31
--wsp
7y

So we're hiring for a new junior dev and for the most part it's been going great! We have some promising candidates and I am so glad to finally have a new dev on the team!

However, I would like to take a moment and offer a few suggestions to the people who wish to work for this great and illustrious company:

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE APPLY FOR THE JOB USING THE METHOD INDICATED IN THE AD. Please use our fancy, top-of-the-line, whiz-bang, cloud-based "talent acquisition" system that we paid way too much money for. I promise you, it's easy! Please don't send in your application by email, mail, telephone, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, telegram or carrier pigeon. But most importantly...

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS BEAUTIFUL IN THIS WORLD DO NOT SHOW UP AT OUR OFFICE UNANNOUNCED RESUME-IN-HAND. Believe it or not I do have an actual job that I spend my day doing! If I'm not in a meeting or at lunch or working from home, the best possible scenario is that you'll get 30 seconds of awkward small talk and be pointed to our whiz-bang, top-of-the-line "talent acquisition" system which you should have used in the first place (you did read the ad, right?). And at this point whatever you do...

DO NOT DEMAND AN ON-THE-SPOT INTERVIEW WHEN YOU SHOW UP UNANNOUNCED TO OUR OFFICE! Like, really? Do you think that you've wowed me so with your 30 seconds of awkward small talk that clearly I cannot wait to see what you will do with an entire hour? Look, I prepare for my interviews. I research you, your previous employers, your school and the hobbies you list on your resume. I check out your GitHub and LinkedIn. I may even Google your name! If that is all in order, I try to hassle some people into sitting in with me, find a time that works for everyone, and hope that there is a meeting room available. I'm not going to interview you at reception at 4pm on a Friday afternoon.

Please submit your application through our whiz-bang, top-of-the-line online "talent acquisition" system. Once I figure out how to log in, I promise I will spend an evening and read through all your cover letters with the utmost care. If you seem OK, you'll get an interview. There aren't that many developers in this town.

Comments
  • 6
    Who seriously thinks that showing up unannounced and badgering the hiring manager is anywhere close to professional? It's the real world equivalent of LinkedIn spam.
  • 0
    @Torbuntu oh, it will end poorly. I can't see how it couldn't.
  • 2
    I know someone who actually got the job because he was the only one going directly in person which showed motivation instead of using the traditional ways
  • 1
    @stackodev My parents. My significant other.... My marketing major friend... people that aren't in the field
  • 3
    Well, showing up it's a fair tactics...if you are proposing for a crm / selling position.

    Jr dev tough...no thanks. You cannot read the manual, you cannot comply with procedures. Unmanageable.
  • 1
    You always hear people telling you "Go in, introduce yourself, smile, showup, impression, leave a note, give CV in person". While this may be true in general, it doesn't work for dev companies mostly and it certainly doesn't work for real jobs. (may work for summer jobs and stuff) . Funny how much of this 'advice' comes from people not in tech/dev jobs themselves
  • 1
    I enjoy your rant's organizational structure. My condolences for the silly humans.
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