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Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

filteredreduced.dev

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Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

#1

Post by darraghor »

I made a tool for myself to act as a filter for recruiter messages.

I was tired of getting vague messages and doing the typical messaging back and forth only to hear the salary was too low or the job didn't have remote.

The tool lets you create a form with a selection of only the filters you want on there. You give a unique link to recruiters that will take them to the your form They can fill in your form (or not) If their responses pass your filters you'll get an email. If their responses fail your filters, the recruiter gets an email saying so, so they know not to bother you again.

The idea is that recruiters can never see your filter values

You can rate limit individual recruiter submissions per day (they have to log in to submit)

Keen for any feedback thanks!

I'm especially keen for any feedback from recruiters if you do decide to use it :)

cheers, dar

Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam
filteredreduced.dev

Re: Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

#2

Post by londons_explore »

> recruiters can never see your filter values

I'd like to allow recruiters to see some or all of my filter values. For example, my requirement for remote work isn't a secret. I am quite happy for a recruiter to know that rather than having to guess, especially if they have a list of roles to fill, some of which might meet my criteria.

Re: Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

#4

Post by mtlynch »

Cool idea!

I'd suggest offering a demo mode that users can play with before they sign up. Requiring an email address before users can see anything is going to dissuade a lot of people.

I think the UX could be improved by guiding the user a little bit through the process. When I first signed in, the first thing it showed me was an email template I'm supposed to send to recruiters, but I'd expect the first step to be showing me how to create my custom questionnaire.

The questionnaire setup is kind of intimidating. There are I think 40+ different toggles and questions on a single page. It seems like some UI controls are irrelevant when other controls are disabled (e.g., I think "Reject if no family friendly policies" has no effect unless the corresponding "Include this question" toggle is disabled, but the UI doesn't make that clear. It might be easier to work with if it was more like a UI wizard where the user is only seeing a few options at a time and they can easily skip categories they don't care about.

The perspective also shifts confusingly in the questionnaire. The first question has options "I'm a recruiter," "I'm the hiring manager," and "I don't care about this." These aren't the same "I" right? Like the recruiter can't answer that they don't care about this question, right?

Re: Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

#7

Post by cmckn »

I only get a trickle of this type of spam, but I think that makes it more annoying? In the last six months it seems worse, multiple “just checking one more time” messages for positions that have literally zero overlap with my experience or interests. Often asked to “forward to my network,” as if I’d do the spammer’s job for them. Being reached out to can be great, it’s how I got my current job, but so many firms seem to use this approach carelessly.

Re: Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

#8

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

I want OkCupid for recruiting. Recruiter puts what they're looking for, I put what I'm looking for and what my actual skills/experience are. Additional questions ("Family friendly policies?", "Active diversity program?") get answered with a rating (not important/kinda important/very important) and whether an answer is mandatory. Algorithm generates closest matches, you get matches in e-mail. Assuming the candidate is interested, the job listing can require questions of the candidate, so the employer can filter who is applying and avoid manually going through 1000's of resumes (huge problem in hiring)

Re: Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

#9

Post by onion2k »

Just stop accepting recruiters are a necessary part of the process. They aren't. Especially the spammy ones.

Recruiters typically charge 20% of your salary to a company that recruits you. If you apply directly to the company and they hire you, they save a lot of money. That gives you a significant advantage over people who rely on recruiters to find them roles. If you're looking for a new job, make a short list of places you'd like to work at and cold email them. You might be surprised just how receptive they are. (This won't work if you're looking at FAANGs though.)

Re: Show HN: A simple tool to help filter recruiter spam

#10

Post by eloisius »

My solution is a little heavy handed, but if a recruiter email doesn't include the company, position, and a salary range, it's spam and I mark it as such. If they send me a "just checking in after my last email," I add their domain to a rule in Fastmail. The rule sorts them into a folder and classifies them as spam. I'm not sure if Fastmail sends a spam complaint, but I hope so. Email-sending services tend to take those complaints somewhat seriously because it can torch the reputation of their IP addresses.
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