Ask HN: number of applicants for a position?
I frequently come across a claim that only 2% or 5% or some other minuscule amount of applicants for most software development positions come close to being actually qualified. (Most recently in the discussion about Google hiring process, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1690792).
I've been wondering what the overall number and therefore what number of remotely qualified applicants might be expected to be. Assume a junior position, asking for new grads to maybe a year or two of experience, at a non-Google-caliber company in a major city. Advertise on a job site or two, and perhaps with a couple of nearby technical post-secondary schools, but without spamming the posting absolutely everywhere. How many applications would you expect to receive in a week or two? Fifty, one hundred, five hundred? Answers from people who have done this and screened the resulting applications especially appreciated.
Thanks! Word of mouth,I believe that on the first day of posting number of resumes received goes upto 50- for something on craigslist. Would like to know if this anywhere close to actual numbers! Beware that advertising on a "job site or two" amounts to spamming the post everywhere.