Effort in the Application: sites that got our attention and got Basecampers their jobs

Basecamp says hiring is hard and that effort in an application rises to the top. The post collects examples of people who used custom sites, written pitches, redesigns, reels, and test projects to get noticed and hired.

Reading notes

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• Ryan Singer was picked for a design challenge to redesign the Verizon Wireless homepage, showed clarity with little direction, and has been at Basecamp ever since.
• Jamie Dihiansan applied later with a carefully crafted letter and a Backpack redesign after not being ready when Basecamp first wanted him to apply.
• Jason Zimdars did not get the first job he applied for, but stayed in touch and later came back with what the post calls a new gold standard for applying.
• Ann Goliak sent an email about a Support opening, then later made a detailed page explaining why she was a good fit.
• Nick Quaranto used a descriptive site that showed his passion and convinced the team he was serious about moving back home and working remotely.
• John Williams stood out with a personal site that gave him an edge over the other candidates for an ops role.
• Trevor Turk used a direct page to apply for a programmer job, and that was enough to bring him onto the team.
• Jonas Downey interviewed once without getting the job, then applied again, did well on the design challenge, and later became a Basecamper.
• Joan Stewart, already a Backpack user and Signal v. Noise reader, made her own page after seeing that another librarian had been hired.
• Shaun Hildner got an interview from his reel and got the job after his test.
• Mig Reyes says he first asked Jason for a written recommendation for a different job, but Jason invited him to work at 37signals instead after meetings and a design test.
• Dan Kim heard back only after Jason reached out later, then became a Basecamper after lunches and a test project.
• Jim Makenzie found a support job post through the blog, then sent a strong pitch and work showing why Basecamp should hire him from the UK.
• Conor Muirhead emailed Jason about a product designer role and followed through with a fully thought out design challenge.
• James Glazebrook used the fact that he had read REWORK and wrote 37 reasons why Basecamp should hire him for European hours support.
• Sylvia Chong liked using Basecamp for a food blog project, asked about jobs, and finished a convincing site a week and a half later.
• The post also points back to the original 37signals Manifesto as something that helped win clients.
• Basecamp closes by saying it is hiring for Android programming and brand and marketing design.