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I automated my job application process

blog.daviddodda.com

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Re: I automated my job application process

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the lawsuit, it's about the time wasted as a manager and salary to the person as you work out if it's actually time to fire. Performance Improvement Plans, a bunch of back-and-forths. I'm not going to be the kind of person that fires quickly, so there's a bunch of sunk cost we have to take. Plus, fast firing creates a cooling effect among everyone there. And for what? To save money on hiring? Not worth it.

The counter argument is that firing too slowly can be a serious drag on morale. Leaving your team to carry dead weight can really suck for the team. Ask me how I know... :)

Okay, so the original argument is about whether or not it's worth it to fly people out for an on-site. Hotel and airfare: $2000 absolute max. Salary at $100/hr for one month for me to figure out it's not going to work out, then pull the trigger to fire: $24,000.

I mean, being a manager is hard, but putting in the time and money to hire and then putting in the time to make sure your team doesn't have a morale drag, it's worth it.

Re: I automated my job application process

#232
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>OK maybe their school is a signal "School" is quite variable. Weak signal: you only went to class and did OK in them. Strong signal: you had an internship, or undergrad research experience, or part-time employment as a TA/tutor, or have a completed project to show off, or some kind of non-trivial community/group/club/fraternity leadership. Really strong signal: you published a paper with someone I know and they reco…

Typically, undergrads aren't publishing papers. I did co-author a paper in grad school though it was irrelevant to my eventual job. Most people are looking at whether you just went to (whatever they consider) a top tier university.

Absolutely, it's very rare for an undergrad to be on a paper. But that's what makes it such a strong signal: it shows they had the grit and maturity to contribute to a research effort to completion, in a team with people more experienced than they are. In an interview, it gives them something non-trivial to talk about and be proud of. That's very likely a strong junior candidate.

Re: I automated my job application process

#233

Nice. But as a hiring manager, this is the last thing we want. Flooded with auto submitted Resumes. I posted a job recently and got 100+ resumes in 2 days and 99% were not even remotely close to being a good fit. I struggled to sort through so many Resumes to find someone worth interviewing. The problem is that with so much noise, good candidates may get ignored or rejected by mistake. And the cycle continues. I get…

Have you tried using AI to screen the AI generated applications?

The issue is, if you're looking for only one hire out of a thousand applicants, you need a 99.9% accurate AI. HR isn't that good, so it'll be mildly difficult to train an AI to be that good.

Re: I automated my job application process

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Public job board listings have always been flooded with low-effort spam applicants, but AI tools have supercharged the problem. The saddest part to me is watching the AI and social media malaise infect young mentees. I’ve been doing volunteer mentoring for years. Recent cohorts have been infected with a sense that the job market is nothing more than a game that they need to min-max. It’s sad to see smart, motivated y…

> Recent cohorts have been infected with a sense that the job market is nothing more than a game that they need to min-max Can you blame them? Other comments mention that automating applications is just the response to automating rejections, so why wouldn't an employee min-max their job when companies are min-maxing their employees?

Yes we can. Resume spamming is not a new phenomenon. Ten years ago we were already struggling to sift through the nonsense at the big co i worked for, llms just expanded the “tam”.

Re: I automated my job application process

#235
post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as a contractor since 2017, I have given up using recruitment agencies in the UK to find work. I am likely the number one expert, in my field, globally. I apply for roles which specifically ask for an SME in my field. There is no question here of skills, and it is as certain as it can be without actually knowing that I am a light year ahead of all other applicants (because there is practically no one else ac…

Obviously your field is in no demand at all. Otherwise, why would you be searching for employment if you are #1 in it?

They gave a plausible reason why.

Marketing is a skill all in itself.

I know this because it is one which I lack, which in turn is one of two reasons I didn't go down the contracting path.

AI is better at selling itself than at doing the thing.

Re: I automated my job application process

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With automated hiring spam and our industry's tenuous grasp of basic integrity with actual HN posts proudly boasting of their apps to help you cheat during interviews using LLMs, several of my friends who assist in hiring at their companies have already returned to "on site" interviews to cut down on the proverbial chaff. The kicker? These are 100% remote jobs - the interviews are being performed at shared workspaces…

I’d be absolutely fine going in person to interview for a remote job if I thought I had any reasonable chance of success with your process. We are talking about where I’m going to be working for at least the next few years. That’s kind of a big deal.

Yeah, it's not about the in-person trip, it's about the trip multiplied by the probability that your application will be seriously considered as a near finalist.

Re: I automated my job application process

#237
Hate how this has become the job market. I finished my degree in July but was only able to find a job in November. Might not sound like a lot but it took almost 50 manual job applications, all with varying experiences.

I couldn't imagine being a manager having to sift through so much garbage just to find a candidate that's worth their salt.

Re: I automated my job application process

#238

I'd prefer an application to automatically fill in my data in those junk ATS systems, such as WorkDay, that pretend to parse my LinkedIn profile or a PDF resume and inevitably makes me do all the copy-paste twice. A couple of years ago it was so bad that I stopped applying as soon as I saw that WorkDay crap pop up, regardless of the company.

Workday is a hostile environment for applicants. Perhaps that is intended.

Re: I automated my job application process

#239
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. I mean I remember 20y ago when someone's solution to spam was paying a small fee. Not what you want, but it's gotta be somewhere there. There has to be a cost to it, but it probably shouldn't be directly monetary. Submission delay might work.

Isn't a better solution to create a reputation score just for email addresses? You start out very low, and sending emails further lowers your score. However, every email that is read (and not marked spam) increases it a little more. If reputations start out just marginally above the "straight to spam" tolerance level, then spam accounts can only get out a few emails.

And you can create a new address for every spam message you send and never get blocked?

Re: I automated my job application process

#240
post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as a contractor since 2017, I have given up using recruitment agencies in the UK to find work. I am likely the number one expert, in my field, globally. I apply for roles which specifically ask for an SME in my field. There is no question here of skills, and it is as certain as it can be without actually knowing that I am a light year ahead of all other applicants (because there is practically no one else ac…

Obviously your field is in no demand at all. Otherwise, why would you be searching for employment if you are #1 in it?

It's a type of work where companies normally want permanent employees.

Also, it tends to be concentrated in the USA.

However, I see one absolutely perfect contract about every month or two.

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