3 ms·

> This just devalues cover letters. They already are very low signal. > we will end up that you have to attend an in person interview at some intermediary So

> This just devalues cover letters. They already are very low signal. > we will end up that you have to attend an in person interview at some intermediary So like a recruiting agency that does pre-screening? That is a thing already.

1shooner 4y ago
>They already are very low signal. This must vary a lot on context. For the hiring I've done, they're usually a 'low signal' only because they are so uniformly poor. I do read them, and a cogent, original letter immediately stands out.
zabzonk 4y ago
> They already are very low signal. by no means - when i was doing hiring (not now) cover letter was almost always the most important thing. the cv says what you have done, the cover says what you want to do. > So like a recruiting agency that does pre-screening? That is a thing already. and a very bad thing - i do not want possible good candidates screened out by some chinless-wonder in an agency.
- anigbrowl 4y ago
  I would not be inclined to use AI for this sort of thing, but it's a two-way street. but I can think of many hours spent writing carefully crafted introductory letters only to receive a form letter or nothing at all in return. In the context of job applications, think how many recruitment ads are just a collection of buzzwords and happy talk, while omitting crucial information like pay etc. HR departments are notorious for their low quality of communication.
  - zabzonk 4y ago
    > I can think of many hours spent writing carefully crafted introductory letters only to receive a form letter or nothing at all in return. yes, well, stuff happens. still, i don't think you can beat a good covering letter. > In the context of job applications, think how many recruitment ads are just a collection of buzzwords and happy talk which is why i hated using agencies. my favorite interview memory was (for a c++ role) with a guy who had a degree in ancient greek (anyone fluent in ancient languages seems brilliant to me, as i only have a bit of schoolboy french). anyway, this was for a big 6 accountancy firm, and us programmers had to pass the same IQ tests that the accountants did, adminstered by HR. i amazed them by 100% on the visual/spaciel test - HR girl: "golly, no one has done that before!" though what accountants were to be expected to do with this skill i have no idea. anyway, the guy we were interviewing was given the test papers and a pencil by the HR girl and left him to do it. 5 minutes later he came out of the interview room (i'll call him A): HR: sorry is there a problem? A: i've lost my pencil note this was a very small room. but once provided with another pencil, he did a pretty good job. then he got the techie interview stuff with me (project manager/architect) and J (tech lead). this went well - he obviously knew his stuff. but then he offered to show some of his code for his current project: me/J: cool A: [searches through briefcase] oh, oh god, where is it??? me/J: collapse laughing and we hired him. and he was great. sorry this went on a bit, i had forgot and just rembered. this was about 30 years ago
ajb 4y ago
Yeah, but recruiting agencies suck. Anything that causes more reliance on recruiters is bad for both employers and applicants.

1shooner 4y ago

>They already are very low signal. This must vary a lot on context. For the hiring I've done, they're usually a 'low signal' only because they are so uniformly poor. I do read them, and a cogent, original letter immediately stands out.

zabzonk 4y ago

> They already are very low signal. by no means - when i was doing hiring (not now) cover letter was almost always the most important thing. the cv says what you have done, the cover says what you want to do. > So like a recruiting agency that does pre-screening? That is a thing already. and a very bad thing - i do not want possible good candidates screened out by some chinless-wonder in an agency.

anigbrowl 4y ago
I would not be inclined to use AI for this sort of thing, but it's a two-way street. but I can think of many hours spent writing carefully crafted introductory letters only to receive a form letter or nothing at all in return. In the context of job applications, think how many recruitment ads are just a collection of buzzwords and happy talk, while omitting crucial information like pay etc. HR departments are notorious for their low quality of communication.
- zabzonk 4y ago
  > I can think of many hours spent writing carefully crafted introductory letters only to receive a form letter or nothing at all in return. yes, well, stuff happens. still, i don't think you can beat a good covering letter. > In the context of job applications, think how many recruitment ads are just a collection of buzzwords and happy talk which is why i hated using agencies. my favorite interview memory was (for a c++ role) with a guy who had a degree in ancient greek (anyone fluent in ancient languages seems brilliant to me, as i only have a bit of schoolboy french). anyway, this was for a big 6 accountancy firm, and us programmers had to pass the same IQ tests that the accountants did, adminstered by HR. i amazed them by 100% on the visual/spaciel test - HR girl: "golly, no one has done that before!" though what accountants were to be expected to do with this skill i have no idea. anyway, the guy we were interviewing was given the test papers and a pencil by the HR girl and left him to do it. 5 minutes later he came out of the interview room (i'll call him A): HR: sorry is there a problem? A: i've lost my pencil note this was a very small room. but once provided with another pencil, he did a pretty good job. then he got the techie interview stuff with me (project manager/architect) and J (tech lead). this went well - he obviously knew his stuff. but then he offered to show some of his code for his current project: me/J: cool A: [searches through briefcase] oh, oh god, where is it??? me/J: collapse laughing and we hired him. and he was great. sorry this went on a bit, i had forgot and just rembered. this was about 30 years ago

ajb 4y ago

Yeah, but recruiting agencies suck. Anything that causes more reliance on recruiters is bad for both employers and applicants.