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Show HN: Applying for jobs? Manage all your interviews in one place

306 points by ohsik 8y ago

sandGorgon 8y ago
This is super-compelling.... if you can add a lightweight ATS on the other side. It is very hard for recruiters to remember all the people that they have interviewed. But if you give them that functionality, you have the potential to kill all the ATS out there by going from the interviewee side of things. Kind of like Github for interviews!
- soneca 8y ago
  That would be nice! Candidates asking permission to audio record their interviews and upload on the site as a portfolio. Recruiters listen to those interviews and can be much more assertive on their recommendations!
- ohsik 8y ago
  thanks for the comment! I thought about something like that too and believe there's something I can do on that side.
- taude 8y ago
  I had a business that was a modern ATS. Then lever.co [1] came along, and I don't even think their business survived on the software alone as they had to transition into a full service recruiting/hiring company (but I could be wrong about this). [1] https://www.lever.co/ https://www.lever.co/
coolboy93290 8y ago
Great idea. I am jealous. I thought of this exact same thing. The issue is: how to make money? It is difficult to charge the broke job seeker [ironically, it wont be the guy flush with offers using this app - it will be the guy struggling]. On the other hand, it is difficult to charge the recruiters unless you have the linkedin type volume. Even if you do, recruiters wont like the quality since these interviewees are struggling so hard they need an app to track failed interviews.
WestCoastJustin 8y ago
How do you plan on making money? My concern would be that you need to be extremely upfront about what data you're collecting and if you're selling it back to these companies whom the person interviewed with (even if anonymized). This is a very personal exchange between an employee and employer that could have significant impact on employment negotiations. For example, I might not want employer A, knowing that I'm also interviewing with employer B/C/D, unless I choose to use it for negotiation. This could be used to target folks into lower paying jobs if they don't have prospects, multiple offers, etc. I'm not trying to be harsh here or blow up your idea. Maybe it's a totally free app. I'm not sure. But, if you are selling user data, you could be inadvertently increasing companies bargaining power through hidden knowledge of what someone is doing too. If a company uses this added data on me, and gets me to take an offer that's 30k less per year, and I stay there 4 years, that ends up costing me 120k over 4 years (30k*4y) all for using an interview note taking app.
- ohsik 8y ago
  Thank you for the comment! To be honest with you, I didn't expect to get this much traction but that's something I have been thinking about a lot lately for the future of the product. I'm still not sure the exact path of monetizing the product yet but I know I want After Interview to help people to get the job they want rather than selling data to companies. Currently, companies can claim their company pages but exchange for uploading a company logo, description and maybe job listing.
  - rjpr 8y ago
    On your FAQ page you say "This will require a monthly subscription fee for companies". What does the company get in exchange for the monthly subscription fee?
    - strken 8y ago
      You could use the fact that a candidate has been verified to have interviews at a FAANG to let other tech companies poach them. Maybe a footer saying "Have you considered ACME Corp? (sponsored)" with a bidding system based on where they're interviewing or have interviewed. Would HN consider that an invasion of privacy?
flog 8y ago
I've been noodling on this product idea for about 6 months now, but never gotten around to building it. Drat, but congrats on doing it. One killer feature I would propose is to help candidates weigh up multiple offers; salary, equity, commute time, enjoyment, advancement, etc.
- wolco 8y ago
  Don't let someone first to market halt your project. Use his product gather your feedback and make it better.
- fhbdukfrh 8y ago
  Is that really a killer feature though? Seems more like a series of conversations with those important people in your life vs. Some sort of optimization algorithm. And rather than have competition destroy your idea, take it as one data point towards validation.
  - taude 8y ago
    And are people really getting that many offers that they have a hard time deciding? Usually there's some chemistry with the company....
- ohsik 8y ago
  Thank you for the comment! one of my colleagues suggested the same feature today :) I think that might be a killer feature too.
- maybeiambatman 8y ago
  Paysa (http://www.paysa.com/ http://www.paysa.com/) does this killer feature you speak of well imo. I have used them in the past.
asien 8y ago
Would love to use this , but I’m sure this is one those many rushed applications with the startup mentality. Personal and Senstitive data is probably stored in a totally unencrypted manner and developers have unrestricted access to production. We’ve seen what happens in terms of security when you give something like Firebase to startups « developers »[0] Love the concept , but I Care more about privacy. [0] https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/252443616/Unprotected-Firebase-databases-leaked-over-100-million-records https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/252443616/Unprote...
- rpedela 8y ago
  Do you have evidence or are you just being unnecessarily unkind?
  - officialchicken 8y ago
    I don't think it's an unfair assessment about potential or actual security. And it's a fair critique. Whether it's a legitimate concern based on this particular implementation is another matter, but they are correct in that work history is probably sensitive personal history, perhaps not secretive. And there is evidence attached to the OP post - it's the link marked [0].
    - rpedela 8y ago
      This thread is about this specific app/idea/team. It is not about potential security problems in general. The parent could have just asked "what is the security and privacy?" rather than make baseless assumptions and accusations. So no, it is not a fair critique without more information and I don't see how an article about unsecured Firebase databases is related given the current information. I can give you a similar article about unsecured, internet accessible Elasticsearch servers, but does that mean the ones I run are unsecured? You could assume that if you want but that would be an incorrect assumption.
      - fhbdukfrh 8y ago
css 8y ago
I just made a spreadsheet I added to over time to track this type of stuff for myself. It is interesting to see the process in a graph [0]. Would be really interesting to see this data aggregated for industries or specific positions. [0] https://i.imgur.com/NnzXT6K.jpg https://i.imgur.com/NnzXT6K.jpg
- duiker101 8y ago
  Wow that's a lot of applications. I am actually shocked. How come? Are you not getting the jobs or are you striving for the perfect position? Were all those applications hand crafter for each position?
  - junkie12 8y ago
    They might have attended a dev bootcamp. The one I went to required you send out 20-30 applications a week until you got a job.
    - css 8y ago
      Answered in my other comment.
  - css 8y ago
    This was for my first job out of college. I just chalked it up to only having three internships and no real work experience. For jobs I found especially interesting I would adjust resume headings and the contents of my cover letter. The financial analyst market in LA is quite saturated, evidently, and people would rather hire MBAs with no experience than undergrads. The other problem was that many firms' HR departments do not understand the difference between "financial analyst" and "accountant," which is significant. Most of the interviews came from younger tech firms, which were more lenient (and also willing to hire less experienced individuals due to budget constraints).
  - ryanklee 8y ago
    His numbers track closely to mine when I had only an unrelated career behind me. 300~ applications. ~25 actual rejections. ~15 phone interviews. ~5 onsites. ~1 accepted. It felt both necessary and successful, considering the junior dev market is flooded and treacherous.
TarpitCarnivore 8y ago
I have been doing this recently with AirTable using a template I got via twitter thread: https://twitter.com/kwuchu/status/1032007263026864128 https://twitter.com/kwuchu/status/1032007263026864128 I've found it helps me keep much better track and stay on top of where everything is with recruiters.
decebalus1 8y ago
Show HN: Selling shovels in a gold rush
philsnow 8y ago
All my job searches have been fairly intensive, switching between a notes file of some kind or a spreadsheet-alike and dozens of browser tabs (job req pages for companies I'm interested in, tabs of research on each company, etc). Conversely, whenever I'm trying to get real work done on my phone I feel like I'm looking at and using the internet through a drinking straw. The interface just doesn't have enough bandwidth. However, maybe there's a crop of people who don't feel this way and actually prefer phone apps? I'm definitely not going to tell these folks they're "doing it wrong", but they're ignoring at least some segment of the market if they only have a phone app.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- mgkimsal 8y ago
  I have similar thoughts. Years ago I had a big job search, and over a few weeks had more than 80 applications out - had a job posting page, some notes, etc. I kept track in a spreadsheet, but it was bothersome. Later when I start freelancing (years later) I put together a tool, wrapped it in a dotcom - appliedto.com, then later a slightly more generic version - outreachto.com. Wanted to do email 'send as', and got bit hung up on making that work well (at the time, yahoo and web outlook were just PITA non-starters - I've done a bit more with outlook now and it's a bit better). I've considered revisiting this service, but could never quite figure out any monetization. As others have mentioned, people who are looking for work are often cash strapped (or at least more mindful). Making it in to a bit more a a 'job crm' maybe...? Freemium, with sample cover letters and templates? What I needed this for was for keeping track of which versions of resumes I'd sent to people, having multiple versions already written and uploaded, and email templates that I could save and reuse. I don't really want to be hijacking this thread, but... at the same time, any feedback on these from the gallery would be appreciated. (and... no doubt there's some security stuff I need to revisit soon - it's an older codebase).
grogenaut 8y ago
Wondering what companies from FANG give feedback. I am specifically not allowed to give any for HR reasons. There are situations where it can be very frustrating but it's what it is.
- taude 8y ago
  Or, any company in general. We're not a FANG, and we don't give interviewees feedback after they interview, even when they write us (as a hiring manager). And our HR recruiters likely give an innocuously bane reason for not hiring the person.
  - grogenaut 8y ago
    yeah I only said FANG because the examples were all FANG... but come to think of it it's just common sense legally.
- xeroaura 8y ago
  Amazon doesn't give any due to HR policies. Google gave me some general feedback, like what I was lacking in during on-site coding interview that got me knocked out.
aphextron 8y ago
Has anyone else had a hell of a time finding a job in SF lately? It seems like there is so much competition now I literally can't even get an in-person interview. It's a total shift from 5 years ago when people were begging you to come in after a quick phone screen. Now it's nothing but automated responses with Triplebyte quizzes and getting ghosted.
- paxy 8y ago
  I haven't felt this at all. What companies are you applying to? How much experience do you have?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - aphextron 8y ago
    >I haven't felt this at all. What companies are you applying to? How much experience do you have? Mostly mid-size startups. I have 5 years experience as a front end dev, but being self taught with no degree I look pretty bad on paper. It's never been a problem for me in the past, but it seems like the market for mid-level self taught developers is drying up.
    - bruncun 8y ago
      From Miami, but in the exact same boat. 4 yrs xp, FE, self-taught, having trouble for the first time finding a startup gig.
    - nbardy 8y ago
      I have the same qualifications as you. And the same struggle getting my foot in the door. I used Triplebyte and it was fantastic. If you can pass their interview it's worth doing.
      - paulgrant999 8y ago
        Why? What actual benefits did you receive?
rodolphoarruda 8y ago
I believe the big challenge for any job seeker is to get the interview in the first place. I'd love to see an app that could provide me with insights about my resume, and how it stands against the type of job I'm looking for.
- doodhwala 8y ago
  Jobscan (https://www.jobscan.co/ https://www.jobscan.co/) might be helpful. It scores your resume based on a pasted job description.
mrleiter 8y ago
Great idea! I guess you are open to input if you post here: 1) afterInterview is a bit of an ugly name. Maybe shorten it to afterview? 2) How do you intend to monetize? I can only think of what u/WestCoastJustin said: data. But then you'd need to be more open about that in these days I think, people are more suspicions, especially the one who are first-movers. 2a) if not data, make users pay for your services. Maybe on a monthly basis - but you would need to implement that right away, bc later it'll be hard. 0) Good luck!
- mikepurvis 8y ago
  Monthly payments has the same conflicted incentive issue that paid dating sites have: success is ultimately the loss of a customer.
  - mrleiter 8y ago
    True! Never thought about that. Indeed conflicting.
DataInSolutions 8y ago
The app looks nice but I hate doing any kind of data entry on an app. You might consider making a web based version, then it could be accessed on desktop as well.
ohsik 8y ago
Thank you all for the comments and upvotes! I really appreciated it! Didn't really expect this to happen at all lol. I will come back tonight to answer all your questions but my lunch break is over and I need to go back to work rn :)
mavilia 8y ago
Any plans on adding an ability to import job applications? I would love to switch to your product but unfortunately I already have a Google Sheets document with about 60+ applied companies and 50 rejected. If there were a way for me to at least import the company names that would make it easier to switch.
ultrasounder 8y ago
Wait.How does one give feedback to the interviewer? Thought even as the interviewee, getting post interview feedback is not your prerogative. Am I missing something here. Also someone posted this a while back essentially for the same purpose of tracking various interviews and feedbackshttps://jobhound.io https://jobhound.io
m1cl 8y ago
why should I give them my data?
m1cl 8y ago
SCAM
tozeur 8y ago
This honestly seems so overkill. Just use a spreadsheet?
the_clarence 8y ago
I need the same stuff but for managing agents and apartments I’m looking at. Creating these kind of tools are really good ideas for disrupting the markets. Because once you get the users you get everything.
justboxing 8y ago
> Interview feedback - Give interview feedback to your interviewer and get feedback back. I'd be very surprised (and impressed) if any interviewer gives honest feedback on the interview, in writing (via the app), esp. in cases where candidate was rejected / didn't receive an offer. Cos that would have a discrimination lawsuit written all over it. HR and/or Recruiters also never gives candid feedback for the same reason. Because if they do, someone will eventually sue the company for discrimination. Ex: The most common cookie cutter response for rejection based on ageism is "We really loved you, but unfortunate there wasn't a cultural fit."
- marcell 8y ago
  I'm seeing more companies do this, actually. For example Dropbox gave me very specific and helpful rejection feedback. I'm sure they have guidelines in place to make sure they don't invite lawsuit. It was all strictly about my performance on specific questions. Also they tend to do it over the phone, again I assume to reduce chance of lawsuits.
- BadassFractal 8y ago
  Only takes one physical threat from a rejected candidate with a bruised ego to never want to provide people with feedback again. The returns are just not there.
  - dabockster 8y ago
    You would take it personally? I would just call the cops on the reject then move on with my life.
  - kanyethegreat 8y ago
    Seriously, there's zero upside for them providing feedback. Just potential liability. I don't understand why this got so many upvotes...
- devmunchies 8y ago
  I got clear feedback from Google, Box, and Clearbit about what they didn’t like about the on-sites in my last job search 2 months ago. At google I did bad in one of the technical questions (they told me which), box said I didn’t seem excited about the company (true), and Clearbit said I wasn’t able to implement a simple solution to a complex problem (because I was forced to use ruby and was rusty).
toyg 8y ago
Dude, 1) how do I delete my account? Pretty sure GDPR won't like not having a button for it. 2) you should probably test the UI a bit more with different settings. The top buttons, on my iphone 6s with bold text enabled, don't fit on one line.
nukleosome 8y ago
looks good but it's worrying it got approved by apple/app store (and some users) without a privacy policy
antisthenes 8y ago
Getting an interview is the biggest hurdle. I can usually count the number of interviews with my fingers, at least from the companies I'd want to work for - that is, it's usually under 5, most often 2-3, sometimes just 1. Definitely don't need another login/app to manage them.
- Aeolun 8y ago
  I see you are in a luxury position.
Improvotter 8y ago
Tbf, are there many people who use their phone for applying to jobs? Why not a desktop app? What as your thought process?
- Woofles 8y ago
  While you're probably correct right now, one way that he could begin monetizing it is becoming a recruiting platform that's largely phone based. I think more and more people are moving towards doing most things on mobile platforms, so why not job interviews?
nil_pointer 8y ago
Great idea for an app, not sure how you can make money with this though.
forgotmypw 8y ago
Can you explain which part of your website requires JavaScript so much as to make it inaccessible to those browsing with JS disabled?
- newuser6969 8y ago
  Seconded. I appreciate javascript unnecessary sites. Although, if something really requires js im okay with it. Theres some demos i have on my personal site that straight uo require js which i think is fine
arthurofbabylon 8y ago
Stay focused through the next economic recession.
tixocloud 8y ago
Side note: very nice graphics. Where did you have them designed?
tixocloud 8y ago
Side note: very nice graphics. Where did you design them?
r3vrse 8y ago
Honest feedback: I don't see how this succeeds without integration with existing applicant workflows. The cognitive overhead of another app to store data, manually update status etc is high. If e.g. Monster or Indeed launched this as a value-add to existing functionality it would be big, but i'm not going to make the effort you're asking for in isolation.
- dabockster 8y ago
  I think this is geared more for the applicant than the employer. So ATS integration really shouldn't be a priority.
tandles 8y ago
Yo. Let’s chat about this. I’ve built something very related!
tandles 8y ago
Hey, let’s chat about this. I built a product that is related/similar!
sizzle 8y ago
Seems like Microsoft Excel or Google sheets does the same job or am I missing something here?
- puranjay 8y ago
  So many apps just seem like Excel with a better UI.
kanyethegreat 8y ago
I swear that I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but can someone help me understand what's so spectacular about this? I don't understand why it got so many upvotes. How is this more than a list view of companies you've applied to? The company can send a decision through the app, but how is that better than them just sending an email? If this app resulted in feedback being given at a higher frequency, I could see the value add, but most companies don't give feedback for liability reasons. Legitimately curious why anyone cares about this. What am I missing?
- Secretmapper 8y ago
  I completely agree with you. I couldn't believe the description, that I had to go to the FAQ to confirm what actually happens is what was described - a link companies can use to review. How is this better than email? I mean I wish success and everything but I just can't see anyone bothering using it.
xor_ax_ax 8y ago
Initial dating ought to be managed similarly... meet lots of people and filter down from there.
MotwaniSuhas 8y ago
hirepool.io is pretty good too
dzwillia 8y ago
Interesting idea! I'm also curious about the business model here. It seems like if you were to aggregate a certain set of metrics and then have each use rate each company for a given position, you could put together some sort of metric which might be useful a) to the companies that are doing the interviewing and/or b) to other folks that are applying for the same position. Curious to see where you go with this...
bmarch 8y ago
“See what companies give interview feedback to their candidates for last 30 days” This should be ‘gave’ or ‘have given’ instead of ‘give’.
nstj 8y ago
I’m a developer and also have a recruitment consultancy for engineers. Don’t listen to what everyone says about monetisation, there are literally dozens of ways you can make money from this. Super awesome you’re getting so many upvotes! It seems like a very useful product. I’ll aim to send some more detailed feedback from an industry perspective separately. Again - really nice work!
michaelchris 8y ago
It can't accept email address that does not end with .com. My email address ends with .space.
hk__2 8y ago
Some feedback: - you should use a link in your confirmation email; nobody wants to copy/paste a confirmation code from an email. - why do I have to give my first and last name just to list my interviews? - location would be helpful. I’m in France; I don’t really care about the response rate of US companies
austincheney 8y ago
I find this to be a rather strange idea. If I want feedback on my interview then I simply contact the interviewer and ask for feedback. When interviewing with many places simultaneously the only differentiator that has determined job acceptance is the speed with which an offer letter was presented after the interview and the employer benefits.
ratiolat 8y ago
I tried to to use the app but cannot, since it does not accept my e-mail address which contains a + sign

306 points by ohsik 8y ago

This is super-compelling.... if you can add a lightweight ATS on the other side. It is very hard for recruiters to remember all the people that they have interviewed. But if you give them that functionality, you have the potential to kill all the ATS out there by going from the interviewee side of things. Kind of like Github for interviews!

soneca 8y ago
That would be nice! Candidates asking permission to audio record their interviews and upload on the site as a portfolio. Recruiters listen to those interviews and can be much more assertive on their recommendations!
ohsik 8y ago
thanks for the comment! I thought about something like that too and believe there's something I can do on that side.
taude 8y ago
I had a business that was a modern ATS. Then lever.co [1] came along, and I don't even think their business survived on the software alone as they had to transition into a full service recruiting/hiring company (but I could be wrong about this). [1] https://www.lever.co/ https://www.lever.co/

coolboy93290 8y ago

Great idea. I am jealous. I thought of this exact same thing. The issue is: how to make money? It is difficult to charge the broke job seeker [ironically, it wont be the guy flush with offers using this app - it will be the guy struggling]. On the other hand, it is difficult to charge the recruiters unless you have the linkedin type volume. Even if you do, recruiters wont like the quality since these interviewees are struggling so hard they need an app to track failed interviews.

WestCoastJustin 8y ago

How do you plan on making money? My concern would be that you need to be extremely upfront about what data you're collecting and if you're selling it back to these companies whom the person interviewed with (even if anonymized). This is a very personal exchange between an employee and employer that could have significant impact on employment negotiations. For example, I might not want employer A, knowing that I'm also interviewing with employer B/C/D, unless I choose to use it for negotiation. This could be used to target folks into lower paying jobs if they don't have prospects, multiple offers, etc. I'm not trying to be harsh here or blow up your idea. Maybe it's a totally free app. I'm not sure. But, if you are selling user data, you could be inadvertently increasing companies bargaining power through hidden knowledge of what someone is doing too. If a company uses this added data on me, and gets me to take an offer that's 30k less per year, and I stay there 4 years, that ends up costing me 120k over 4 years (30k*4y) all for using an interview note taking app.

ohsik 8y ago
Thank you for the comment! To be honest with you, I didn't expect to get this much traction but that's something I have been thinking about a lot lately for the future of the product. I'm still not sure the exact path of monetizing the product yet but I know I want After Interview to help people to get the job they want rather than selling data to companies. Currently, companies can claim their company pages but exchange for uploading a company logo, description and maybe job listing.
- rjpr 8y ago
  On your FAQ page you say "This will require a monthly subscription fee for companies". What does the company get in exchange for the monthly subscription fee?
  - strken 8y ago
    You could use the fact that a candidate has been verified to have interviews at a FAANG to let other tech companies poach them. Maybe a footer saying "Have you considered ACME Corp? (sponsored)" with a bidding system based on where they're interviewing or have interviewed. Would HN consider that an invasion of privacy?

flog 8y ago

I've been noodling on this product idea for about 6 months now, but never gotten around to building it. Drat, but congrats on doing it. One killer feature I would propose is to help candidates weigh up multiple offers; salary, equity, commute time, enjoyment, advancement, etc.

wolco 8y ago
Don't let someone first to market halt your project. Use his product gather your feedback and make it better.
fhbdukfrh 8y ago
Is that really a killer feature though? Seems more like a series of conversations with those important people in your life vs. Some sort of optimization algorithm. And rather than have competition destroy your idea, take it as one data point towards validation.
- taude 8y ago
  And are people really getting that many offers that they have a hard time deciding? Usually there's some chemistry with the company....
ohsik 8y ago
Thank you for the comment! one of my colleagues suggested the same feature today :) I think that might be a killer feature too.
maybeiambatman 8y ago
Paysa (http://www.paysa.com/ http://www.paysa.com/) does this killer feature you speak of well imo. I have used them in the past.

asien 8y ago

Would love to use this , but I’m sure this is one those many rushed applications with the startup mentality. Personal and Senstitive data is probably stored in a totally unencrypted manner and developers have unrestricted access to production. We’ve seen what happens in terms of security when you give something like Firebase to startups « developers »[0] Love the concept , but I Care more about privacy. [0] https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/252443616/Unprotected-Firebase-databases-leaked-over-100-million-records https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/252443616/Unprote...

rpedela 8y ago
Do you have evidence or are you just being unnecessarily unkind?
- officialchicken 8y ago
  I don't think it's an unfair assessment about potential or actual security. And it's a fair critique. Whether it's a legitimate concern based on this particular implementation is another matter, but they are correct in that work history is probably sensitive personal history, perhaps not secretive. And there is evidence attached to the OP post - it's the link marked [0].
  - rpedela 8y ago
    This thread is about this specific app/idea/team. It is not about potential security problems in general. The parent could have just asked "what is the security and privacy?" rather than make baseless assumptions and accusations. So no, it is not a fair critique without more information and I don't see how an article about unsecured Firebase databases is related given the current information. I can give you a similar article about unsecured, internet accessible Elasticsearch servers, but does that mean the ones I run are unsecured? You could assume that if you want but that would be an incorrect assumption.
    - fhbdukfrh 8y ago

css 8y ago

I just made a spreadsheet I added to over time to track this type of stuff for myself. It is interesting to see the process in a graph [0]. Would be really interesting to see this data aggregated for industries or specific positions. [0] https://i.imgur.com/NnzXT6K.jpg https://i.imgur.com/NnzXT6K.jpg

duiker101 8y ago
Wow that's a lot of applications. I am actually shocked. How come? Are you not getting the jobs or are you striving for the perfect position? Were all those applications hand crafter for each position?
- junkie12 8y ago
  They might have attended a dev bootcamp. The one I went to required you send out 20-30 applications a week until you got a job.
  - css 8y ago
    Answered in my other comment.
- css 8y ago
  This was for my first job out of college. I just chalked it up to only having three internships and no real work experience. For jobs I found especially interesting I would adjust resume headings and the contents of my cover letter. The financial analyst market in LA is quite saturated, evidently, and people would rather hire MBAs with no experience than undergrads. The other problem was that many firms' HR departments do not understand the difference between "financial analyst" and "accountant," which is significant. Most of the interviews came from younger tech firms, which were more lenient (and also willing to hire less experienced individuals due to budget constraints).
- ryanklee 8y ago
  His numbers track closely to mine when I had only an unrelated career behind me. 300~ applications. ~25 actual rejections. ~15 phone interviews. ~5 onsites. ~1 accepted. It felt both necessary and successful, considering the junior dev market is flooded and treacherous.

TarpitCarnivore 8y ago

I have been doing this recently with AirTable using a template I got via twitter thread: https://twitter.com/kwuchu/status/1032007263026864128 https://twitter.com/kwuchu/status/1032007263026864128 I've found it helps me keep much better track and stay on top of where everything is with recruiters.

decebalus1 8y ago

Show HN: Selling shovels in a gold rush

philsnow 8y ago

All my job searches have been fairly intensive, switching between a notes file of some kind or a spreadsheet-alike and dozens of browser tabs (job req pages for companies I'm interested in, tabs of research on each company, etc). Conversely, whenever I'm trying to get real work done on my phone I feel like I'm looking at and using the internet through a drinking straw. The interface just doesn't have enough bandwidth. However, maybe there's a crop of people who don't feel this way and actually prefer phone apps? I'm definitely not going to tell these folks they're "doing it wrong", but they're ignoring at least some segment of the market if they only have a phone app.

deleted 8y ago
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mgkimsal 8y ago
I have similar thoughts. Years ago I had a big job search, and over a few weeks had more than 80 applications out - had a job posting page, some notes, etc. I kept track in a spreadsheet, but it was bothersome. Later when I start freelancing (years later) I put together a tool, wrapped it in a dotcom - appliedto.com, then later a slightly more generic version - outreachto.com. Wanted to do email 'send as', and got bit hung up on making that work well (at the time, yahoo and web outlook were just PITA non-starters - I've done a bit more with outlook now and it's a bit better). I've considered revisiting this service, but could never quite figure out any monetization. As others have mentioned, people who are looking for work are often cash strapped (or at least more mindful). Making it in to a bit more a a 'job crm' maybe...? Freemium, with sample cover letters and templates? What I needed this for was for keeping track of which versions of resumes I'd sent to people, having multiple versions already written and uploaded, and email templates that I could save and reuse. I don't really want to be hijacking this thread, but... at the same time, any feedback on these from the gallery would be appreciated. (and... no doubt there's some security stuff I need to revisit soon - it's an older codebase).

grogenaut 8y ago

Wondering what companies from FANG give feedback. I am specifically not allowed to give any for HR reasons. There are situations where it can be very frustrating but it's what it is.

taude 8y ago
Or, any company in general. We're not a FANG, and we don't give interviewees feedback after they interview, even when they write us (as a hiring manager). And our HR recruiters likely give an innocuously bane reason for not hiring the person.
- grogenaut 8y ago
  yeah I only said FANG because the examples were all FANG... but come to think of it it's just common sense legally.
xeroaura 8y ago
Amazon doesn't give any due to HR policies. Google gave me some general feedback, like what I was lacking in during on-site coding interview that got me knocked out.

aphextron 8y ago

Has anyone else had a hell of a time finding a job in SF lately? It seems like there is so much competition now I literally can't even get an in-person interview. It's a total shift from 5 years ago when people were begging you to come in after a quick phone screen. Now it's nothing but automated responses with Triplebyte quizzes and getting ghosted.

paxy 8y ago
I haven't felt this at all. What companies are you applying to? How much experience do you have?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- aphextron 8y ago
  >I haven't felt this at all. What companies are you applying to? How much experience do you have? Mostly mid-size startups. I have 5 years experience as a front end dev, but being self taught with no degree I look pretty bad on paper. It's never been a problem for me in the past, but it seems like the market for mid-level self taught developers is drying up.
  - bruncun 8y ago
    From Miami, but in the exact same boat. 4 yrs xp, FE, self-taught, having trouble for the first time finding a startup gig.
  - nbardy 8y ago
    I have the same qualifications as you. And the same struggle getting my foot in the door. I used Triplebyte and it was fantastic. If you can pass their interview it's worth doing.
    - paulgrant999 8y ago
      Why? What actual benefits did you receive?

rodolphoarruda 8y ago

I believe the big challenge for any job seeker is to get the interview in the first place. I'd love to see an app that could provide me with insights about my resume, and how it stands against the type of job I'm looking for.

doodhwala 8y ago
Jobscan (https://www.jobscan.co/ https://www.jobscan.co/) might be helpful. It scores your resume based on a pasted job description.

mrleiter 8y ago

Great idea! I guess you are open to input if you post here: 1) afterInterview is a bit of an ugly name. Maybe shorten it to afterview? 2) How do you intend to monetize? I can only think of what u/WestCoastJustin said: data. But then you'd need to be more open about that in these days I think, people are more suspicions, especially the one who are first-movers. 2a) if not data, make users pay for your services. Maybe on a monthly basis - but you would need to implement that right away, bc later it'll be hard. 0) Good luck!

mikepurvis 8y ago
Monthly payments has the same conflicted incentive issue that paid dating sites have: success is ultimately the loss of a customer.
- mrleiter 8y ago
  True! Never thought about that. Indeed conflicting.

DataInSolutions 8y ago

The app looks nice but I hate doing any kind of data entry on an app. You might consider making a web based version, then it could be accessed on desktop as well.

ohsik 8y ago

Thank you all for the comments and upvotes! I really appreciated it! Didn't really expect this to happen at all lol. I will come back tonight to answer all your questions but my lunch break is over and I need to go back to work rn :)

mavilia 8y ago

Any plans on adding an ability to import job applications? I would love to switch to your product but unfortunately I already have a Google Sheets document with about 60+ applied companies and 50 rejected. If there were a way for me to at least import the company names that would make it easier to switch.

ultrasounder 8y ago

Wait.How does one give feedback to the interviewer? Thought even as the interviewee, getting post interview feedback is not your prerogative. Am I missing something here. Also someone posted this a while back essentially for the same purpose of tracking various interviews and feedbackshttps://jobhound.io https://jobhound.io

m1cl 8y ago

why should I give them my data?

m1cl 8y ago

SCAM

tozeur 8y ago

This honestly seems so overkill. Just use a spreadsheet?

the_clarence 8y ago

I need the same stuff but for managing agents and apartments I’m looking at. Creating these kind of tools are really good ideas for disrupting the markets. Because once you get the users you get everything.

justboxing 8y ago

> Interview feedback - Give interview feedback to your interviewer and get feedback back. I'd be very surprised (and impressed) if any interviewer gives honest feedback on the interview, in writing (via the app), esp. in cases where candidate was rejected / didn't receive an offer. Cos that would have a discrimination lawsuit written all over it. HR and/or Recruiters also never gives candid feedback for the same reason. Because if they do, someone will eventually sue the company for discrimination. Ex: The most common cookie cutter response for rejection based on ageism is "We really loved you, but unfortunate there wasn't a cultural fit."

marcell 8y ago
I'm seeing more companies do this, actually. For example Dropbox gave me very specific and helpful rejection feedback. I'm sure they have guidelines in place to make sure they don't invite lawsuit. It was all strictly about my performance on specific questions. Also they tend to do it over the phone, again I assume to reduce chance of lawsuits.
BadassFractal 8y ago
Only takes one physical threat from a rejected candidate with a bruised ego to never want to provide people with feedback again. The returns are just not there.
- dabockster 8y ago
  You would take it personally? I would just call the cops on the reject then move on with my life.
- kanyethegreat 8y ago
  Seriously, there's zero upside for them providing feedback. Just potential liability. I don't understand why this got so many upvotes...
devmunchies 8y ago
I got clear feedback from Google, Box, and Clearbit about what they didn’t like about the on-sites in my last job search 2 months ago. At google I did bad in one of the technical questions (they told me which), box said I didn’t seem excited about the company (true), and Clearbit said I wasn’t able to implement a simple solution to a complex problem (because I was forced to use ruby and was rusty).

toyg 8y ago

Dude, 1) how do I delete my account? Pretty sure GDPR won't like not having a button for it. 2) you should probably test the UI a bit more with different settings. The top buttons, on my iphone 6s with bold text enabled, don't fit on one line.

nukleosome 8y ago

looks good but it's worrying it got approved by apple/app store (and some users) without a privacy policy

antisthenes 8y ago

Getting an interview is the biggest hurdle. I can usually count the number of interviews with my fingers, at least from the companies I'd want to work for - that is, it's usually under 5, most often 2-3, sometimes just 1. Definitely don't need another login/app to manage them.

Aeolun 8y ago
I see you are in a luxury position.

Improvotter 8y ago

Tbf, are there many people who use their phone for applying to jobs? Why not a desktop app? What as your thought process?

Woofles 8y ago
While you're probably correct right now, one way that he could begin monetizing it is becoming a recruiting platform that's largely phone based. I think more and more people are moving towards doing most things on mobile platforms, so why not job interviews?

nil_pointer 8y ago

Great idea for an app, not sure how you can make money with this though.

forgotmypw 8y ago

Can you explain which part of your website requires JavaScript so much as to make it inaccessible to those browsing with JS disabled?

newuser6969 8y ago
Seconded. I appreciate javascript unnecessary sites. Although, if something really requires js im okay with it. Theres some demos i have on my personal site that straight uo require js which i think is fine

arthurofbabylon 8y ago

Stay focused through the next economic recession.

tixocloud 8y ago

Side note: very nice graphics. Where did you have them designed?

tixocloud 8y ago

Side note: very nice graphics. Where did you design them?

r3vrse 8y ago

Honest feedback: I don't see how this succeeds without integration with existing applicant workflows. The cognitive overhead of another app to store data, manually update status etc is high. If e.g. Monster or Indeed launched this as a value-add to existing functionality it would be big, but i'm not going to make the effort you're asking for in isolation.

dabockster 8y ago
I think this is geared more for the applicant than the employer. So ATS integration really shouldn't be a priority.

tandles 8y ago

Yo. Let’s chat about this. I’ve built something very related!

tandles 8y ago

Hey, let’s chat about this. I built a product that is related/similar!

sizzle 8y ago

Seems like Microsoft Excel or Google sheets does the same job or am I missing something here?

puranjay 8y ago
So many apps just seem like Excel with a better UI.

kanyethegreat 8y ago

I swear that I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but can someone help me understand what's so spectacular about this? I don't understand why it got so many upvotes. How is this more than a list view of companies you've applied to? The company can send a decision through the app, but how is that better than them just sending an email? If this app resulted in feedback being given at a higher frequency, I could see the value add, but most companies don't give feedback for liability reasons. Legitimately curious why anyone cares about this. What am I missing?

Secretmapper 8y ago
I completely agree with you. I couldn't believe the description, that I had to go to the FAQ to confirm what actually happens is what was described - a link companies can use to review. How is this better than email? I mean I wish success and everything but I just can't see anyone bothering using it.

xor_ax_ax 8y ago

Initial dating ought to be managed similarly... meet lots of people and filter down from there.

MotwaniSuhas 8y ago

hirepool.io is pretty good too

dzwillia 8y ago

Interesting idea! I'm also curious about the business model here. It seems like if you were to aggregate a certain set of metrics and then have each use rate each company for a given position, you could put together some sort of metric which might be useful a) to the companies that are doing the interviewing and/or b) to other folks that are applying for the same position. Curious to see where you go with this...

bmarch 8y ago

“See what companies give interview feedback to their candidates for last 30 days” This should be ‘gave’ or ‘have given’ instead of ‘give’.

nstj 8y ago

I’m a developer and also have a recruitment consultancy for engineers. Don’t listen to what everyone says about monetisation, there are literally dozens of ways you can make money from this. Super awesome you’re getting so many upvotes! It seems like a very useful product. I’ll aim to send some more detailed feedback from an industry perspective separately. Again - really nice work!

michaelchris 8y ago

It can't accept email address that does not end with .com. My email address ends with .space.

hk__2 8y ago

Some feedback: - you should use a link in your confirmation email; nobody wants to copy/paste a confirmation code from an email. - why do I have to give my first and last name just to list my interviews? - location would be helpful. I’m in France; I don’t really care about the response rate of US companies

austincheney 8y ago

I find this to be a rather strange idea. If I want feedback on my interview then I simply contact the interviewer and ask for feedback. When interviewing with many places simultaneously the only differentiator that has determined job acceptance is the speed with which an offer letter was presented after the interview and the employer benefits.

ratiolat 8y ago

I tried to to use the app but cannot, since it does not accept my e-mail address which contains a + sign