4 ms·
Ask HN: posted startup jobs at github, 37sigs, and only 6 resumes?
We posted our startup jobs (pretty great jobs I'd say, exciting startup, well paid) in the best places we could think of:
* 37sigs: http://bit.ly/g24KTD
* Stackoverflow: http://bit.ly/gchGuU
* Github: http://bit.ly/dSzOvu
* and our blog of course http://blog.getgush.com/
Only 6 resumes in a week. Half of them worthless. Is this typical? I would have expected quite a few more applications, these job postings are fairly expensive. How have others faired with these job boards? Is there something wrong with/missing in our job posting?
- petervandijck 16y agoClickables: http://blog.getgush.com/ http://blog.getgush.com/ http://bit.ly/g24KTD http://bit.ly/g24KTD http://bit.ly/gchGuU http://bit.ly/gchGuU http://bit.ly/dSzOvu http://bit.ly/dSzOvu
- kovar 16y agoJust out of curiosity, why did you hide the other URLs behind bit.ly but not your own?
- petervandijck 16y agoThe other were horrendous insults to good url design (even Stackoverflow's). The only one that was reasonable was 37sigs. I didn't really give it any thought, ours would only have been like 2 chars shorter. Or perhaps it was self-promotional instinct :)
- spicyj 16y agoYou can also shorten the StackOverflow one: http://careers.stackoverflow.com/jobs/10660 http://careers.stackoverflow.com/jobs/10660 Also a note, HN automatically truncates overly-long URLs so you don't usually need to worry about pre-shortening.
- bartonfink 16y agoWhat do you do? I care significantly more about that than I do about what technology you use.
- petervandijck 16y agoWe're pre-alpha, so I don't really want to tell the world yet, although I'll tell you all about that in an interview. Does not saying what we do reduce the chances that you'd apply?
- bartonfink 16y agoWell, I can only speak for myself, but I care much more about the problems I'll be solving than I do about the tech I'll be using. CRUD is CRUD whether it's written in FORTRAN or Lisp. It's kind of the bartonfink corollary to Turing-completeness. You can theoretically solve any kind of problem with any language, so unless you want me to write in something that would add no value to my resume (e.g. COBOL) I'm going to consider what you're doing much more than how you're doing it. You say that you've got reasons for not telling the world, and I understand that. However, right now your ad seems to say "Hey, we're using a bunch of new technology to do something. Send us a resume!" Even changing the first paragraph to end "... to design scalable, distributed applications for robotic dental hygiene" gives me an idea about what I'd be working on (robots with floss) and hopefully doesn't give away too much of your stealth edge. As for my application, I am expecting a baby in a little under two months and don't plan on switching jobs at the moment. I am always looking for interesting "5 to 9" work to complement my "9 to 5" and if you can accommodate that I'd love to talk to you. All that is to say that there are other factors at work besides your ad that keep me from applying at the moment.
- mindcrime 16y agoDoes not saying what we do reduce the chances that you'd apply? Reduce? Try "eliminate." I would never bother applying to a company where I don't even know what they're building. If you're that alpha/stealth, you'll probably fare better recruiting locally through referrals from friends / colleagues / former co-workers / local user groups / etc.
- petervandijck 16y agoReally? I'll happily spill the beans during an interview, I just don't want to post it out there just yet (we're barely getting started). Maybe I should reconsider that?
- ryanfitz 16y agoYour posting is too generic. You don't mention what you're working on or why I should be excited to work with you guys. You also make it sound like you use every major programing language/framework out there. Java, javascript, groovy, ruby, python, scala, ios, android, windows mobile its all there plus a bunch of frameworks and other tools. It all makes me have no idea what I would be applying for or to expect, so I personally wouldn't waste my time writing you a story about myself, which you are requesting.
- petervandijck 16y agoThanks, that's good feedback.
- mooism2 16y agoThere's no indication of salary apart from "competitive". "Working remotely is possible." How remote? Would I have to live in Canada? Is USA ok? Further afield? Would you want me to come into the office at least once a week? Once a month? Is "never" ok?
- petervandijck 16y agoYou should be in Canada or move there. Salary is competitive means we tend to pay people more than they ask for. I guess you're saying it's too vague?
- tereno 16y agoI'm based in Toronto but I'll give it a shot nonetheless.
- petervandijck 16y agoToronto is fine, please talk to us :)
- tereno 16y agoTerribly sorry but I have accepted a job offer. I do appreciate the opportunity to talk to you guys though. Good luck finding someone!
- mooism2 16y agoToo vague, yes.
- BenSS 16y agoThe rewrite is a lot better, and specifying Canada was important (dang, I'm job-hunting now and can't apply because of that).
- petervandijck 16y ago
- petervandijck 16y agops: based on the feedback, we're editing the job description to be more practical and say more about the product: http://jobs.github.com/positions/45d7614a-4f24-11e0-9e2f-43f3ee22dd93 http://jobs.github.com/positions/45d7614a-4f24-11e0-9e2f-43f...
- ig1 16y agoLocation. Location. Location. I mentioned this in an article I wrote last week: http://blog.coderstack.co.uk/lean-vs-vc-how-were-taking-on-stack-overflow http://blog.coderstack.co.uk/lean-vs-vc-how-were-taking-on-s... But essentially it comes down to one of the biggest complaints about the job boards you've mentioned is that they charge the same price whichever city your in. Even if they only have a tiny handful of developers who would consider working in your city. Your best bet is to use a specialist local job board if one exists or otherwise reach out through the local startup community.