Honestly speaking, if you are getting hung up on a problem as simple as this and can't seem to find a creative solution, YC may not be the best place to look for jobs.
I know this sounds harsh, but I really feel compelled to type it.
I feel like I'm being helpful if I point out a UI bug in another HNer's product, because that might help them to correct it and make it better.
I feel like it might be necessary to point out a bug in a product I've tried to use, as explanation for why I don't use that product (when the discussion is topical.)
I might be inclined to complain about the Resumator bug, if it so affected me, but only after I've used it to apply to the job I wanted, and definitely not instead of.
Regardless of exactly who is being hypocritical, the message you're sending is that the annoyance of using Resumator (a service that DeviantArt did not build) is greater than your desire for this job.
If I were the potential employer, I would assume that means one of a few things, all of which are harsh:
- You're too lazy to submit your own resume, and would prefer someone contacted you in whatever manner most convenient to you
- You're too good to submit your resume, and would prefer someone contacted you in whatever manner is most convenient to you
- You don't like the job that much, but would definitely take a paycheck if someone who was willing to do the job for you would also pay you as though you'd done it
- You're FAR too detail-oriented, refusing to lower yourself to the standards of a poorly designed resume submission method.
You can extrapolate out the rest if you like, as an exercise to the reader.
For what it's worth, I don't necessarily believe any of those things, but one of those is the impression I got reading your previous posts in this thread.
Yes, submitting for a job is an annoyance, and can be time consuming. It's part of the process.
It's far simpler than that. Everyone person in a position to make a hire has potentially irrational but commonly effective "cues" they use to sniff out if a candidate is a bad idea.
Such cues would be carelessness, lack of attention to detail, poor handwriting, anything that suits the fancy of the person doing the observing really.
As someone who's doing some casual sniffing about, I do the same thing. If I see indications that the company isn't the kind of place I'd enjoy working for, I figure it's cheaper/easier for me to never even bother than to potentially get into a position that makes me unhappy.
That is, if I see a job posting rife with misspellings (not that this one was, just an example), that requires PDF/DOC resume uploading (guilty, in this case, which is surprising on HN), or that is asking for more years of experience in a language that hasn't existed that long.
(I'm looking forward to the MINIMUM 5 YEARS OF CLOJURE EXPERIENCE posts)
They tripped a wire. I gave them a chance to explain/correct/laugh-with-me. None happened, instead I trigger the hypocritical and self-righteous horde of hackerne.ws
So the employer is allowed to have standards but I am not. Yeah, I see how it is.
I'd rather start my own company than deal with people who can retain that magnitude of cognitive dissonance and remain outwardly functional.
I don't think that anybody meant to imply that you weren't allowed to have standards.
Either you consider the job worthy of the annoyance of applying, or you don't. Given the latter, I see little point in bitching about the process while still soliciting employment.
For what it's worth, I understand the point you are trying to make. I understand that you are not looking for a job. I understand that you do not hope to work for the company that requires a DOC/PDF/etc. document submission.
I agree that requiring a PDF/DOC/etc. is annoying and horrible UI and probably drives off some brilliant prospective employees.
And I have also had the experience you're having now, where it seems like everyone has agreed to ignore the point and belabour ad nauseum some other, tangentially related issue.
An employer that only accepts word and PDF documents for my 'resume' isn't one I want to work for. You'd think that'd be clear from my displeasure with their rather factory-oriented submission process.
I'm not in need of a job right now, I am poking around because I'd like to have some side work for when I leave the country. Not mandatory by any means.
Just an idea, but you may want to get off your high horse and go do something useful other than criticizing people trying to discuss something.
