6 ms·

They don't think it's very important, apparently, as they completely ignored my application for a recruiting engineer they advertised here. An automated courte

by gergles 15y ago

They don't think it's very important, apparently, as they completely ignored my application for a recruiting engineer they advertised here. An automated courtesy email is the bare minimum of acceptable, and when they can't even get that right, platitudes of "only hire someone you'd hang out with on Sunday" ring hollow. I wouldn't hang out on Sunday with someone who completely ignores job applicants.

anurag 15y ago
We respond individually to everyone who contacts us -- I'm really sorry we missed your application. Mind sending me an email so we can figure out what happened? I'm anurag@stripe.com.
- igorsyl 15y ago
  I'm surprised so much effort was placed on the CTF competition yet it seems little thought was placed on collecting applicant information. The conversion funnel is as weak as its weakest link.
- gergles 15y ago
  I sent two emails during the app process; I was a bit worried after the first one so I sent a second one about a week later. Message ids: <CAETzaFkOzgx46pHttRy3TE6WU6TEfD0p4WmtM0ZhRz5OXVHmRQ@mail.gmail.com> (sent Mar 23) <CAETzaFmPjK7NDBS5X_B9R0qjiqEoWZNOZ=LKtFp=QhBUZe_8HA@mail.gmail.com> (sent Mar 29) I'm sure you guys have hired someone else by now, but still, one of the suggestions I had in the email was a real ATS. :) That's absolutely something you should do (or at an absolute minimum, an autoreply that it was received -- then in the ads, you can say "If you don't get an automatic response, we didn't get your email")
trefn 15y ago
As someone who filters resumes, this is something I haven't figured out how to handle and am quite curious about. If the company can tell from your resume + cover letter that you aren't a good fit for the position, what would you want to hear back? Brutal honesty? Lame corporate speak? Silence?
- furyofantares 15y ago
  Honesty.
  - j_baker 15y ago
    Unfortunately, honesty is the last thing Silicon Valley's hiring system is set up for. Employers expect you to tell you what they want to hear, not the honest truth. This means that the people they tend to hire will either be someone who either is lucky enough to think just like them or is willing to tell them everything they want to hear. And God forbid you express any opinions that would make you a "bad cultural fit". Companies give people they don't hire polite platitudes to avoid hurt feelings and legal issues. In short, if you expect honesty in a job search, you'll be disappointed.
    - furyofantares 15y ago
      Where I work, we put a lot of effort into giving honest, actionable feedback to anyone we interview or phone screen. (We don't do it if we choose not to phone screen someone, though.) We tell you why we didn't proceed and what we think you could do to make a difference if you choose to try again in a few years. This is for our own benefit as much as the job seeker's. We don't want to leave a sour or even neutral taste in someone's mouth just because it didn't work out. Someone who is a bad fit now might be a good fit in the future, as they change or as we change, or we might be wrong that they are a bad fit now.
    - igorsyl 15y ago
      My experience is that east coast companies are more upfront about all of this compared to west coast companies.
- evincarofautumn 15y ago
  Honesty, though not necessarily brutal. When it’s possible to offer them, specific constructive criticisms are great. Critique can help a candidate improve themselves—or improve how they present themselves, in case they’re very well qualified but just awful at putting together a résumé. Just be polite about it.
igorsyl 15y ago
1+ My email has also been ignored. Perhaps this reflects a problem with email. You don't want to send more than one or two emails since it might come off as spammy. But you do want to make sure you're not lost. Maybe there's a need for a email-read notification service similar to Outlook's.

by gergles 15y ago

anurag 15y ago

We respond individually to everyone who contacts us -- I'm really sorry we missed your application. Mind sending me an email so we can figure out what happened? I'm anurag@stripe.com.

igorsyl 15y ago
I'm surprised so much effort was placed on the CTF competition yet it seems little thought was placed on collecting applicant information. The conversion funnel is as weak as its weakest link.
gergles 15y ago
I sent two emails during the app process; I was a bit worried after the first one so I sent a second one about a week later. Message ids: <CAETzaFkOzgx46pHttRy3TE6WU6TEfD0p4WmtM0ZhRz5OXVHmRQ@mail.gmail.com> (sent Mar 23) <CAETzaFmPjK7NDBS5X_B9R0qjiqEoWZNOZ=LKtFp=QhBUZe_8HA@mail.gmail.com> (sent Mar 29) I'm sure you guys have hired someone else by now, but still, one of the suggestions I had in the email was a real ATS. :) That's absolutely something you should do (or at an absolute minimum, an autoreply that it was received -- then in the ads, you can say "If you don't get an automatic response, we didn't get your email")

trefn 15y ago

As someone who filters resumes, this is something I haven't figured out how to handle and am quite curious about. If the company can tell from your resume + cover letter that you aren't a good fit for the position, what would you want to hear back? Brutal honesty? Lame corporate speak? Silence?

furyofantares 15y ago
Honesty.
- j_baker 15y ago
  Unfortunately, honesty is the last thing Silicon Valley's hiring system is set up for. Employers expect you to tell you what they want to hear, not the honest truth. This means that the people they tend to hire will either be someone who either is lucky enough to think just like them or is willing to tell them everything they want to hear. And God forbid you express any opinions that would make you a "bad cultural fit". Companies give people they don't hire polite platitudes to avoid hurt feelings and legal issues. In short, if you expect honesty in a job search, you'll be disappointed.
  - furyofantares 15y ago
    Where I work, we put a lot of effort into giving honest, actionable feedback to anyone we interview or phone screen. (We don't do it if we choose not to phone screen someone, though.) We tell you why we didn't proceed and what we think you could do to make a difference if you choose to try again in a few years. This is for our own benefit as much as the job seeker's. We don't want to leave a sour or even neutral taste in someone's mouth just because it didn't work out. Someone who is a bad fit now might be a good fit in the future, as they change or as we change, or we might be wrong that they are a bad fit now.
  - igorsyl 15y ago
    My experience is that east coast companies are more upfront about all of this compared to west coast companies.
evincarofautumn 15y ago
Honesty, though not necessarily brutal. When it’s possible to offer them, specific constructive criticisms are great. Critique can help a candidate improve themselves—or improve how they present themselves, in case they’re very well qualified but just awful at putting together a résumé. Just be polite about it.

igorsyl 15y ago

1+ My email has also been ignored. Perhaps this reflects a problem with email. You don't want to send more than one or two emails since it might come off as spammy. But you do want to make sure you're not lost. Maybe there's a need for a email-read notification service similar to Outlook's.