Winter Update '22

If the way in which we work has shifted so much, then surely the way in which we find work has to follow suit? At Haystack, we’re committed and focused on delivering a product that moves with the times. The power is now in the hands of techies, not recruiters - transparency is key and agencies no longer hold all the cards. With this in mind, the product team has been hard at work over the last few months delivering our biggest update yet, and the result is groundbreaking with innovative features that give you more information, transparency and choice than ever before.

Let Companies Apply To You

The ability to browse roles anonymously, without being hounded by inadequate recruiters pushing irrelevant roles, is the cornerstone upon which we built Haystack. However, after speaking to our users, it became evident that a lot of you want to browse for roles in a different way. Such is the prevalence of the aforementioned recruiters, for many people scrolling through listings and applying for roles in the hope of hearing back is becoming a redundant process. Instead, it is more effective to sift through the irrelevant roles being pushed your way until something suitable lands in your inbox. This got us thinking - what if we could take that process and turn it into one that benefits our users, instead of lining the pockets of shady, commission-hungry recruiters?

So that’s exactly what we did. Instead of dealing with a middleman desperately trying to make a quick buck, we’ll put you in contact with hiring managers at companies you want to work for. Instead of wading through a sea of unsuitable roles, waiting for something appropriate to be pushed your way, you’ll only see targeted and relevant roles landing in your inbox. Letting companies know you’re looking for work no longer means you have to brace yourself for a tidal wave of recruiters spamming your inbox - companies now reach out on your terms, with roles you’ll definitely want to hear about.

If you want to let companies reach out to you, all you need to do is go into the ‘Profile’ tab and select ‘Your profile’. All we need from you is a CV, LinkedIn profile or link to your portfolio (if you haven’t added any of these already) and you’re good to go! You’ll then become visible to our partner companies, but only if you’re a good match for their roles. Your profile will only be visible to hiring managers in companies we work closely with, so you’ll never have to deal with external recruiters, and we’ll hide you from your current employer, or any other companies you definitely don’t want to work for or be seen by. If a company thinks you’re a good fit for one of their roles, they’ll reach out and contact you directly. We’ve even had users tell us they started getting contacted just thirty minutes after making themselves visible. You’ve really got nothing to lose - opt-in today and see what lands in your inbox!

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‍Salary Transparency

When looking for a new role, you should be able to quickly access all the information you need to make an informed decision. Frustratingly, one of the most important pieces of info you need is the one that’s most commonly kept hidden - how much companies are willing to pay you. There are often legitimate reasons why a company is unable to provide a salary range on job listings, but ultimately this is a vital piece of information when choosing whether you’re going to apply. On average, job listings with an indication of salary get 5.4x more applications than ones that don’t, so it’s clear that techies value salary information when browsing for roles.

With this in mind, we started to look at how we could improve transparency around salaries in a way that is useful for techies, and doesn’t compromise what hiring managers can and can’t show on their listings. After discussion with both our users and hiring managers, the result is our new Salary Transparency feature. If we’re unable to provide a salary range, we’ll use the wage you told us you’re looking for in your profile and let you know if that company is willing to pay below, within or above your expectations. We believe you should be able to apply in confidence, and you should never be wasting your time applying for a role that’s not willing to pay you what you’re worth.
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Let Your Friends Know

In an increasingly connected world, we knew we had to make it as easy as possible to share content from Haystack. If you’ve seen the perfect role or company for a friend or colleague, look out for the blue box and let them know. You can also share from the home page, so if you’ve got friends that are also sick of shady recruiters and endless job boards, do them a  favour and let them know there’s a better way to find their next tech opportunity. Spread the word and help us shake up tech recruitment!

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Everything Else…

- We’ve continued to fine-tune our algorithm to ensure you’re only seeing the most relevant matches in your feed.

- Weighted techs now let employers know which techs you know, and which techs you love to work with. We’ll also use this information to further improve your matches.

- Let us know if you land a role through Haystack - we’ll now donate £50 to a charity. Our current charities are Mind and Shelter.

- We’re adding more roles than ever, resulting in improved quantity and quality of matches. Check back in often to make sure you don’t miss out on your dream opportunity!

- As hybrid working becomes more and more prevalent, you can now let companies know how much time you want to spend in the office.

- Need visa sponsorship? You can now easily see which companies offer this.

- We’ve squashed a few bugs to ensure you have the best experience, with a particular focus on Android.

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Looking Forward 

If that’s not enough for you, we’re currently hard at work on even more ways to transform the way you look for new roles! Keep an eye on our socials to be the first to hear about our new features. In the near future, we’ll be launching our first web app, giving you even more choice around how you find roles and we’re hard at work on ways to make it even easier to connect you to the companies you want to talk to, including a new in-app messenger that will allow hiring managers to start conversations with you. If you’ve got a feature suggestion, or something you’d like to see added to Haystack in the future, use the ‘Chat’ tab in the app to let us know! 

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