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Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

didtheyghost.me

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Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#1

Post by dtgmzac »

(not sure why my previous post didn't appear on Show HN even though I included it in the title, mods please remove if not allowed)

Ever applied for a job and never heard back? Many companies just go silent instead of sending rejection emails, leaving you guessing whether to keep waiting or move on.

I faced this frustration during my own internship search, especially when there was no real point of contact (automated replies don't count, lol). So, I built didtheyghost.me, a simple open-source tool that crowdsources job application responses.

This isn't a job scraper or another job board. It's a community-driven way to share real-time updates on job applications, so you're never left guessing.

It helps answer questions like:

- Has anyone heard back from this role? [1]

- How long does it usually take to hear back? [2]

- What are the online assessments/interview rounds like for company X? [3][4]

- And the big one: Did they ghost me?

How it works:

1. See a job listing (e.g. on LinkedIn), apply for it, and haven't heard back?

2. Use the platform to check if others have received replies, interviews, or offers.

3. Find out if you're in the same boat or if you might've been ghosted.

It's completely free, open-source, ad-free, and community-driven.

Check it out: https://didtheyghost.me

GitHub: https://github.com/didtheyghostme/didtheyghostme

Happy to answer questions or discuss ideas!

--------------------

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/leetcode/comments/1hhfhck/amazon_sd...

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/leetcode/comments/1h8qm4j/how_long_...

[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/csMajors/comments/1enubgb/tiktok_ne...

[4] https://www.reddit.com/r/csMajors/comments/1f6e84t/shopify_w...

Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search
didtheyghost.me

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#2

Post by codingdave »

It feels unfocused. Application tracking makes sense, but that isn't the same problem as understanding a company's interview process or talking to other applicants about their experience. And frankly, unless you get the entire industry using this for every job application, the community-based features are not going to have meaningful info. Also, the actual problem implied by the title - have I been ghosted - can be answered with static HTML: "If it has been 2 weeks, yes."

So if I were in your shoes, I'd decide what problem I really want to solve, and build an app laser-focused on a solution for that problem. Bring everything else in later, once you know you have PMF for whichever core problem you choose.

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#3

Post by dtgmzac »

codingdave wrote: post #2

It feels unfocused. Application tracking makes sense, but that isn't the same problem as understanding a company's interview process or talking to other applicants about their experience. And frankly, unless you get the entire industry using this for every job application, the community-based features are not going to have meaningful info. Also, the actual problem implied by the title - have I been ghosted - can be a…

Really appreciate the honest and straightforward feedback. You're right that the community-based features are definitely hard to be useful without a community. It's actually one of my main problems right now, exploring who my target audience is and what the main goal should be before the next iteration.

I actually started this because I wanted to track my own applications but also wanted to solve the problem of making the process more transparent for applicants. Just like the "static HTML" part, a 2 weeks rule is a general guideline, but surely we can do better than that. Especially when there is no recruiters' contact after applying, going beyond a simple yes/no answer by providing community-driven data (historic and current) would help a lot (as seen in the links I cited). Thanks again for the insights!

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#4

Post by toomuchtodo »

I love the direction and attempt. What I think is needed to encourage good behavior is a system that scans company job postings, archives them (Internet Archive), performs analytics as to whether these jobs are being filled (compare to LinkedIn data as best as you can, there will always be leakage), and potentially report non compliance around salary transparency to whomever in each state regulates that. LinkedIn doesn’t care, state regulators aren’t going to do this.

Think in systems. If the desired outcome is more honest and transparent behavior from job posters, the way to get there is public data and analytics to suss out signal of undercurrent intent internally. It’s an observability platform at its core.

Consider partnering with the hiring.cafe folks (search HN for relevant threads) if you want to achieve scale wrt feedback capture from applicants to drive analytics.

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#6

Post by trod1234 »

Interesting, I was thinking about doing something similar just the other day given all the shennanigans going on with ghost jobs.

There's a lot of time wasted individually by candidates vetting companies. For instance I've had to resort to using OSINT techniques and public records to weed out fake jobs because my cold interview->conversion rate is abyssal (1:1000+).

I've seen companies and positions being advertised where when you look up the secretary of state info, its either been shut down/suspended, or the directors/owners listed are dead people (i.e. semi-recent obituaries +- 1 year). The positions posted are always newer than the deceased person. I've also seen a lot of business info posted resolving to a UPS store address. Definitely presents as red flags when looking.

It would be useful to be able to crowdsource a lot of the due dilligence that must be done individually that could easily be automated as well as see the average turnaround time before rejection, and identify job postings that continuously roll (identical and reposted every 3-6 months)

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#7

Post by trod1234 »

codingdave wrote: post #2

It feels unfocused. Application tracking makes sense, but that isn't the same problem as understanding a company's interview process or talking to other applicants about their experience. And frankly, unless you get the entire industry using this for every job application, the community-based features are not going to have meaningful info. Also, the actual problem implied by the title - have I been ghosted - can be a…

I disagree, in the past I've seen positions where they may sit on applications for a month or more. One of my last jobs actually ended up being one of these, and we went through 9 different interviews (over 2 1/2 months after that) before I was hired at the time.

Its not so cut and dry.

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#8

Post by trod1234 »

dtgmzac wrote: post #3
codingdave wrote: post #2

It feels unfocused. Application tracking makes sense, but that isn't the same problem as understanding a company's interview process or talking to other applicants about their experience. And frankly, unless you get the entire industry using this for every job application, the community-based features are not going to have meaningful info. Also, the actual problem implied by the title - have I been ghosted - can be a…

Really appreciate the honest and straightforward feedback. You're right that the community-based features are definitely hard to be useful without a community. It's actually one of my main problems right now, exploring who my target audience is and what the main goal should be before the next iteration. I actually started this because I wanted to track my own applications but also wanted to solve the problem of makin…

The issue with community-based/crowdsourced features as well is that you inevitably have some bad actors that join up to poison your features.

If the noise floor threshold is too high, the signal you are looking for can't be differentiated.

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#9

Post by Schiendelman »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #4

I love the direction and attempt. What I think is needed to encourage good behavior is a system that scans company job postings, archives them (Internet Archive), performs analytics as to whether these jobs are being filled (compare to LinkedIn data as best as you can, there will always be leakage), and potentially report non compliance around salary transparency to whomever in each state regulates that. LinkedIn doe…

I could be mistaken, but doesn't Indeed do this already?

Re: Show HN: I built didtheyghost.me, open-source tool for your next job search

#10

Post by pogue »

trod1234 wrote: post #6

Interesting, I was thinking about doing something similar just the other day given all the shennanigans going on with ghost jobs. There's a lot of time wasted individually by candidates vetting companies. For instance I've had to resort to using OSINT techniques and public records to weed out fake jobs because my cold interview->conversion rate is abyssal (1:1000+). I've seen companies and positions being advertised…

Can you share some of the techniques you used? It might be helpful to get some simple scripts up to check if the address listed is a UPS store or registered agent or something and create a browser extension for job search sites that would automatically hide listings on job search sites that meet those criteria.
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