged that jobseeker before, you will now see the date of the last message, and a link that takes you to an inbox of all emails sent to you by that jobseeker
Ajax functionality – this is probably the biggest change we’ve made this time around, and the one that will make the biggest difference to host families, we have change most of the CV-related functionality to be Ajax-based. What this means is that when you click to download a CV, click to add a jobseeker to your shortlist, click to delete a CV etc. you no longer have to wait for the page to refresh, to move onto the next one. It’s done instantly. This, we promise,will save you massive amounts of time.

There was a lot of other, smaller, things we have added or changed, but we won’t bore you with the details.

Remember, if you have any suggestions on how we can improve the site let us know, if it’s a pretty big bit of functionality, and we implement it, we’ll give you a free account upgrade next time you want it.

Thanks.

New Functionality – Any Suggestions?

It’s that time of year again, when we turn our attention to spring cleaning, and adding new functionality to the site. If you’ve any feedback on improvements we could make, or any new functionality we could add, we’d love to hear it. If you suggest any new functionality, and if we add it, we’ll give you a free Premium upgrade next time you need it. Please leave any suggestions below. Thanks.

Error fixed. Deleting empty CVs from your Downloaded CVs page

A quick note to say we’ve just noticed, and fixed, a small issue on the Downloaded CVs page. The issue was being caused when the employer would download an au pair’s CV, then the au pair would delete their own account – this would leave a blank CV on your Downloaded CVs page that couldn’t be deleted – this error has now been fixed, so if your Downloaded CVs page has any ‘ghost’ CVs, you can now delete them 🙂

If you notice any bugs on the site, or if you have any suggestions for improvements, please, please contact us about them! Thanks.

And, last but not least a very happy new year to everyone!