Comment by VerifiedReports | Hacker News Reader

Comment by VerifiedReports | Hacker News Reader

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VerifiedReports

A place that physically operates near me posts job openings all the time, for which I'm well-qualified. After applying to several of them (with a very specific and targeted cover letter) and getting no response, my final attempt was to print out a letter and resume and physically take them over to their office.

I was thinking this would make a positive impression and say hey, I'm really interested and I'm willing to go the extra mile. The person who answered the door and to whom I gave the envelope seemed baffled that anyone would do this... saying, you know you can do this online...

I can only conclude that this is a ghost-job situation, where they didn't envision being called out in person and on site. Otherwise, what kind of dicks don't at least raise a respectful eyebrow at (or at least acknowledge) the guy who drives over to their office to hand-deliver a letter and resume?

After that I knew for sure that I wouldn't want to work for these jagoffs anyway... even if the job were real.

Having been on the other end of this repeatedly (as an engineer with a desk near the door, not a hiring manager) and I hate it when people do this.

People are becoming much more adverse to bring panhandled or solicited in a way they cannot ignore, in the same way spam calls are more annoying than spam texts. It's not "initiative" or "extra mile" shit, it's taking advantage of someone's politeness to waste their time.

It also looks hopelessly boomerish, up there with expecting the firmness of a handshake to land a job. I've seen this happen dozens of times and the resumes always end up in the trash within minutes. I've never seen anyone hired this way.

> It also looks hopelessly boomerish

Nice bit of ageism there.

Frankly, if desiring to speak to the engineers hiring me is dismissed as "boomerish", then I'm hardly surprised recruiting is in such a mess.

In this case, the short conversation VerifiedReports had proved that, no, he wouldn't be happy working there. QED.

> Submit resume through company site

>AI rejects it for unknown reason and HR never sees it

>Go to company HQ to prove I'm human and see the culture

>Seething antisocial neckbeard engineer refuses to shake my hand, throws my resume in trash, and HR never sees it

The fact a simple human action like job hunting makes you boil with hatred and antipathy is shocking. I guarantee you, none of these people are thinking about you hard enough to consider intentionally wasting your time. They want to feed their families just like you.

It also looks hopelessly Gen Z to want all communication to be asynchronous and ignorable. If you guys have your way, we’ll all be connecting via API like 1U machines in a rack somewhere.

Seriously—if you’re going to go overboard, so can I.

WTF is it with everything having to be mediated by a machine these days? People can’t get around without GPS, remember phone numbers, or now even do their work or homework without 'AI.'

How do you explain how people managed to do all of these things before without assistance? And how do you square that with telling 'boomers'—who were able to do these things—that they’re stupid and that you’re somehow better?

Seriously, it’s like we used to have weightlifting competitions where humans physically lifted weights overhead, and then you guys decided, "Nah, that’s too old and boomerish. From now on, all weightlifting competitions will use forklifts. Anyone who wants to lift the weights themselves is boomerish and stupid."

And where's your solidarity? If you lose your job, you may find yourself wishing you could meet people in person, when all your 'ignoreable,' electronically submitted job applications somehow get thrown away.

Instead of lashing out at people who respect themselves and others, why don't you blame your employer for making you the de-facto receptionist?

Your reaction betrays your embitteredness and naívete, calling others "boomerish" while missing the fact that your ways are in fact already the old ways. I'd say you're the one being mocked, except you're not even getting that much attention... you're hopelessly faffing at an AI firewall and never reaching a human eyeball. But hey, keep pecking that "auto-apply" button like a trained pigeon. Maybe someday you'll get a pellet.

"Taking advantage of someone's politeness?" Hahaha! It's pretty clear you have no idea what politeness is.

A few years back, before I was an engineer, I worked at a local learning center franchise for a few years. We accepted online applications, but 99% of the people we hired came in through the front door and handed me a resume. I was not in charge of hiring, I just passed the resume to my boss (the owner). I never felt inconvenienced by this "role" I was given.

Some time after that, I was working for a consulting firm, but my desk was not at the entrance; another engineer's was. I distinctly remember a sharply dressed college student walking in, giving that engineer a resume, saying a few things, and leaving. His resume got passed up the chain and he got hired later. The only person I know who gave a paper resume.

If you're getting a lot of foot traffic that wastes your time, maybe bring that up with your employer?

I honestly think at least 50% of the blame for ghost jobs in on HR. Ghosts jobs are great if you're an HR person trying to not get laid off. You get to look busy all the time, sending emails that don't matter. I think HR people are the masters of looking busy. It of course also makes the company itself look better, like they're still hiring all the time when they aren't. It also benefits the hiring manager to have ghost jobs, because it makes the current team feel more replaceable

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