4 ms·

That seems to happen everywhere these days - I've sent out several applications recently (non-HN) and had absolutely nothing back, not even an acknowledgement.

That seems to happen everywhere these days - I've sent out several applications recently (non-HN) and had absolutely nothing back, not even an acknowledgement. It says a lot for the professionalism of a company when they can't even auto-respond a receipt, although a personal rejection would always be nice - if you can't be bothered to say you're not interested, why should I be bothered to apply ?

johnward 10y ago
I take the time to filter out jobs that I know I would be good at and then write a cover letter and customize my resume for the job, only to not hear any acknowledgement at all. I'm about to just blast my resume out with no filter and see what happens.
- mysterydip 10y ago
  And I think that's the crux of the issue. When I was laid off, I hit the job boards. I started out being careful with my choices, doing custom cover letters, etc., but after no response from many, I started "shotgunning" and hoping something would stick. But that's what everyone else is doing: one-click apply to job/send your resume, and then HR gets overwhelmed, and determines not to send individual responses, which continues the spiral. I had one job I finally got a rejection from a week after I had started someplace else. As much as I may have liked any one position, I had mouths tl feed. No point in waiting 3 weeks for a simple response.
  - johnward 10y ago
    I think you nailed it. Then the recruiters start doing the same thing on the other end. I have 10 years of experience ands till get entry level help desk positions in my inbox.
    - linker3000 10y ago
      Ditto + I get electronic engineering stuff, which was my career path/company role until I switched to systems and networks in about 1989.
- ryandrake 10y ago
  I've gotten very cynical and hardened to this over the years. I remember meticulously researching companies and preparing detailed cover letters showing exactly why I'm a great fit for that job, spending hours reviewing and tweaking them until finally sending them off, only to be "black-holed" by the company. After 40-50 or so of these you just start spraying and praying. Hiring managers & HR: Tired of getting "spray and pray" resumes? STOP DOING THIS.
trifarious 10y ago
Founder here. I used to reply to every applicant individually because I couldn't believe someone wanted to work for my startup. But then that got to be burdensome so I set up a reply template, but even then people would reply to the template and continue the conversation. Then my co-founder pointed out that spending lots of time replying to everyone wasn't a good use of my time. Point is it's nothing personal. If you're not getting replies, try to stand out more. Don't just send a resume, send a GitHub link to a project that's relevant to the company. I get a dozen resumes a day (not joking), so give me a reason to not hit "Archive" immediately.
- joenot443 10y ago
  If you're in the position to get a dozen resumes a day, is there not someone else in your organization who can handle the initial resume screen? Seems a bit inefficient to have the founder personally hitting "Archive" on all the applicants he rejects.
- mobiuscog 10y ago
  This basically says you don't value people. You want them to go through all of the effort for you. You say that replying to everyone isn't a good use of your time, but having to apply to everyone, with the likelihood of being ignored apparently is a good use of my time ? My time is just as valuable as yours. The Github idea is great... except there's no way I can magic up a project 'relevant to the company' for all of the applications I'm making - which I have to be making because nobody replies any more. I'm certainly looking to get some projects going in my spare time, which is minimal. I'm too old to 'stand' out - if 20 years of programming isn't enough to get a more personal interview, then I'll just move on - I have no interest in competing with people from a marketing perspective. Of course, I don't expect us to agree, as we're coming from completely different sides (and requirements). In the modern world, it's amazing how many old-school (Business time is more valuable than employee) mindsets still exist. Thanks for taking the time to reply though. I genuinely do appreciate that.
  - aaronchall 10y ago
    > My time is just as valuable as yours. The co-founder's time is worth what? They just got investors to hand them millions of dollars over a few meetings, on the assumption that if successful, they'll be worth hundreds of millions one day. You are one of dozens of applicants. Some guys with 20 years have the problem that it was the same year over and over. How do they know your skills are even current and relevant? If you're an experienced programmer, maybe you're going to make $50 to $100 an hour (depending on your market). But if you're applying to multiple firms, wouldn't you put yourself to work at that opportunity cost to differentiate yourself enough to get the job you want? Why wouldn't you be willing to jump through whatever hoops necessary to get the job you want?

johnward 10y ago

I take the time to filter out jobs that I know I would be good at and then write a cover letter and customize my resume for the job, only to not hear any acknowledgement at all. I'm about to just blast my resume out with no filter and see what happens.

mysterydip 10y ago
And I think that's the crux of the issue. When I was laid off, I hit the job boards. I started out being careful with my choices, doing custom cover letters, etc., but after no response from many, I started "shotgunning" and hoping something would stick. But that's what everyone else is doing: one-click apply to job/send your resume, and then HR gets overwhelmed, and determines not to send individual responses, which continues the spiral. I had one job I finally got a rejection from a week after I had started someplace else. As much as I may have liked any one position, I had mouths tl feed. No point in waiting 3 weeks for a simple response.
- johnward 10y ago
  I think you nailed it. Then the recruiters start doing the same thing on the other end. I have 10 years of experience ands till get entry level help desk positions in my inbox.
  - linker3000 10y ago
    Ditto + I get electronic engineering stuff, which was my career path/company role until I switched to systems and networks in about 1989.
ryandrake 10y ago
I've gotten very cynical and hardened to this over the years. I remember meticulously researching companies and preparing detailed cover letters showing exactly why I'm a great fit for that job, spending hours reviewing and tweaking them until finally sending them off, only to be "black-holed" by the company. After 40-50 or so of these you just start spraying and praying. Hiring managers & HR: Tired of getting "spray and pray" resumes? STOP DOING THIS.

trifarious 10y ago

Founder here. I used to reply to every applicant individually because I couldn't believe someone wanted to work for my startup. But then that got to be burdensome so I set up a reply template, but even then people would reply to the template and continue the conversation. Then my co-founder pointed out that spending lots of time replying to everyone wasn't a good use of my time. Point is it's nothing personal. If you're not getting replies, try to stand out more. Don't just send a resume, send a GitHub link to a project that's relevant to the company. I get a dozen resumes a day (not joking), so give me a reason to not hit "Archive" immediately.

joenot443 10y ago
If you're in the position to get a dozen resumes a day, is there not someone else in your organization who can handle the initial resume screen? Seems a bit inefficient to have the founder personally hitting "Archive" on all the applicants he rejects.
mobiuscog 10y ago
This basically says you don't value people. You want them to go through all of the effort for you. You say that replying to everyone isn't a good use of your time, but having to apply to everyone, with the likelihood of being ignored apparently is a good use of my time ? My time is just as valuable as yours. The Github idea is great... except there's no way I can magic up a project 'relevant to the company' for all of the applications I'm making - which I have to be making because nobody replies any more. I'm certainly looking to get some projects going in my spare time, which is minimal. I'm too old to 'stand' out - if 20 years of programming isn't enough to get a more personal interview, then I'll just move on - I have no interest in competing with people from a marketing perspective. Of course, I don't expect us to agree, as we're coming from completely different sides (and requirements). In the modern world, it's amazing how many old-school (Business time is more valuable than employee) mindsets still exist. Thanks for taking the time to reply though. I genuinely do appreciate that.
- aaronchall 10y ago
  > My time is just as valuable as yours. The co-founder's time is worth what? They just got investors to hand them millions of dollars over a few meetings, on the assumption that if successful, they'll be worth hundreds of millions one day. You are one of dozens of applicants. Some guys with 20 years have the problem that it was the same year over and over. How do they know your skills are even current and relevant? If you're an experienced programmer, maybe you're going to make $50 to $100 an hour (depending on your market). But if you're applying to multiple firms, wouldn't you put yourself to work at that opportunity cost to differentiate yourself enough to get the job you want? Why wouldn't you be willing to jump through whatever hoops necessary to get the job you want?