This Auto-Response Email from an Employer will Blow You Away

auto responseWe’ve all gotten those ‘Thanks We Received Your Resume’ emails when applying to a job. But they are usually all the same boring text that leave you feeling as if your resume will never be seen again.

When a reader tipped us off with the email below sent by Fog Creek Software we couldn’t help but publish it. It’s a unique, tongue-in-cheek way to make a great first impression. So here is that email, in all its glory.

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Hurrah! We have received your job application. At least, we think it’s yours. It is possible that someone who thinks very highly of you is forwarding around your resume while pretending to be you. That’s not a bad thing, is it?

In any case, this is an automatic email, sent by a mindless robot, to let you know that we’re absolutely thrilled that you would be interested in working for Fog Creek Software. We’re very honored.

Even though this is an automatic email, it’s not the usual blah blah, so please read on!

First of all — what to expect? Well, it may take a week or two (or even three or four as our volume of applications have increased) before a developer gets around to reviewing your application. We’re a small company, and to be honest sometimes eating lunch seems more important than reviewing resumes. But we will assure you that a real live human being, not an automated computer zapper program, will review your application carefully, and only after drinking plenty of coffee and getting lots of sleep and exercise, and under no circumstances will we reject your application because you lack ten years of experience in a technology that was invented only last year.

Next — yes, you will hear back from us. It is our policy to reply to all applications, even if we have to send you an unpleasant “go away, you smell bad” letter. We always tell people when we’re rejecting them for olfactory reasons.

Now, this bit is really important: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure that when you reply to us, you reply to this email (or at least preserve the subject line with our case ID number in it). We keep track of all this stuff in FogBugz and that ugly case ID number in the subject is the only thing that keeps us sane.

Finally — there’s probably some additional information we need to consider your application:

(1) Where you’re located in the world

(2) A phone number where you can be reached

(3) If you’re a college student or recent graduate, providing us with your GPA and any standardized test scores (SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.) will greatly enhance your chances.

(4) How you heard about the position you’re interested in

(5) For applicants residing within the United States: Whether or not you have the permanent, unrestricted, legal right to work in the United States

(6) For applicants residing outside of the United States: Whether or not your workday overlaps New York afternoons (1700 – 2200 GMT)

(7) Expected graduation date (internship applications)

If you forgot to tell us any of these things, just hit “reply” and let us know now.

OK, for an automated bot, I’m rather talkative, aren’t I? I’ll shut up now, and I assure you that I look forward with zeal to tracking down a developer, interrupting his or her lunch, and making him or her review your application.

— The Recruiting Robot at Fog Creek Software

jobs@fogcreek.com

P.S. If for some reason you are not actually applying for a job, or if you just wrote with a question about Fog Creek, I apologize, for I am a stupid recruiting robot, built without much cognitive ability, and rest assured that an actual human will really look at your email and reply to it appropriately.

Source: http://www.careercloud.com/news/2015/5/9/this-auto-response-email-from-an-employer-will-make-you-laugh