We’re in a really lucky place at Buffer the place we at all times have a tremendous group of people that apply after we submit job openings. Because of this, we’ve got to make some fairly troublesome choices. Lately at Buffer, we’ve employed for a number of positions and had tons of of purposes for every:
- For Workers Product Supervisor, 657 individuals utilized
- For Senior Engineering Supervisor, 564 individuals utilized
- For Advertising UX Designer, 516 individuals utilized
Based mostly on these outcomes and previous expertise, we thought there was a possible that we’d see a excessive variety of candidates for the Content material Author function. Plus, we anticipated that a lot of our superb clients and neighborhood members can be enthusiastic about and certified for a task like this, and that’s exactly what occurred.
We initially wished to go away the Content material Author function open for 2 weeks to obtain purposes however determined to shorten it to at least one week due to the unimaginable response we obtained. As a way to be clear about this, we put the brand new deadline proper on the job posting a number of days prematurely.
Ultimately, we had 1,518 candidates for the Content material Author function in a single week.
This was each thrilling and slightly overwhelming. We’re a reasonably small group at Buffer — presently 79 individuals — and in our case, we had 4 individuals reviewing 1,518 purposes, so it was a giant activity.
We managed to answer to everybody inside three weeks of closing the applying, however that was nonetheless a reasonably lengthy timeline so far as this stuff go.
Making use of for a job might be time-consuming, and we had an in depth software course of. It’s comprehensible that after receiving a rejection e mail, some candidates had been eager for suggestions to study why they weren’t moved ahead. We will’t reply to everybody at that quantity of purposes — although I want we may!
As a substitute, we’ve put collectively this weblog submit with extra about our software course of for the Content material Author function at Buffer and a few normal themes we observed in purposes we had been rejecting. These won’t apply to everybody, however we hope this may be useful to a couple of us who need readability on this course of, or who’re making use of for future roles at Buffer or elsewhere.
In regards to the software
Earlier than we share the main causes we didn’t transfer purposes ahead, right here is a bit more concerning the software we had candidates fill out. That is the primary piece of data that our group reviewed alongside each applicant’s resume.
Along with asking the applicant for his or her identify, pronouns, portfolio or web site, and resume, the applying touched on three areas: expertise, information of Buffer and our house, and alignment with Buffer values.
How we assessed expertise
Listed here are the 4 software questions we needed to assess expertise stage:
- Please choose all areas you’ve advertising and marketing expertise with: (You aren’t required to have expertise in every of those areas, that is simply an evaluation.) Choices had been: Content material writing, Content material advertising and marketing, Social media advertising and marketing, Video advertising and marketing, Video creation, Graphic design, Analysis, Information evaluation, Conducting interviews, E mail advertising and marketing, Audio enhancing, Podcast internet hosting.
- Please share three URLs for articles that you simply’re pleased with:
- Write a brief pitch for the form of piece you’d need to write for the Buffer weblog (buffer.com/sources): (Max 250 characters)
- Why did you pitch that matter? (Max 250 characters)
You’ll discover that we requested for a most of 250 characters right here — that’s primarily as a result of we wished to check candidates on whether or not they may condense their concepts, which is a vital ability for this place, and secondly as a result of it’s simpler for our group to assessment shorter inputs.
How we assessed information of Buffer and our house
We had 5 questions that had been extra centered on Buffer, our business, and information of the house we cowl on our Content material group:
- Have you ever used Buffer earlier than? (Y/N)
- If sure, what did you employ Buffer for? Why was Buffer the software you chose? (Max 250 characters)
- What’s your strategy to rising your private model? (Max 250 characters)
- What’s a latest development in advertising and marketing or social media that you simply’re a fan of? (Max 250 characters)
- How would you incorporate that development into your content material creation course of at Buffer? (Max 250 characters)
How we assessed values
Values are a giant focus for us at Buffer, and we’ve had a wide range of methods we assess values through the years. This time, we requested three high-level questions that may give us a good concept of whether or not an applicant was a match for Buffer’s values and distant tradition. Nevertheless, a values evaluation continues all through the interview rounds.
The three questions we requested had been:
- How do you strategy speaking successfully in a distant atmosphere? (It’s okay to speak about instruments, however please suppose past that, too.)
- Please share your strategy to selling an inclusive work atmosphere, and embody an instance out of your skilled previous.
- Please share a time whenever you realized you is perhaps flawed about one thing. What was the result? What did you study? (Please use knowledgeable instance, if in case you have one.)
Themes we noticed in purposes we didn’t transfer ahead
Just a few greater themes got here by way of with purposes that we didn’t transfer ahead that transcend not demonstrating the talents we had been searching for, or being misaligned with Buffer’s values. This listing received’t cowl the entire causes an software might need been rejected, however it’s a broad reflection of what we had been seeing.
1. The applying was incomplete
A number of purposes had been incomplete or the place an applicant selected to skip a query, generally even writing, “I don’t have a solution for this.” All the purposes we moved ahead had been accomplished fully.
2. The applying didn’t observe the rules
Loads of questions had a 250-character restrict. We didn’t instantly reject individuals over the restrict, as a result of some individuals misinterpret it as 250 phrases and saved to that all through their software. Nevertheless, many purposes wrote over a number of hundred phrases, and people didn’t get moved ahead.
3. The pitch wasn’t particular sufficient or was not tailor-made to our weblog
We requested each applicant to pitch a subject for the Buffer weblog, and we put quite a lot of weight behind this query as a result of arising with concepts for weblog posts and sharing them with the remainder of the content material group is a giant a part of this function.
Plenty of purposes didn’t pitch a selected matter or pitched one thing unrelated to another content material on our weblog. We regarded for pitches crafted with our present content material in thoughts and for stable explanations of these pitches.
4. The writing samples weren’t related to the function
The primary bullet level beneath the necessities for this function was that we had been searching for individuals with expertise writing about social media, advertising and marketing, and enterprise subjects. We learn every software first, however finally when the writing samples weren’t related to these subjects, we’d not transfer an software ahead.
5. The applying was clearly written by AI
Extra usually than I anticipated, we’d encounter a block of textual content written very unnaturally. We used a software referred to as Copyleaks to substantiate whether or not or not it was written by AI. After all, no AI detector is 100% correct however there are broad patterns we observed amongst content material flagged as written by AI. Ultimately, we had a bigger variety of purposes written by AI than I anticipated. We’re all for utilizing AI in our content material creation course of, however we by no means publish or submit remaining variations fully written by AI.
6. The individual was very unfamiliar with Buffer
We ask whether or not or not somebody has used Buffer earlier than as a result of for Advertising roles specifically, we’ve discovered a considerable profit to working with individuals who already perceive Buffer’s product and goal buyer.
We didn’t instantly reject individuals in the event that they hadn’t used Buffer, however it was an enormous profit to any software to have used Buffer earlier than and researched how we function at Buffer earlier than making use of. In lots of purposes, it could be clear the individual wasn’t acquainted with Buffer, and we didn’t transfer these purposes ahead.
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It’s attainable you utilized for the function, and also you’re studying this figuring out that none of those apply to you — in that case, I need to say I’m grateful for the time you spent making use of and that you’d contemplate Buffer as a spot to work.
Personally, I utilized to Buffer 3 times earlier than I joined the group, and that has been the expertise of quite a lot of others on the group as properly. You’re very welcome to use to Buffer sooner or later if Buffer nonetheless calls to you as a spot to work, and within the meantime, we’d be thrilled to have you ever as a member of our neighborhood.
We’re wishing everybody who utilized all the very best with what’s subsequent for them and, once more, are so grateful for the overwhelmingly optimistic response we obtained to this job opening. ❤️
