How much would you pay me to...

As the recession seems to grow more and more dire by the day, we are constantly finding people attempting new, clever methods to find work and get paid. This time, it's a group of recent college grads in Boston who have created a site that effectively puts odd jobs up for auction.

At Jobaphiles.com, anyone can post a job, ranging from paid summer internships and research assistance to graphic design and good old fashioned manual labor. Desperate college students interested in a job then have the opportunity to bid on it by submitting how much they'd be willing to work for and a brief description of why they're the best fit for the job. The potential employer then makes a selection, based not just on the lowest bidder, but on the student's rating on the site (similar to eBay, job seekers and employers are rated once the job is complete, giving future users an idea of a particular person's reputation and reliability). Students also have the option to post the services they offer and hope to be discovered by potential employers, rather than try their luck at an auction.

Given the generally boring nature of many typical campus work-study jobs, the site seems like it could be a nice alternative for recession-addled undergrads. There are more than a few internship opportunities for the truly intrepid, but there seems to be room for everyone, including Thai the Snow Shoveler who reminds us that all you really need to make a few bucks in the long, cold, economic winter is a positive attitude and the proper gear, aka "a shovel and a kid bro to help out." Nothing says "recession-proof" like child labor!

--Posted by Steven Schiff, Vault News & Commentary