Candor’s Crowdsourced Hiring Tracker: A Masterclass in Product as Marketing

At the peak of COVID-19 uncertainty, Candor launched a side project that got them visibility for their brand.

The startup, known for salary negotiation tools, built a live dashboard tracking which companies were freezing hiring — and it went viral fast.

It’s now a masterclass in how to ship fast, solve real problems, and turn a moment into momentum.

A Personal Note, a Simple Table, and a Clear Problem to Solve

The “Who’s Freezing Hiring from Coronavirus?” page launched with a message from cofounder David Chouinard, written directly to job seekers:

“Seeing many of my friends worried about this, I’m maintaining this list of companies freezing hiring (and those that are still hiring).”

This set the tone: human, helpful, and urgent. The tool was powered by a user-submitted Airtable that updated in real time. Anyone could contribute — making it feel like a true community project, not corporate content.

Hacker News, Reddit, Twitter: Everyone Started Sharing It

Candor didn’t wait for media coverage — they dropped the link in communities that mattered. On Hacker News, it quickly racked up 50+ upvotes across multiple submissions:

It exploded even harder on Reddit, where it was upvoted nearly 1,000 times in r/cscareerquestions.

The top comments were filled with stories of canceled offers, job searches derailed, and emotional support from strangers.

Then came Twitter/X. Influencers with tech audiences shared the tracker as the place to check job market status in real time.

The likes don't do justice to link clicks you get on X, especially if its related to hiring.

The Tracker Became a Trojan Horse for Candor’s Core Product

Once people landed on the page, Candor made a brilliant move: they humanized the side project. Visitors could check hiring statuses, read layoff notes, and scroll through data from thousands of companies.

The tool was a user-generated Airtable list which was not audited so it was less maintenance work on their part.

At the same time, the tool quietly linked to Candor’s offer reviews, salary negotiation playbooks, and 1:1 consulting — perfectly aligned with the user’s mindset.

If you were worried about job security, Candor was positioned as the guide to help you land your next one — and negotiate for more.

They Turned a Crisis Use Case Into a Template for the AI Era

Here’s what makes this playbook timeless: the same formula now applies to the AI-driven wave of layoffs hitting the tech industry.

People are getting displaced not just by recession, but by rapid-fire AI coding automation. The pain is new, but the need is the same: job seekers want to know where it's safe to apply, and what companies are hiring or freezing.

Candor’s tracker can — and should — be repurposed right now as a live dashboard for AI-related layoffs. Same UX, same core value, updated for today’s fear. The infrastructure already exists — and the moment is again right.

Candor’s Airtable Tracker Was the Growth Hack of 2020 during COVID-19

Candor didn’t build this to talk about themselves. They didn’t overdesign it. They didn’t even brand it heavily. Instead, they solved one high-tension problem with urgency, clarity, and empathy. That earned them:

• Massive organic reach

• Industry goodwill

• Qualified top-of-funnel leads

And they added a call to action that made users feel useful too:

“Is your company hiring? Consider adding to Candor’s 100% user-generated list to help job seekers.”

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