2y ago

You need to send an API Request to apply for a job in this company

104 comments

Here's an article about it: https://dev.to/maggiecodes_/how-i-applied-to-a-tech-job-using-a-post-request-193d
The thing that annoys me is the response. It should return status 201 created and the id of the new resource for future delete/update operations. Instead it returns 200 ok and some clear text. Wouldn't want to work with such an API.
- /serious Well, yes, most APIs are meant for system-to-system interaction, that's kind of a given. But since this particular API is clearly meant for human-to-system interaction, returning a human-readable response is adequate. Yes, a better design would probably allow the client to specify additional parameters about the desired response.
  /back-to-jokes Yeah, well this kind of sums up most of my job applications. I send an application and the recruiting people are all like "OK".
  
  At least you do get a response.
  
  I send an application and the recruiting people are all like "OK".
  I always have a suspicion that all of the HR department are Rammus.
  
  /serious If you try with a non-human user agent I would expect it to return something machine readable.
- That's hilarious. Probably the lovechild of some clueless HR dude that thought he was a genius.
  
  The cringe term "code ninja" supports your theory.
  
  Hey, that's me! I query my workforce data from the HRIS with M and SQL. In HR land, that makes me a super senior data scientist compared to VLOOKUP guy who hasn't even heard of XLOOKUP or even INDEX/MATCH, that asshole.
- That's better than some I've seen. Like 200 for everything and the text could even be "error".
  Or 500 with the text "invalid input"
- Very RESTless.
- I also notice that the job you apply for seems to be a different value than what is displayed on the page. Seems like the documentation needs updating as well 😔

"Blockchain Developer"
- "Rockstar" "Ninja"
  
  "Hardcore Coding Bro Ready To Crush Some Code"
- “You write fast, efficient and safe code”
  I don’t think any of that is possible on a blockchain.
  
  Pick any 2
- im a for loop developer
  
  We’re looking more for “do”ers, not “for”ers.
- Ya I wouldn't apply to any role at this company if I saw that, that's a major red flag that their VC money has either run out or is about to lol

Discord username lol
- Twitter is even worse. I don't have twitter, I don't want twitter, I don't need twitter and neither does anybody else. On top of that, twitter is dead.
  
  But have your heard of x? *wink"
  
  It says optional in the comment behind. Would be even better if they allow custom fields for Mastodon and Gitea links.
  
  It is not even called twitter anymore
  
  Not to defend Twitter, but if by "dead" you mean "dying," well yes, gradually. If you actually meant dead "dead," not really.

I love it. If everyone did that, we could even write a sensible fontend for people, so they can look for a job instead of fighting with some sap module that's not even properly translated from german.
- Mmm. It's not going to happen though. Even this company have failed at standardising their own API.
  Key for twitter: "twitter": Key for discord: "discordUsername":
  Why are they inconsistent?! Who wrote this? Who signed off on it?!
  Oh, and for GitHub you provide a url but for twitter and discord it's just the username?! But the twitter handle has to be prefixed with @. Why?!
  
  Just send it with both "discord" and "discordUsername" for compatibility.
  
  I bet it just ends up in some poor bastards mailbox anyway. :)
  
  You could have different versions of the API that have a different requirements.
- SAP developement has become international, even the german version is badly translated. Paired with industry best practices (this is what Volkswagen does, with a little customization you can adopt it for your beauty salon) it will make businesses thrive!
  
  SAP, the worst thing to come out of Germany since WW2
- I wish we just had a standardized format for resumes. Then as you say various front ends could just formatted however was most convenient for the reviewer.
  Besides it's almost all handle by AI these days anyway so there isn't a lot of point making it look flashy.
  
  Such things exist. They're just not widely adopted. https://github.com/jsonresume

Actually pretty cool idea. :)

I really like this for technical roles. Or tech companies in general. That said, they don't have any job descriptions or requirements beyond the API request so it's not easy to tell what they're looking for or how qualified you are. Plus there's no posted salary range
- The terms "super power" and "code ninja" takes a lot of the offers credibility in my eye.
  
  "blockchain" tends to be rather iffy too, especially since it's seemingly inevitably tied with cryptocurrency or something like it in some form or another.
  
  Once had an applicant with "Excellent Excell skills" on their cv

Honestly that's more user friendly than 9 out of 10 application forms I've run into.
The best way for me to avoid this mess for now has always been an email with my pdf files attached.

Front end developer must have rage quit 😁
- Who sends API requests if not frontend developers?
  
  Obviously the backend developer trying to test the API. Then creating an openapi spec and the frontend developer importing that to not writing the client by hand.
  Besides that, that has to be the lamest DTO possible. They could have added some kind of skills array or an embedded address field to make it more than a flat object.
  
  Basically every backend which needs to connect to external services. Like authentication/authorization for example.

You can book this as a service for only $499/$999 per month from a dodgy website with no company adress but bold claims about time savings. Lol. Source: https://applybyapi.com/#pricing
But the best thing is: you can't send your open jobs by API. You need to use a rich text editor:
Post your job Upload your logo and use our easy rich text editor to make your posting shine. Unlimited job postings are included with every plan.
- …this is literally something an intern could write in a single afternoon.
  
  Single Responsibility Companies are best practice.
- That's stupid. Any company who wants to hire people via API has the ability to set up the API.
- I can write an API like this in like 2 hours, this is really not complicated.

Cute but I mean... You just copy paste it into postman and fill in the blanks. It doesn't really show anything, it's just novel.
I'm not gonna be as cynical as the other people on here saying that it's because they just want to have a machine/AI process your application. But at the same time I'm gonna be even more cynical, because if they think that machines/AI aren't already processing your PDF resumes, then you're crazy lol
- You'd be surprised at how many imbeciles a simple step like this will weed out. Lotta unqualified people applying to everything
  
  I'd pass so hard. Thank goodness the only "interviews" I've ever needed in 30 years have been the polar opposite of this kind of cringe.

API is not versioned. Also REST API should not use verbs in their endpoint. POST is already the HTTP verb -- /submit is superfluous.
- From the picture, it doesn't appear they ever claim to be a REST API.
  
  If course not, it's to apply for a job. It's a WORK API.

To be fair, that's one of the relatively tame and clever one of those.

I honestly enjoy stuff like this. I'm employed again recently, fully remote and decent pay thankfully, but I do appreciate stuff like this. It takes some of the monotony out of applying for jobs at least lol

That's really nice idea

And no field to submit my API for answers? I need a phone and a pdf?
- Maybe they respond with an ID that you can poll every 500ms for status.

Reddit Execs hate this one trick.
- X executives losing their minds (you aren't signed in)
  
  I refuse to call it "X", just call it Twitter.

I like it, but it's a dick move to require that the resume be hosted at a remote URL. Lots of developers don't have their CV on a website, and one of the strongest devs I've met doesn't even have a LinkedIn profile.
Support a file upload or just Base64-encoded data and you've got something here though.
- I'll never, ever, put anything on LinkedIn. It's cancer

I can't get past "Verbwire". Like they picked the second half of the name, but then creativity ran out.
- "I know you want a name ending in wire, but all other Verb-wire names are taken!"
  Exec: "Verbwire, perfect! Send the memo out"

Honestly as far as hiring for this stuff goes, this is more in the "cute" category for me rather than the "annoying" category.

Is it just me, or does their sample request use invalid JSON? The keys should be in quotes, comments aren't in spec (but commonly supported), and trailing commas are invalid as well (but commonly supported).
- It's only invalid if it generated errors.
  But yeah, I typically play it safe and follow the standards. I do wish JSON5 would catch on though.
  
  It’s only invalid if it generated errors.
  I understand this line of thinking, but unless they specify what "flavor" of JSON they accept, I think it's safe to assume they only accept what's in spec. What I find weird is that they immediately contradict the spec with their example by writing JavaScript. Should the content-type then be application/javascript? They can easily document the parameters outside the request body instead of adding comments.
  Also, yes, I know I'm being pedantic, but if I'm applying for a job, it's a two way application. They need to give me reason to trust that they're worth working for. Making up rules along the way when referencing a commonly known spec doesn't give me much confidence.
  
  That looks like a JavaScript object. It's not incorrect sytax for a JavaScript object.

I think, its a good idea. And a cool way to open for job application

Resume field would get an api endpoint that only returns a json resume, and only if the request header is application/json. And the json resume would have embedded json.

I really like this 'new' ProgrammerHumour

Needless hoop to jump though - red flag 1
Having not switched to GraphQL - red flag 2 /s
- As much as I love GraphQL, it isn't better than REST in every single case.
- You're fired! Wait, who are you, even?

It has a built-in filter for the poor folks that use these proprietary services like Twitter X, Microsoft GitHub, and Discord Username.
I wouldn’t apply anywhere asking exclusively for these platforms instead of something generic like: instant messaging, public code forge(s), weblog/microblog(s). I would encourage you, reader, to ask around & make sure your org isn’t hiring based on proprietary service usage. Heaven forbid your applicant is from a place under US sanctions & literally couldn’t use the services even if they wanted …or like your candidate has any values about privacy.

Just use Postman.

Cool

Wow, I would pass on this job so fast.
Not because it's hard to fire up curl or something, but because any company that thinks this is a better solution than a human reviewing a resume needs to be smacked. Because you know what the very next step is? They're going to ask for a resume, and then make you sit through that bullshit where you type your resume into a hundred different boxes into their candidate management system / workday / talento / etc., and promise to "get back to you soon."
You know how you can check if a candidate can interact with an API? Send them a coding test. Ask questions. Do some whiteboarding with them. This sort of shit is just some HR ~~lackey~~ ninja thinking they're clever and edgy.
- I mean an API call isn't hard, it cuts down in the amount of resumes probably meaning your resume will be more likely to be looked at. And it let's then know you know the very basics, I've seen some shit on recruiting hell forums and I'm ok with this one. You don't even have to retype anything since the resume field is just a link.
  The cringy stuff is "rockstar developer" and ninja, etc. Those are always red flags to me
- Because you know what the very next step is? They’re going to ask for a resume, and then make you sit through that bullshit where you type your resume into a hundred different boxes into their candidate management system / workday / talento / etc., and promise to “get back to you soon.”
  That's a lot of assumptions. What I see here is "Do fizzbuzz before we look at your resumee, will you".

104 comments