Ask HN: What is the future of cold-applying to jobs?

#1

Post by amazonavocado » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:25 AM UTC

Currently, the common method in cold applications is to use online job platforms that hosts thousands of job listings and collect millions of applications. Most of the time, applicants are manually picking out the jobs that look interesting to them and then they apply. Sometimes there are shortcut options like LinkedIn's Easy Apply. Some even have used the help of bots to speed up the process.

Could there be another approach that could overtake its effectiveness in the future? One idea I had is where instead of you choosing the job(s), you pick the criteria you want the job to include, and submit your job experience, and it'll build a list of job openings around that. These results could be optimized according to the a higher likelihood of getting interviewed. Because even when you cold apply, you could still benefit from preventing as many automatic rejections as possible.

I don't know if that is already being done somewhere but I'd be interested in reading about approaches on how it could be implemented.

Re: Ask HN: What is the future of cold-applying to jobs?

#2

Post by Shinmon » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 6:34 AM UTC

Let's assume we are talking about tech jobs and jobs that are close related, since this will be very different in many places.

I think we will see 3 major trends in the future.

1. Active Recruiting / Headhunting will become even more relevant and probably more obnoxious in the short term. This will extend to all roles across the board. Even now, there are on campus recruiting events to fill junior roles.

2. Curated job/people matching platforms. This is something I have just seen recently where they offered companies to become part of the pool to post job ads and candidates also had to submit their CV/portfolio which was then checked before it was put in a pool as well. I think this could be a way of finding people for very high-skill positions in a clearly defined niche.

3. Companies realize that they cannot fuck around with their job ads. 99% of job ads are horrible. "Java/Javascript", "C/C++/C#" and so on. Is it a remote job or is it "remote" where you have to be in the office twice a week? Companies love to complain about the lack of applicants but they do everything to get as few as possible. This goes hand in hand with employer branding. Sure, some people might not care, but especially people younger than 30 very much do.

Re: Ask HN: What is the future of cold-applying to jobs?

#3

Post by giantg2 » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 1:44 PM UTC

I think there are too many variables, a number of which a candidate wouldn't be able to articulate prior to a search. That would likely lead to candidates rejecting interviews or be caught off guard if the recruiter calls them and they know nothing about the position or company that "they" applied to.