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> the average number of applications for a job at a publicly traded company is about 250; the average number of people interviewed is five. This sums up the pr

> the average number of applications for a job at a publicly traded company is about 250; the average number of people interviewed is five. This sums up the problem. As an interviewer, you're practically DDoS'd by applicants. There's a lot to do and you don't have time to vet the applicants. Anecdotally, it seems the only way to get to a human is to have referrals or the perfect resume. Ironically, the internet has made people in my life more reliant on who they know IRL to get a job.

fxtentacle 5y ago
It's not even only interviewers. I get at least one proactive job application per week at my small 2-people company. I'm not sure why these people do it, but most of them seem to have spent effort researching my company, so they mention relevant skills. But I'm not planning to hire anyone and I haven't had a job opening posted in years, so in a way it's just manually-written spam to me. In the beginning I still replied to the emails but a few of them started being argumentative or tried to call me, so now I just delete em without reply.
curryst 5y ago
> Anecdotally, it seems the only way to get to a human is to have referrals or the perfect resume. Ironically, the internet has made people in my life more reliant on who they know IRL to get a job. Third-party recruiters will also work, if you get the "headhunter" variety as opposed to the "I've got a 1099 job in Nowhere, Alabama and it pays $3.50 an hour. Interested?" type. The headhunter recruiters also often have jobs from multiple cool places to work. It's super nice to have one point of contact for 2 or 3 different interview processes. Plus more line-skipping. As an interviewer, you don't have time to vet the applicants. A recruiter who's going to get paid 20% of that person's salary does.
- Hermitian909 5y ago
  My experience in software is that finding a good headhunter is as hard, or harder, than finding a good candidate. Most lack the skills to actually make a good assessment and just spam you with resumes. Good headhunters seem to leave the industry or move up to hunting more valuable talent (high six figures and above) after a few years, as far as I can tell.

fxtentacle 5y ago

It's not even only interviewers. I get at least one proactive job application per week at my small 2-people company. I'm not sure why these people do it, but most of them seem to have spent effort researching my company, so they mention relevant skills. But I'm not planning to hire anyone and I haven't had a job opening posted in years, so in a way it's just manually-written spam to me. In the beginning I still replied to the emails but a few of them started being argumentative or tried to call me, so now I just delete em without reply.

curryst 5y ago

> Anecdotally, it seems the only way to get to a human is to have referrals or the perfect resume. Ironically, the internet has made people in my life more reliant on who they know IRL to get a job. Third-party recruiters will also work, if you get the "headhunter" variety as opposed to the "I've got a 1099 job in Nowhere, Alabama and it pays $3.50 an hour. Interested?" type. The headhunter recruiters also often have jobs from multiple cool places to work. It's super nice to have one point of contact for 2 or 3 different interview processes. Plus more line-skipping. As an interviewer, you don't have time to vet the applicants. A recruiter who's going to get paid 20% of that person's salary does.

Hermitian909 5y ago
My experience in software is that finding a good headhunter is as hard, or harder, than finding a good candidate. Most lack the skills to actually make a good assessment and just spam you with resumes. Good headhunters seem to leave the industry or move up to hunting more valuable talent (high six figures and above) after a few years, as far as I can tell.