Ask HN: posted startup jobs at github, 37sigs, and only 6 resumes?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2363787

by petervandijck • 15 years ago

7 26 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

We posted our startup jobs (pretty great jobs I'd say, exciting startup, well paid) in the best places we could think of:

* 37sigs: http://bit.ly/g24KTD

* Stackoverflow: http://bit.ly/gchGuU

* Github: http://bit.ly/dSzOvu

* and our blog of course http://blog.getgush.com/

Only 6 resumes in a week. Half of them worthless. Is this typical? I would have expected quite a few more applications, these job postings are fairly expensive. How have others faired with these job boards? Is there something wrong with/missing in our job posting?

petervandijck11• 15 years ago

Clickables: http://blog.getgush.com/ http://bit.ly/g24KTD http://bit.ly/gchGuU http://bit.ly/dSzOvu

kovar• 15 years ago

Just out of curiosity, why did you hide the other URLs behind bit.ly but not your own?

petervandijck11• 15 years ago

The other were horrendous insults to good url design (even Stackoverflow's). The only one that was reasonable was 37sigs. I didn't really give it any thought, ours would only have been like 2 chars shorter. Or perhaps it was self-promotional instinct :)

spicyj• 15 years ago

You can also shorten the StackOverflow one:

http://careers.stackoverflow.com/jobs/10660

Also a note, HN automatically truncates overly-long URLs so you don't usually need to worry about pre-shortening.

bartonfink2• 15 years ago

What do you do? I care significantly more about that than I do about what technology you use.

petervandijck11• 15 years ago

We're pre-alpha, so I don't really want to tell the world yet, although I'll tell you all about that in an interview.

Does not saying what we do reduce the chances that you'd apply?

bartonfink2• 15 years ago

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I care much more about the problems I'll be solving than I do about the tech I'll be using. CRUD is CRUD whether it's written in FORTRAN or Lisp. It's kind of the bartonfink corollary to Turing-completeness. You can theoretically solve any kind of problem with any language, so unless you want me to write in something that would add no value to my resume (e.g. COBOL) I'm going to consider what you're doing much more than how you're doing it.

You say that you've got reasons for not telling the world, and I understand that. However, right now your ad seems to say "Hey, we're using a bunch of new technology to do something. Send us a resume!" Even changing the first paragraph to end "... to design scalable, distributed applications for robotic dental hygiene" gives me an idea about what I'd be working on (robots with floss) and hopefully doesn't give away too much of your stealth edge.

As for my application, I am expecting a baby in a little under two months and don't plan on switching jobs at the moment. I am always looking for interesting "5 to 9" work to complement my "9 to 5" and if you can accommodate that I'd love to talk to you. All that is to say that there are other factors at work besides your ad that keep me from applying at the moment.

mindcrime3• 15 years ago

Does not saying what we do reduce the chances that you'd apply?

Reduce? Try "eliminate." I would never bother applying to a company where I don't even know what they're building.

If you're that alpha/stealth, you'll probably fare better recruiting locally through referrals from friends / colleagues / former co-workers / local user groups / etc.

ryanfitz• 15 years ago

Your posting is too generic. You don't mention what you're working on or why I should be excited to work with you guys. You also make it sound like you use every major programing language/framework out there. Java, javascript, groovy, ruby, python, scala, ios, android, windows mobile its all there plus a bunch of frameworks and other tools. It all makes me have no idea what I would be applying for or to expect, so I personally wouldn't waste my time writing you a story about myself, which you are requesting.

petervandijck11• 15 years ago

Thanks, that's good feedback.

mooism22• 15 years ago

There's no indication of salary apart from "competitive".

"Working remotely is possible." How remote? Would I have to live in Canada? Is USA ok? Further afield? Would you want me to come into the office at least once a week? Once a month? Is "never" ok?

petervandijck11• 15 years ago

You should be in Canada or move there. Salary is competitive means we tend to pay people more than they ask for. I guess you're saying it's too vague?

tereno2• 15 years ago

I'm based in Toronto but I'll give it a shot nonetheless.

mooism22• 15 years ago

Too vague, yes.

BenSS2• 15 years ago

The rewrite is a lot better, and specifying Canada was important (dang, I'm job-hunting now and can't apply because of that).

petervandijck11• 15 years ago

ps: based on the feedback, we're editing the job description to be more practical and say more about the product:

http://jobs.github.com/positions/45d7614a-4f24-11e0-9e2f-43f...

ig1• 15 years ago

Location. Location. Location.

I mentioned this in an article I wrote last week: http://blog.coderstack.co.uk/lean-vs-vc-how-were-taking-on-s...

But essentially it comes down to one of the biggest complaints about the job boards you've mentioned is that they charge the same price whichever city your in. Even if they only have a tiny handful of developers who would consider working in your city.

Your best bet is to use a specialist local job board if one exists or otherwise reach out through the local startup community.

Ask HN: posted startup jobs at github, 37sigs, and only 6 resumes?

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