job-hunter

Productivity

job search automation

SHOW HN2016

109points
86comments
#337of 2,264 in 2016
Top 15%of 2016 by points

How HN took it

DebatedReal support and real criticism

10 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 10 critical, out of 29 comments about the project. Thread score -0.07.

Idea: 9 for, 9 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Humorous and clever response to recruiter spam and resume filters.

    From 2 comments
    • For every recruiter complaining that this is a spammy spray-and-pray approach, there are a dozen engineers spammed daily on LinkedIn with irrelevant blanket offers. If anything,…
      robgibbons on HN
    • > my matching algorithm actually said there is #{percent}% chance you'd be interested in interviewing me Of course anyone reading that would be skeptical, but I wonder if a high…
      justinlardinois on HN
  • Per-job customized page with match percentage is a cool idea.

    From 2 comments
    • The additional page thing makes me feel better. I think it's a really cool project, and sharing the percent match with the person is genius. The cover letter in the example isn't…
      jc4p on HN
    • Excellent. I'd love to see a not that handles recruitment too.
      okc on HN

Objections

  • Spray-and-pray applications look like spam to hiring managers.

    From 3 comments
    • When I'm reviewing an application, the most important thing to me is the cover letter and the specificity in it. If you don't state why you want to work at the company, how you…
      jc4p on HN
    • If I were a hiring manager, I would straight-out reject anybody who was using this, resume and candidate unseen (assuming I found out). If a person applies to 100 jobs at once,…
      powera on HN
    • This is the best possible way to burn bridges. The companies that take spammy applications aren't the companies you want to work at.
      ztratar on HN
  • Cover letter in the example lacks real reasons for interest.

    From 1 comment
    • The additional page thing makes me feel better. I think it's a really cool project, and sharing the percent match with the person is genius. The cover letter in the example isn't…
      jc4p on HN
  • Bot applications may burn bridges and be rejected by hiring managers.

    From 3 comments
    • This is the best possible way to burn bridges. The companies that take spammy applications aren't the companies you want to work at.
      ztratar on HN
    • If I were a hiring manager, I would straight-out reject anybody who was using this, resume and candidate unseen (assuming I found out). If a person applies to 100 jobs at once,…
      powera on HN
    • I honestly wouldn't be surprised by any reaction to this. A hiring manager could just as easily think "This candidate doesn't even know they applied for this job because the bot…
      justinlardinois on HN

Requests

  • Feedback on how to improve the tool.

    From 1 comment
    • So I built this because I'm a recent bootcamp grad & I've found that it's really hard to get my foot in the door. I'd really love feedback on how I can improve this. Here is an…
      jmopr on HN
  • Support for applying via sites that require account creation, not only Indeed.

    From 1 comment
    • I am guessing this only works with the "Apply via Indeed" jobs. Yesterday I was applying for jobs and extremely frustrated by how many corporations require you to create an…
      cylinder on HN

Questions

  • Will recruiters take bot-submitted applications seriously?

    From 2 comments
    • Will the recruiter actually take this seriously? From a recruiter standpoint, when someone applies - the applicant is required to understand, interpret and apply accordingly.
      Ravikiran on HN
    • I honestly wouldn't be surprised by any reaction to this. A hiring manager could just as easily think "This candidate doesn't even know they applied for this job because the bot…
      justinlardinois on HN

Alternatives named

  • Manual cover letters and networking or referrals.

    From 3 comments
    • The fact that this sort of thing is a thing is very sad. I'm so glad I have a network and have gotten my jobs through word of mouth and in-person introductions.
      nikki-9696 on HN
    • I see this opinion in /r/cscareerquestions a lot and I don't understand it... the people that say this (not saying parent comment is one of then) usually say cover letters are a…
      sotojuan on HN
    • To be clear, a cold-application cover letter? First contact, yeah, but I've mostly seen it with handshakes, networking, or the type of letter that also namedrops an internal…
      geoelectric on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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