Last night I had the pleasure of meeting Jason Alba of JibberJobber.com. Jason graciously came to Austin to speak to Launch Pad Job Club, taking a break from a conference he was attending in San Antonio.

He spoke about being unemployed, and the common mistakes job seekers make, as well as the stigma of being unemployed, and the importance of empowering yourself during the transition. Many of the attendees were actively looking, and it was refreshing to hear someone acknowledge the stigma as well as creating his own job. He’s also gone so far as writing a book, I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???: A Guide to Getting the Most OUT of LinkedIn

And despite him saying he expected to under whelm the audience, he’s funny and smart. It was a good talk, and he spent another hour talking to attendees, not leaving until nearly 9:30pm.  That's a nice guy, considering he had a 2.5hr drive back to San Antonio.  Bravo, Mr. Alba.  And enjoy the bananas.

I admit, I have not taken advantage of jibberjobber, and have been using my own excel spreadsheet to keep track of my career search contacts. But after hearing Jason talk, not only mentioning some of the features, but how 80% of the features included in free accounts, I need to take another look. I think it’s important for sites to understand the balance of value in free services versus premium, and making the premium meet expectations.

If you ever get to talk to Jason, ask for one of his cards; he has a great two-sided card, with a pink slip on the back. Keeping a sense of humor is very important, isn’t it.