4 ms·

Agreed! Every time I'm hiring, I insist that my job posting has a "email your CV directly to the hiring manager" link, and it astounds me how much push-back I

by mundo 10y ago

Agreed! Every time I'm hiring, I insist that my job posting has a "email your CV directly to the hiring manager" link, and it astounds me how much push-back I get. It boggles the mind that a company can devote half a dozen designers to optimizing the experience for potential customers, but for potential employees it's "Well, HR says you have to fill out this form, and I guess what they say goes."

mrfusion 10y ago
I agree. Email is so much better. You could always request applicants include a word in the subject to filter out spam and people that can't follow instructions. I generally don't apply when I see a complex form. Instead I try emailing the company.
- mundo 10y ago
  I don't bother (with filter questions). If weeding through some bad resumes is the price I pay to make sure the best candidates will apply, I'll pay that happily. Part of the job. Related: It's amazing how many HR depts are not equipped to handle a submission of the form "My CV and projects are on janedoe.com/cv.html, let me know if you'd like to talk." In a sane world, that would be the default by now.
  - mgkimsal 10y ago
    Holy tamole spot on re: "here's a link". I get people calling me because they found my contact information on my website, then demanding that I send them a "Word copy of your resume". A) there's a PDF there already. B) There's more up to date information in the site itself and C) WTF - don't call me then demand I send you something in another format. You only want it in Word format so you can edit it up anyway. (mostly recruiters, I know, but still pisses me off).
    - Spooky23 10y ago
      They want the word version so they can strip your contact information and sell your resume. I once interviewed myself for a position via a pretty large company's body shop subsidiary. Not really sure how they got my resume.
      - lasc4r 10y ago
        Did you get the job?
        webscaleizfun 10y ago
        No, another candidate got it, he had a slightly better resume and went by the same name :P
    - mcv 10y ago
      I stopped providing Word CVs a few years ago, considering it a filter on reasonable recruiters. People seem to have accepted it. I almost never get asked for a Word version anymore. Though I do still get people who find me on LinkedIn (which has my complete CV) and then ask for a PDF, but I'm fine with that.
zem 10y ago
i think a lot of hr departments and upper management approach hiring with the mindset of "they want something from us, so they should do things our way"
amorphid 10y ago
Former recruiter here. It is hard to help a hiring manager who insists on getting emails directly to their inbox, as it cuts the recruiter out of ths loop. As soon as you aren't on top of your email, it breaks. Think sync vs async. Sharing an email account (devjobs@mycompany.com) scales is nicely for a few jobs with light candidate flow. It can start to break down when trying to organize things in a meaningful way for all parties, but mildy disciplined use of a Gmail account is pretty solid when compared to much heavier solutions, like Taleo. Due to the large number of administrative tasks (posting ads, scheduling interviews, etc.), the walled garden platforms that refuse to give you (and each other) decent API access, and the number of relationships to stay on top of, there's really no substitute for good someone who stays on top of it all. As a hiring manager, if you insist on managing the process end to end, you're the recruiter, too :)
- altano 10y ago
  An email can actually go directly to you AND the hiring manager. We have the technology.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - amorphid 10y ago
    In one email account, you can see replies. With two accounts, you get zero, one, or two replies, and no one knows who said what to who. And mailing lists get kind of spammy, but are certainly a manageable option.
- dvtv75 10y ago
  As someone who applied for a job that I didn't find out about until the last minute, when the application engine locked up and didn't submit my application I was quite pissed off. Unfortunately, it didn't notify me that it hadn't completed the application. A friend of mine was working at the company and asked me a couple of days later why I didn't apply, after he agreed to be a reference for me and really upsell me to the boss. That would have been one hell of an addition to my resume, and it's far more likely that plain email would have worked. Of course, a recruiter wouldn't have got his cut...

by mundo 10y ago

mrfusion 10y ago

I agree. Email is so much better. You could always request applicants include a word in the subject to filter out spam and people that can't follow instructions. I generally don't apply when I see a complex form. Instead I try emailing the company.

mundo 10y ago
I don't bother (with filter questions). If weeding through some bad resumes is the price I pay to make sure the best candidates will apply, I'll pay that happily. Part of the job. Related: It's amazing how many HR depts are not equipped to handle a submission of the form "My CV and projects are on janedoe.com/cv.html, let me know if you'd like to talk." In a sane world, that would be the default by now.
- mgkimsal 10y ago
  Holy tamole spot on re: "here's a link". I get people calling me because they found my contact information on my website, then demanding that I send them a "Word copy of your resume". A) there's a PDF there already. B) There's more up to date information in the site itself and C) WTF - don't call me then demand I send you something in another format. You only want it in Word format so you can edit it up anyway. (mostly recruiters, I know, but still pisses me off).
  - Spooky23 10y ago
    They want the word version so they can strip your contact information and sell your resume. I once interviewed myself for a position via a pretty large company's body shop subsidiary. Not really sure how they got my resume.
    - lasc4r 10y ago
      Did you get the job?
      - webscaleizfun 10y ago
        No, another candidate got it, he had a slightly better resume and went by the same name :P
  - mcv 10y ago
    I stopped providing Word CVs a few years ago, considering it a filter on reasonable recruiters. People seem to have accepted it. I almost never get asked for a Word version anymore. Though I do still get people who find me on LinkedIn (which has my complete CV) and then ask for a PDF, but I'm fine with that.

zem 10y ago

i think a lot of hr departments and upper management approach hiring with the mindset of "they want something from us, so they should do things our way"

amorphid 10y ago

Former recruiter here. It is hard to help a hiring manager who insists on getting emails directly to their inbox, as it cuts the recruiter out of ths loop. As soon as you aren't on top of your email, it breaks. Think sync vs async. Sharing an email account (devjobs@mycompany.com) scales is nicely for a few jobs with light candidate flow. It can start to break down when trying to organize things in a meaningful way for all parties, but mildy disciplined use of a Gmail account is pretty solid when compared to much heavier solutions, like Taleo. Due to the large number of administrative tasks (posting ads, scheduling interviews, etc.), the walled garden platforms that refuse to give you (and each other) decent API access, and the number of relationships to stay on top of, there's really no substitute for good someone who stays on top of it all. As a hiring manager, if you insist on managing the process end to end, you're the recruiter, too :)

altano 10y ago
An email can actually go directly to you AND the hiring manager. We have the technology.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- amorphid 10y ago
  In one email account, you can see replies. With two accounts, you get zero, one, or two replies, and no one knows who said what to who. And mailing lists get kind of spammy, but are certainly a manageable option.
dvtv75 10y ago
As someone who applied for a job that I didn't find out about until the last minute, when the application engine locked up and didn't submit my application I was quite pissed off. Unfortunately, it didn't notify me that it hadn't completed the application. A friend of mine was working at the company and asked me a couple of days later why I didn't apply, after he agreed to be a reference for me and really upsell me to the boss. That would have been one hell of an addition to my resume, and it's far more likely that plain email would have worked. Of course, a recruiter wouldn't have got his cut...