AppliedTo job search tool
I’ve been (re)working on a tool I’d built… way too long ago now. AppliedTo was a tool I’d built to help manage and track outreach efforts for freelance/contract work, but it probably would find more use for folks tracking full-time job applications.
Revisiting some of the earlier decisions, I realize I focused a bit too much on the sending of email. In the initial version you’d have to authenticate via gmail (sort of worked with yahoo mail for a bit) but at that point, gmail was the only service that was moderately straightforward to send via. MS/outlook has improved in that regard, but I’m not going to try to focus on sending anything through your explicit email. For sending email outreach (which I’ve not added in to this yet), it’ll use your address as a reply-to, but it will be ‘from’ the main web app’s mail account.
However… many folks aren’t actually sending emails when applying for jobs; they’re using the various Applicant Tracking Systems out there. Greenhouse, Bullhorn and dozens of other systems are used by employers to collect applicant info, and occasionally notify you that you’ve been passed over for someone else. So, AppliedTo can at least help you keep track of which companies you’ve applied to. Side note: an interesting piece of feedback someone gave me was they were looking for a way to just keep track of what user/pass combinations they used on various job board/application sites. That’s likely a small bit of info I’ll add to allow you track that (although right now you can already do that with the generic ‘notes’ about each application you make).
Another ‘feature’ I’ve added (really, just something for myself) is a way to collect answers to common questions. In 2005, I went through a grueling job hunt, and applied to over a hundred positions in just a couple weeks (may not be much for some, but it was a lot – it was a full time job, essentially!). The standard “tell us about how you overcame a problem” and “what project are you most proud of and why?” questions… I lost count of how many times I was writing the same info, but… I wasn’t sharp enough to copy/paste that at the time. But now I am, and the ‘snippets’ aspect gives you a place to collect your best answers to common questions. Your account is seeded with a few stock questions, but you’re free to add your own as well
Resumé/CV management is another area where I’ve struggled a bit in the past. Conventional wisdom recommends you have a few variations of your resumé tailored to specific roles; one might emphasize your creative achievements, another might emphasize your leadership or management skills, etc. You can grab/copy/download any resumé, or include a link when sending out via email.
There’s more to come here, and it’s still very … alpha at this point, but happy to take any feedback/input from folks as to what sort of problems you face with the job hunt, besides finding a job! 😉
Feel free to check out appliedto.com and send any feedback to michael@kimsal.com.