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Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

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Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#11

Post by jstx1 »

ethanwillis wrote: post #6
jstx1 wrote: post #4

Dude, you wrote back to a spam email and you're telling us that you're at your breaking point because they haven't responded to you within 2 working days. You need to adjust your expectations.

Not a spam email. And is it so difficult to provide bare minimum information past the equivalent of "Did you know we have open positions?"

If they're doing a bad job at cold emails, that's their problem, not yours. They don't owe you a good cold-email-receiver experience.

You're wasting your time even thinking about this - it's like being mad at the wind for blowing in a certain direction.

Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#14

Post by madeofpalk »

ethanwillis wrote: post #6
jstx1 wrote: post #4

Dude, you wrote back to a spam email and you're telling us that you're at your breaking point because they haven't responded to you within 2 working days. You need to adjust your expectations.

Not a spam email. And is it so difficult to provide bare minimum information past the equivalent of "Did you know we have open positions?"

It is a spam email.

Just because you were mildly interested in the spam doesn't make it not spam.

Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#15

Post by michaelchisari »

I've started writing recruiters back with this question:

If there was one book I could read to understand this company's business model and future, what would it be?

I'm very careful about what company I join after a string of bad experiences (or even good experiences that failed). I don't just care about engineering, I want to understand the product and business I'd be working on/for on a deeper and broader level.

So I'm not asking this to be pedantic or anything. I love to read, so anything a recruiter responds with I would 100% take the time to read.

So far, nobody has ever written me back.

I haven't yet formed a theory on what that means, but I can't help but find it disappointing nonetheless. I'm literally asking the teacher for more homework.

Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#16

Post by engmgrmgr »

If it was a person, you shouldn’t have responded on a Sunday before a holiday. You’re at the bottom of their inbox now. Also, try to hold the questions for a live chat if you’re interested in the company.

It sounds like you really want to learn about roles at Chewy, why not just send another email or directly contact a recruiter on LinkedIn?

Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#17

Post by joegahona »

I got a similar email. I deleted it, then deleted it from my "deleted" folder. I can sniff out when an email came from a human vs. one that's boilerplate, and I'm almost always right about it and get a response when I do respond. Some still slip through though. If you're genuinely curious, find the person on Linkedin (if they're not a bot), and email them there. You didn't share the whole email, but the one line you did share sounded dubious.

Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#18

Post by maerF0x0 »

rossdavidh wrote: post #2

1) you're right, that's not great behavior 2) the profession of recruiter is very different from developer, it has a different kind of personality type, with different norms for social interaction; some are great, some are mediocre, gushing with enthusiasm when they think you're going to help them get a bonus, dropping all communication the moment that's not true. A recruiter with mediocre professionalism is doubtles…

> no upside for you to let it get you angry, which hurts no one but you.

I agree there is no upside to allowing it to create stress or upset. However that does not mean there isn't a common good upside to taking action to dissuade such actors.

For example refusing to use the services of companies which have treated you badly, either as a customer or a candidate.

For example 2, publicly naming and shaming companies which are profiting off tragedy of commons social goods which polite behavior typically falls.

Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#19

Post by maerF0x0 »

Someone needs to make a candidate focused job board.

One that allows you to specify all the search parameters the candidate cares about, and severely punish bad faith actors.

I get dozens of recruiting emails per week, and they seem unable to comprehend why I'd want to stay at a company that pays me 2x their Total Comp... (Also my current company has a hard time comprehending why I'd consider leaving for a 50% raise btw).

Re: Ask HN: What has to change? I'm sick of it

#20

Post by SheddingPattern »

michaelchisari wrote: post #15

I've started writing recruiters back with this question: If there was one book I could read to understand this company's business model and future, what would it be? I'm very careful about what company I join after a string of bad experiences (or even good experiences that failed). I don't just care about engineering, I want to understand the product and business I'd be working on/for on a deeper and broader level. S…

Thinking of a recruiter as a teacher doesn't seem accurate to me. They should not be expected to understand the company well or the role of the software team in the company. Recruiters are intermediaries whose role it is to save the hiring manager's valuable time. They will focus on the initial scanning of profiles (does this vaguely look like a developer profile?), be responsible for scheduling and maybe salary negotiations as this means you can start a fresh relationship with your hiring manager without the potential tension left over from a salary negotiation. The exception are executive search professionals who will understand the business model well, but even they would not be able to recommend a book.
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