HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing

Bad Economy, Good for HostGator?

We may be calling it prematurely, but so far, this year is off to an amazing start for us ‘Gators. In January, we surpassed all of our previous sales records! We have a new record for sales on both a single day and for an entire month. I wish I could be more excited, but we are having one very serious problem.

STAFFING. Or rather, the lack of it.

Every day I wake up to read about thousands of Americans being laid off of work. Unemployment is hitting new highs in America and yet I’m being forced to, once again, slow down HostGator’s growth due to the lack of qualified employees.

It’s almost as if America’s recession needs to be a full blown depression (If we’re not already there), in order for us to find the employees we are in desperate need of.

If you are a qualified Linux or Windows system administrator in America, on unemployment, and fail to apply for a job with HostGator, you should know that you are a leech on society. There are millions of Americans out there doing everything that they can to find a job and keep themselves from starving to death while we are here begging for you to apply with us!

If you are too lazy to fill out our online job application (doesn’t take long at all), then post a comment and I’ll personally get in touch with you. If you live in another state, we’ll even provide up to $5,000 for relocation assistance to our office in Houston, TX.

The United States of America used to be the land of opportunity, but we have now become the land of bailouts and handouts. A couple days ago, I had to go to the county tax collector’s office and I couldn’t help but notice that the line wrapped outside of the building. A few months ago, I went to the Department of Motor Vehicles and it ended up taking three hours to get to the front of the line. It has been a while since I’ve been to a post office, but I can’t recall one time in my life the line wasn’t at least twenty minutes.

How is it we have millions of people who are either under employed or unemployed and every time I need to get something done with the government I usually end up waiting hours? I paid thousands at the tax collectors office and the DMV sure doesn’t do anything for free.

What about the millions of Americans receiving checks without having to do any work at all? Call me crazy, but I believe some of those people should be put to work for the money they are getting paid. I was in line with over fifty tax payers for about three hours at the DMV. If you added up how much money we all made per hour you would find that the government wasted thousands of dollars worth of our time. The DMV could even make some type of priority line that charges an extra fee. I would have gladly paid $10 bucks more to cut the line. This would create more jobs, more revenue, and saved me from wasting hundreds of dollars of my time.

There was a former HostGator employee, we’ll call him Derek. He worked part-time for us at around 20 hours a week. One day, when things got busier than normal and we asked him to stay a bit later to help out. Derek quickly said he was unable to and made sure to leave on-the-dot. This made sense when later we found out that he was collecting welfare checks and if he worked over 20 hours he would have made “too much money” to where he wouldn’t receive his welfare check!

Millions of people are out of work and everyone is saying how bad the economy is, which I won’t argue. Yet, it’s close to impossible to get someone on the phone and when you do it’s usually a fifteen minute hold. HostGator’s hold times aren’t what we hope for them to be at the moment and that’s why were hiring!

Bank of America recently announced that they will be laying off 30,000 to 35,000 employees. I went to a local branch two days ago to do a wire. The wire cost me $25 and I had to wait 40 minutes to be helped. The time before that I went to a different branch and I waited about a half hour for service. In fact, I can almost guarantee that any time I walk into a BOA, I’ll be waiting about a half hour. It seems to me they should be hiring instead of firing. But that’s not how it works when CEOs and executives pillage a company blind. The little guys get screwed while the big time crooks live the good life.

Bernard Madoff, the man who stole over $50 BILLION from charities, business owners, and now bankrupt individuals, is currently under house arrest in his $7 million dollar Manhattan apartment. What the government need to do is a public hanging and then broadcast it on TV. We should all be rioting in the streets that he is still living a life of luxury with stolen money. We need more accountability in America and that’s never going to happen with bailouts and handouts.

HostGator is Hiring

If you read my recent post, Company Email then you may have noticed we’ve had a recent cut in employees. What does this mean for you? Well, if you are a customer, this means that we are now left with the high performing employees that really care about keeping your sites up and running. And if you are looking for a job in the web hosting industry, then this may be your chance to get on board the Gator!

No, not literally!

Previous web hosting experience is a requirement for all positions, and knowledge of cPanel and WHM is a big plus. We need people who can communicate clearly to customers, express themselves well through livechat and trouble tickets, and are able to work in a fast paced, fast growing, team environment.

Please note that these positions are only available at our HOUSTON, TEXAS location. We are not looking for remote employees at this time; we prefer to yell at you in person! ;-)

We are currently looking for employees in the following fields:

Live Chat & Phone Technicians.
This is a great way to start on the ground floor of HostGator. If you have experience with web hosting, web design, or general troubleshooting, and enjoy helping others with solutions to their problems, then this may be the position for you. Our Chat & Phone techs are the backbone of HostGator. This position leaves plenty of room for you to move up in the company and is a great way to get your foot in the door.

Level I-III Technical Support.
If you have a strong Linux or Windows hosting background, we’d love to hear from you. Our Level I-III Technical Support is responsible for monitoring services and ensuring each and every server is up and running smoothly. Other responsibilities include interacting directly with clients through a trouble ticket environment and troubleshooting more advanced, escalated issues.

Linux System Administration.
Know everything there is to know about Linux? Recompile kernels in your sleep? Do you dream in bash? Love Red Bull and Caffeine Pills? This may be the job for you. We are looking for extremely talented individuals who can not only solve highly technical problems, but learn, create, and automate solutions on the fly. If you are currently working for another Web Hosting company in the industry, or are just looking for a new job and have the skills, we will provide relocation assistance from anywhere in the USA. Think you are qualified to tackle HostGator’s most difficult and extreme situations? Send your resume below to schedule an interview.

Our offices are staffed 24/7, and immediate openings are available for all shifts. I’m sure you would love to know that we pay very competitively. Not only that, we are a relaxed environment! T-shirts and jeans will likely do just as well for you as a suit and tie. It’s all about what you know, and what you are willing to learn. Big degrees and nice shoes will rarely impress us. We offer flexible scheduling, and a full benefits package is available. As seen on the Office Tour we have a Fitness Gym, Game Room and a large screen TV available to all employees. All system admins receive triple monitor work stations, and we order Pizza for all shifts on Fridays!

Salary is based on experience.

If you have what it takes to be a Gator, then
Click Here to Apply Now
and get started on the path to Web Hosting glory.

We can’t wait to hear from you!


Edit: I know this is really big for most of you looking for jobs in the hosting industry, and I have some huge news. HostGator now offers free PIZZA on mondays and fridays! In fact I gotta go cause I got a few slices right now. :)