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Ask HN: Why is there no API for YC's workatastartup.com?

by Ldorigo on 10/19/23, 11:17 AM with 1 comments

The UX is not optimal so I wanted to write a nicer frontend for it (at least for personal use but was thinking to open source it at some point). Was surprised to see they have no API and are actually taking quite strong measures to restrict machine access to the job postings. Why? If the goal is to promote their startups and help them find talent, what's the point in restricting access to the job postings data? (I could understand this for a platform like linkedin whose whole business model is to aggregate postings and have companies pay for them, but here it's not the case at all?)

  • by brudgers on 10/19/23, 4:55 PM

    My completely out of the loop guess:

    Machine access would increase the proportion of less-qualified applications and increase the overall volume of applications substantially.

    Hiring is mostly about finding a reason to "no" each application.

    Sure you might find a needle in haystack if you work hard and are lucky.

    But it's easier to find a needle in a box of needles.

    Of course I might be wrong and your mileage may vary. Good luck.