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Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

nytimes.com

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Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#51

Post by loteck »

Overtonwindow wrote: post #35
loteck wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sympathize deeply with this sentiment. However, let's switch modes. Please suggest your solution for the problem of receiving 1,874 resumes for a job posting and, 42 days later, finding your likely candidate on the 244th candidate you reviewed.

Use an automated system to pick out keywords and phrases. Put first 25 in that stack aside. Send a rejection notice to everyone else. The issue is not finding a candidate, the issue is leaving everyone else hanging while you find that candidate.

What if my stack of 25 turn up only unqualifoed people who know to submit keyworded documents? Aren't we now un-rejecting people just like the linked article satirizes?

I feel like such an automated approach is roundly criticized by HN on a regular basis.

I guess my point is that when you're dealing with this, there are no popular solutions.

Un-networked job seekers need thick skin.

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#52

Post by amgin3 »

In my experience in searching for a job, companies invite for 3 interviews and a coding test, then decide the position isn't clearly defined, so they restart the entire process and ask you to re-apply. Then you go through 3 more interviews and another coding test, and then one more interview, then you never hear from the company again. Since the whole process took 4-months, you are now broke and homeless.

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#53

Post by foota »

TsomArp wrote: post #49
ryanSrich wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100%. The sooner you build a network and put yourself in a position to not have to apply to jobs the better.

How do you "build a network" at companies you have never worked before, and you have no contacts at? You start adding them to your linkedin and then spamming them with messages saying "please be my friend"? I am asking because I heard this recommendation (build a network) all the time, but it is really really difficult to do, more so if you consider the number of companies where one can apply...

It won't allow you to "target" a specific company, but you could get involved in open source projects and technology meetups, these can help you make connections in a wide spread of companies.

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#54

Post by crispyambulance »

The best way to avoid the "black hole" is to not throw your resume into it in the first place.

Instead, use your professional networks and friends. Reach out to actual human beings. Find any way you can to bypass the bullshit online job application systems and HR departments.

When people (or programs) go through a stack of resumes, it's all about finding reasons to eliminate as many as possible as quickly as possible using the flimsiest of criteria. Of course it's going to create hard feelings but what should one expect when putting oneself into a giant horde of applicants?

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#55

Post by jansho »

lacampbell wrote: post #29
jansho wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ... just tell me I didn't get the job already and cut out all the flowery soup. Amen to that. Recently I submitted five applications and four of them ended up as duds. What really annoys me is that I had to chase the recruiters to find out for myself that either the job is too senior or they forgot to take down the advert. The best one so far is when a recruiter claimed they never received my application when I got…

After I've sent out an application I don't give it any more thought. I don't wonder if it's been read or if they'll ask for an interview or how long it will take them. I look for the next job to apply to. As far as I am concerned, a rejection wastes both of our time. Unless they want an interview, why bother communicating any further?

Not when I was deeply interested in those jobs, and took my time tailoring the applications to them. I don't usually mass-send my CV, I prefer to shortlist jobs and focus on them. See, I would appreciate at least a note about the outcomes. But it's either no contact or it drags on for ages until they somehow realise that the position is no longer available. It's a bit unbelievable, and I'm starting to doubt myself.

These days too I notice that recruiters have become more mechanical and not very interested in finding out more about you as a person. It's like they forgot that they've got two clients, the organisation and the applicant.

Sigh. To be honest I've never had this experience before so it's a bit demoralising. But hey let's keep carrying on.

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#56

Post by rhizome »

jneal wrote: post #44
apsec112 wrote: post #3

In my job search, I've been surprised by how often you submit a resume online, and then you don't even get a rejection email. It's a true "black hole" in that you never hear back, not even with a "no thanks". I think it's disrespectful of candidates to ask them to spend time filling out an application, and then leave them hanging because you're (presumably) too lazy to read it.

I very much agree. A few years ago I was searching for a new job and there was this one place specifically that had an opening that sounded like a perfect fit for my skill set. They had an extremely long application process that involved "Pre-Employment Testing" (something called Criteria?). Anyway, I spent hours working on this application only to never hear back. Funny enough, after landing an even better gig, I ra…

Boy, Criteria looks...interesting. One of their first press releases: https://www.criteriacorp.com/company/news_item_3.php

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#57

Post by rhizome »

hughdbrown wrote: post #27
repeek wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially with Taleo-based sites. It's either auto-rejection or black hole. Has Taleo been successful for anyone?

Taleo's particular talent is in interfering with applications to other companies that use Taleo. Suppose you use Taleo to submit to Oracle. Great! But when you use Taleo to submit to Cisco, you need to use a different address because email addresses for oracle.taleo.net and cisco.taleo.net are in the same namespace. There are a couple of online systems that make me reconsider applying, and Taleo definitely leads the…

Wait...you can only apply to one of their customers?

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#59

Post by rhizome »

loteck wrote: post #30
apsec112 wrote: post #3

In my job search, I've been surprised by how often you submit a resume online, and then you don't even get a rejection email. It's a true "black hole" in that you never hear back, not even with a "no thanks". I think it's disrespectful of candidates to ask them to spend time filling out an application, and then leave them hanging because you're (presumably) too lazy to read it.

I sympathize deeply with this sentiment. However, let's switch modes. Please suggest your solution for the problem of receiving 1,874 resumes for a job posting and, 42 days later, finding your likely candidate on the 244th candidate you reviewed.

Please suggest your solution...

This is completely unfair. GP is not an HR professional by any indication. If your accountant says your website looks ugly, do you hire them as your designer?

Re: Thanks for Submitting Your Résumé to This Black Hole

#60

Post by amorphid »

kintamanimatt wrote: post #4
apsec112 wrote: post #3

In my job search, I've been surprised by how often you submit a resume online, and then you don't even get a rejection email. It's a true "black hole" in that you never hear back, not even with a "no thanks". I think it's disrespectful of candidates to ask them to spend time filling out an application, and then leave them hanging because you're (presumably) too lazy to read it.

Part of the reason is that rejected candidates tend to ask why they were rejected, which is a massive time sink. The logic goes that it's better to black hole than it is to be inundated with requests for reasons.

When recruiting, I chose to reject thousands of people.

For obvious rejections, I sent an auto generated email that looked like it could be from a human. If someone asked why they'd been rejected, I'd simply say the hiring manager chose to focus on more obvious matches for the position, and that was the end of it. Maybe 1 in 100 asked for feedback, but I didn't keep stats.

For a few candidates who were unlikely to be a fit, I'd reject them, and say why I didn't think it'd a match. Usually if I heard back, it was simply to say thank you for acknowledging them. For one position, I was recruiting a CTO. I rejected one Craigslist sourced applicant, and gave him reasons why he didn't fit the CEO's list of filtering bullet points. He responded with information that flipped him from a no to a yes, he got the interview, and eventually got the job!

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