It wasn’t all that long ago when most people were afraid to buy things online. As the general public has become more comfortable with doing transactions on the net, the need for businesses to go online has obviously continued to increase. It’s easy for a large, well-known business to put together a website and start an e-commerce venture, but the transition has been much more difficult for small businesses like those that sell handmade crafts. With no brand recognition and limited resources to build a good looking website, it’s hard for mom and pops to win the trust of online consumers. For this reason, many have relied on eBay as a way to sell their wares. Unfortunately, eBay has become a hot bed for scams while continuing to raise their fees. Luckily for craft lovers, Etsy has stepped in as “a place to buy and sell all things handmade.”

eBay bad. Etsy good.

There’s not much that you need to know about Etsy that you can’t figure out by perusing their site. In fact, the best way to get to know what they’re about is to visit some of the shops that have been set up by Etsy’s 100,000+ users. The emphasis at Etsy is on community, so it makes sense that they are attracting users who were previously burned by eBay. One of our favorite Etsy features is the Alchemy section that allows users to request a certain handmade item at a specific cost. So, let’s say I want a hat with a paper mâché trout going through it like an arrow for my Dad’s birthday in July. I can offer $45 as my ideal price, and Etsy users can bid on my proposed project. It may not be turning iron into gold, but it certainly allows turning gold into paper mâché trout hats.

Handmade Recruiting

Etsy has extended the sense of community that they have created into their corporate culture as well. Etsy’s Jobs page is exactly what a company’s online recruiting presence should be. It’s warm, personal, and gives the reader a good sense of what working for Etsy is like. Larger employers might argue that it’s easy to do this when you’re a relatively small startup, but once you reach a certain size it’s impossible to maintain. We think that’s just an excuse not to try. In a way, Etsy’s Jobs page makes Etsy seem more like a club for like-minded individuals than a place to work, and that’s how we think it should be. They’re currently accepting membership (job) applications for two positions that appear to be entry-level: User Interface Designer and PHP Engineer. The job descriptions are well written, and the UI listing includes a puzzle. The PHP job is in their Brooklyn, NY office, and the UI job can be in Brooklyn or their Bay Area, CA office.

There’s an exceptional amount of information about Etsy on their website, so be sure to use the links below as a jumping off point. Even if you’re not interested in Etsy’s jobs, take a look. You should find the way that they do online recruiting to be interesting and refreshing. If you think that you’d like working for Etsy, you can contact them at work@etsy.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Etsy.com
• Jobs at Etsy
• About Etsy
• Etsy’s Blog (no longer updated)
• Etsy’s Online Magazine
• Etsy Employee Profiles
• Etsy’s Flickr Account
• Wikipedia on Etsy

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We've identified Etsy as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• crafts
• e-commerce
• New York
• software development
• user experience

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