I'd love to hear the HN community's feedback: when applying for jobs (especially at startups) do you prefer to see a structured application form, an auto-apply method such as LinkedIn, or simply an email address?<p>Is an email address a negative for anyone?
I prefer email. A web form signals that the company (or whomever they farmed out their recruiting to) is impersonal and/or trying to optimize for their own convenience. Ginorma Corp has a web form, Cool Little Company doesn't - and I prefer to work for the latter.<p>Also, with an emailed cover letter, I can be more expressive by using italics and formatting, etc.
I prefer to send email. Often web forms have a very small space for a cover letter, so I have to write it in some other program then paste it in.<p>I'm not real sure but speculate that my applications would be more successful if I sent dead trees via snail mail. That used to work well back in the day.
Generally speaking, I think email is better, given that it's not a variable format.<p>Web forms vary wildly in quality, and I've had some pretty bad experiences trying to work with application systems in the past.
I am sure there is a better way. The most frustrating aspect of applying for jobs is that each one often has its own requirements (apply online, vs email, cover letters, etc)