Oh how the tables have turned: our experience hiring

We hired two great employees recently here at BeamJobs; a senior software engineer and a designer.

As a company aiming to build tools for job seekers, it was an opportunity for us to get a peek behind the curtain of what actually matters to employers. But in this case, we’re employers. The killer was inside the house the whole time!

Here is what worked (and what didn’t) when people applied to our two open roles.

Tip 1: A tiny bit of customization goes a long way

We think cover letters are nonsense. Too many companies require them and don’t read them, and too many applicants use the same cover letter for every company and just change the company name each time.

Instead of a cover letter, you had to email us your resume and one sentence about why you were interested in the role or company to apply to our open positions.

We were surprised that nearly 90% of applicants ignored this or used a generic “I’m excited about the opportunity, and my skill set is a perfect match” sentence (I think that’s verbatim what my cover letter said last time I applied for jobs).

Every single person with relevant experience who wrote a custom, specific sentence got an interview. A sentence that worked, for example, was, “I think applying for a job is soul draining and would love to help combat that at BeamJobs.”

Read the room, understand the company’s tone (formal, informal, old-school, techy, etc..), and write 1-2 custom sentences matching that tone to use in your application or cover letter.

Tip 2: The visual appearance of your resume matters

The theme throughout this newsletter is that both employer and applicant have only a few signals to judge each other. For us (and most others), how your resume looks is one of those signals. It’s the same reason you don’t show up to most job interviews in your “Dunder Mifflin 4 life” t-shirt.

If the job requires design skills in any capacity, this is 10x more important. But even if it doesn’t, it increases your chances of getting an interview when you present yourself in the best light.

Remember, on the other end of the computer, a human is reviewing your resume. The easier you make their job, the more likely you are to get an interview. A well-designed resume is easier to scan and read.

Tip 3: All of your communication matters

We’re a fully remote company. We primarily communicate via the good old written word (well, typed word, but still). Above all else, to succeed at BeamJobs you must communicate effectively when you write.

Treat every interaction during the application process as something you’ll be evaluated on (because you will be). At most, you will send 5-10 emails during the interview process. Most of these will be to schedule interviews.

You won’t be able to get the job solely by making sure those emails are typo-free and easy to understand. But you may knock yourself out of the running if these messages miss the mark.

Now, I’m not advocating for being obsessive. I’m just recommending you don’t treat these emails like I treat my emails after 6pm on Friday. Do a double and triple check to make sure your writing is clear.

Tip 4: Strike while the iron is hot

One person was running our hiring for each role. Our sole engineer (and my twin brother/ co-founder, hi Justin) was running the hiring process for our engineer.

The job description, reviewing applications, the interviews, the emails back and forth, the projects, the evaluation of the projects, all him. His full-time job for 6 weeks was hiring and creating documentation for that hire.

So he could manage all of this, we focused on one phase of hiring at a time. He reviewed applications in batches, then moved people onto the first interview. Once two weeks of interviews were scheduled, he focused on the paid project phase.

This lesson might apply more to smaller companies, but strike while the iron is hot.

If you see a job posting you like, don’t wait two weeks to apply. Apply as soon as you have the time.

Tip 5: Don’t make excuses for the company

The application process is your only time to evaluate a company before making a big life decision if you get an offer. Much like my experience on dating apps, if you matter to the employer, you’ll know it.

You likely only get a new job every few years, so it can be tough to figure out what is normal behavior vs. not.

Asking for a cover letter? Normal.

Asking you to perform a blood oath ritual where you pledge your undying loyalty? Not normal.

Employers’ bar is so low because many companies treat applicants poorly. You should demand 4 “yes” answers to the questions below.

• Did you know, at each stage, when you’d hear from the company again?
• Did your point of contact do what they said they would when they said they would?
• Were they upfront about the interview process, or did they keep introducing more stages without end?
• Did you talk about the compensation range in the first or second call?

Mama always told me, “treat others like you want to be treated and invest in Apple stock.” You wouldn’t get the job if you missed a deadline or took weeks to respond to an employer. Be sure you hold would-be employers to that standard; it reflects how you’ll likely be treated once on the job.

Tip 6: Be open about your concerns

As a general rule, I don’t like comparisons between your colleagues and your family. When companies say “they are like a family,” all I hear is “red flag, do not pass go, do not collect $200”.

So please forgive me in this moment of creative weakness when I say that much like a good relationship, a good job search requires open communication.

If you have a concern, vocalize it. Whether it’s about the company, the role, your work environment, work-from-home policy, or anything else. Just ask it.

Before accepting a job, you want to know if the company values the same things you do. Either you’ll get your concern addressed, or the absence of a reply will answer the question for you.

This is an actual conversation I had with a hiring manager for a customer success role at a startup they were hiring for:

HER: People keep asking the craziest things in interviews.

ME: Like what?

HER: We had one person recently interviewing with the CEO, and she asked about work-life balance. Where do we find these people?

ME: …Wut...

Not to state the obvious, but this company does not value work-life balance for their employees. You would not want to work here if you value your work-life balance (or sanity).

The CEO’s answer was quite telling as this candidate withdrew her application after that call.

We’re a small company, so people asked us about our financial performance. Job security is important! If I asked this question and the founders shied away, I would have my answer.