I can’t read every résumé. Whether I read yours is based on the answer to the question that’s our equivalent of a cover letter:
“Why do you want to work at AppSignal?”
That’s the cheat code. It’s the high-leverage moment where 98% of people quietly disqualify themselves.
If you answer this question well, you don’t just move forward: you leapfrog hundreds of other applicants. It’s the first thing I read, and it could be the only thing; if your answer feels generic or half-hearted, I will not even get to your CV. Not because I’m trying to be tough, but because I can’t afford to be inefficient.
At the time of writing, the opening for a Customer Success Specialist at AppSignal has garnered over 2,566 applications in less than a hundred hours, and it won’t close for another two weeks. After disqualifying the 80% that don’t meet basic requirements, I still have over 500 candidates to review, so I can’t read every résumé.
There’s no practical way to converse meaningfully with over half a thousand people. The answer to “Why do you want to work at AppSignal?” is how I cut through the noise. It tells me whether you’re applying to this job or just any job. That difference matters a lot more than your résumé.
Because honestly, I don’t care that much about your CV. We’ve hired people with zero relevant experience and zero regrets. Your MBA doesn’t tell me anything about your empathy, curiosity, or willingness to figure things out when they’re messy.
What I want to know is simple: why this role, why this company, why now?
Yes, some people use ChatGPT to help write their answers. And that’s fine, to a point. Use it to research us. Use it to structure your thoughts, but please use your own words to convey your feelings, instead of the feelings an LLM was trained on. If I don’t notice, the screening call will; no hard feelings, just wasted time.
Oh, and one last thing: check your spelling. Please. You can bump yourself further towards the top of the pile by simply submitting an answer without obvious errors. Right now, we’re hiring for a customer-facing support role. If you don’t proofread your message to me, what should I expect when you’re writing to our customers?
I’m just looking for thoughtful people who want to be here and can show me that in a few clear, human sentences. Everything starts with why.
This post is based on something DHH wrote.