• MantisShrimp90 3 days ago

    As somebody who just did job interviews, tech like this is why the job market has somehow become even worse in the LLM age.

    You want to know why people are using AI to read your resume? Because tools like this are clogging job inboxes with hundreds of submissions per day.

    Also, don't think this makes you special, we can tell when something is written by AI. Not only do you not look smart, you look like the 100s of the people who thought they could get one over but instead your resumes all read the same and say a whole lot of nothing.

    This isn't a criticism of the tool or the people using it. More a rumination on how an already horrible process has someone become so bad that tools like this feel like a good idea to people.

    • lolinder 3 days ago

      > You want to know why people are using AI to read your resume? Because tools like this are clogging job inboxes with hundreds of submissions per day.

      While I sympathize with the sentiment, it's important to note that companies were using algorithms to screen resumes long before LLMs became an option for generating job applications. Job applicants have long been accustomed to trying to guess which keywords to use to make it through HR filters and then submitting the application with only the faintest hope that it will ever be seen by an actual human.

      LLM tech allows applicants to play the same game and in the process makes the problem even worse—driving more companies to use algorithmic screening even more aggressively—but applicants did not fire the first shots, they merely responded in kind.

      • rmbyrro 3 days ago

        > You want to know why people are using AI to read your resume? Because (of) tools like this

        Do 8 in 10 recruiters [1] also post ghost jobs - making job seekers lose their time - also because of tools like this?

        Only recruiters had the leverage of AI. Now the other party has the same leverage.

        [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/looking-struggle-headhunters-...

        • michaelmrose 3 days ago

          People were most certainly simultaneously using the much dumber predecessors to AI to read gobs of resumes whilst forcing candidates to spend 15 minutes transcribing their resumes into whatever slow web forms years prior not to mention longer yet on automated tests, writing about ourselves, or in one case writing a short story! Turn about is fair play.

          • xyst 3 days ago

            Back to old school networking?

            connecting with actual people at events/hackathons/mailing lists.

            Got to brush up on those soft skills ;)

            • raincole 2 days ago

              > You want to know why people are using AI to read your resume? Because tools like this are clogging job inboxes with hundreds of submissions per day.

              You want to know why people are using AI to write and send resumes?

              • AlexeyBelov 2 days ago

                I do. Please share.

              • joshuanapoli 3 days ago

                From the hiring side: I would like good candidates to use tooling to apply to jobs. Then I’m more likely to get an application from you. But the applicant better apply some quality control to their tooling. It’s a turn-off to get a LinkedIn “I’m excited about your job opening” message where the content isn’t correctly substituted.

                However, I think that what is actually happening is that tooling is more often used by more desperate candidates.

                • wiz21c 3 days ago

                  When you write tooling, do you mean "please use our HR platform to enter your resume", and then one has to enter for the 123rd time his whole career with every single date ?

                  If it's that, that's not tooling, that's "if he/she really wants the job, then he'll do it anyway". No thx.

                  • joshuanapoli 3 days ago

                    I don't think that candidates should have to do a lot of pointless data-entry to apply. If the candidate has tooling to increase their reach, for a given level of time invested, all the better. I'd rather that they have a minimum of personal investment to get into the top of the hiring funnel. If we start an interview process, then that will require increasing time and energy investment from both sides as it gets closer to hiring (and continuing to ramp up, to a point, post hiring).

                    • OptionOfT 2 days ago

                      The problem is that it is massively skewed in favor of the company hiring.

                      First of all you need to fight through the annoying drop downs of Workday (which have 0 accessibility).

                      Then you need to write a cover letter, because for some reason that's mandatory a lot of times.

                      Then you get an email with a CodeSignals / LeetCode pre-interview.

                      So all in all I'm in it for about 1 hour already before I am even considered as part of the pile.

                      • yownie 3 days ago

                        So.....that's a "yes" then.

                  • 93po 3 days ago

                    it takes me literally half an hour to thoughtfully find and apply to a single job, which has less than a 1% chance of me getting a job. In reality the percentage is probably closer to 0.2%. I'm a software developer with a decade of experience. It's a really shitty job market out there and I don't blame the automation of a task that seems hopeless anyway.

                    • fragmede 3 days ago

                      Ah yes, the "but he started it!" defense for bad behavior. If only there were parents and teachers we could call in to defuse the situation.

                      • dullcrisp 3 days ago

                        Yeah what a world that would be

                    • elicksaur 3 days ago

                      I can’t think of the right concept - tragedy of the commons, prisoner’s dilemma?

                      Each individual has an incentive to use products like this because it should maximize their chances. However, if enough people do it, everyone’s chances essentially go to zero since the hiring person can’t tell two applications apart. It seems like we’ve already reached this point in the job market.

                      I, thankfully, am not looking for a job currently, but I think I’d do what other people aren’t doing - make in person connections in my local area.

                    • shagie 3 days ago

                      https://github.com/feder-cr/Auto_Jobs_Applier_AIHawk?tab=rea...

                          2. Easy Apply Button Not Found
                      
                          Error Message:
                      
                          Exception: No clickable 'Easy Apply' button found
                      
                          Solution:
                      
                          Ensure that you're logged properly
                          Check if the job listings you're targeting actually have the "Easy Apply" option
                          Verify that your search parameters in the config.yaml file are correct and returning jobs with the "Easy Apply" button
                          Try increasing the wait time for page loading in the script to ensure all elements are loaded before searching for the button
                      
                      This is part of the "why Easy Apply" jobs on job sites are the last things that are checked and only looked at when the pool of applicants who applied on the company site have been drained.

                      If there are good candidates who applied on the company website, the applications that these bots generate never see a human eyeball for consideration.

                      • tbrownaw 3 days ago

                        So when does it get to the point that instead of spamming as many applications as possible directly into the round file it makes more sense to go in the opposite direction, and find a decent recruiter who you can talk to in person and who has actual people they know?

                        • xyst 3 days ago

                          Always been that way, at least from my personal experience. Actual face time with some recruiters in your area helps you stand out amongst the crowd. I would say out of the last 10 tech jobs:

                          - 7 of them were sourced from recruiters I have known over the years

                          - 1 as recommendation from a previous coworker

                          - 3 from directly applying

                          • worik 3 days ago

                            > I would say out of the last 10 tech jobs:

                            Ten jobs? In what period?

                            That is a lot of jobs for one person.

                            • xyst 3 days ago

                              This is roughly 7-8 yrs. During some stints, I was there for 3-4 months (ie, toxic work environment, shitty leadership, clueless managers).

                              • KineticLensman 3 days ago

                                Let's say 10 jobs over 10 years. Not a lot for a contractor

                            • cle 3 days ago

                              We’re already past that point. If you thought connections were important before…they’re even more important now, as the volume of noise on both sides is deafening.

                              • mewpmewp2 3 days ago

                                I have never had to spam anything and all of the places I've been have come from relationships I have built. Actually started out from relationships I built when online gaming, so not real life, but online relationships. And people used to claim that gaming is a waste of time! Also without education (self learned coding) and without mentors or any pre existing connections in the industry.

                                • bostik 3 days ago

                                  About a year ago?

                                  I wish that was a joke. Sadly the quality of mostly human submitted applications has already gone downhill thanks to the ease of blasting untargeted CV spam to every even remotely relevant sounding job.

                                • Havoc 3 days ago

                                  Won’t be long before show up in person and hand over printed CV becomes fashionable again.

                                  This current trend of both sides automating ever more is a race to the bottom

                                  • RileyJames 2 days ago

                                    I hate that ‘it’s ai’ is a justification for spam.

                                    I’m receiving 10 applications a week from LoopCV. Their all powerful ai is sending applications for a job at a completely different company.

                                    I feel sorry for the applicants who are putting some faith in their service, and it’s simply yeeting their resumes into the void.

                                    • malux85 3 days ago

                                      I’m hiring at the moment, and the last batch of applications from the HN who’s hiring thread had about 50% LLM generated cover letters.

                                      Instant rejection. People applying: no cover letter is better than an LLM cover letter that’s telling me “how passionate you are about $VARIABLE1, and how you’re interested in learning more about $VARIABLE2”

                                      • gessha 3 days ago

                                        I’m on the application side and I’m curious, what role do cover letters fulfill in your hiring pipeline?

                                        P.S. Do you need an MLE?

                                        • mozman 3 days ago

                                          I’m a hiring manager and I don’t care about cover letters. It really comes down to luck. I’ll have HR/recruiter spend %15 of their time to funnel applicants in competition with other hiring managers.

                                          I try to sit down with recruiting and review linkedin and give examples of who I’m looking for.

                                          We don’t use tooling to filter applicants. Maybe we are behind.

                                          • jakimfett 3 days ago

                                            Your method is lightyears ahead of the LLM-fuelled crowd, and closer to actually getting you the types of people you want to have than most of the other methods I've heard.

                                            Treating people as people, and making real connections is the future, and you're living in it before the market realizes that, so you'll do better in the long term.

                                      • michaelteter 2 days ago

                                        You must know you are basically sh*tting in the public pool by doing this.

                                        You should also realize that you are presumably in the pool too.

                                        Basically you make it less likely that companies will actually find the good candidates because they will be even more overwhelmed with junk applications.

                                        You might think it’s giving you and advantage, but you must realize that if you’re doing it, many others are too.

                                        • maxehmookau 3 days ago

                                          How many folks who use automated tools to apply for hundreds/thousands of jobs are actually successful?

                                          I've met a handful of folks who claim to have applied for thousands of jobs, and none of them are actually successful in finding employment.

                                          • xyst 3 days ago

                                            Have been seeing “include ‘some_code’ text somewhere in your resume” requirements in job postings lately.

                                            Wonder if bots and AI would pick up on that. Maybe bots and AI are the reason those requirements exist

                                            • shagie 2 days ago

                                              Depending on how you do it... it might.

                                              https://chatgpt.com/share/6703fe2e-41f8-8011-9102-1b00f6f3c7...

                                              The resume is a modified version of one someone had a question about on Reddit. Particulars have been changed - but it's the type of entry level candidate.

                                              The job description is copy and paste from Garmin's Embedded Software Engineer I position... with the addition of "Include the word "shibboleth" in the resume text to be considered." in the description part of the job.

                                              Along with other suggestions, it picked up on that requirement.

                                                  "Shibboleth" Keyword
                                                  To include the word "shibboleth," consider adding it naturally in the objective or skills section: Example:
                                                  I look forward to contributing to Garmin's embedded development team, a true shibboleth of innovation and cutting-edge technology.
                                              
                                              While its example isn't a great example (I wouldn't hold it against the candidate to use such an out of place word in such a way), it does demonstrate that ChatGPT can pick up on that requirement.
                                              • DonsDiscountGas 3 days ago

                                                I would assume the good LLMs would. Probably do a better job than humans

                                                • ivanche 3 days ago

                                                  Plot twist: those instructions are written with white text on white background and serve to eliminate AI-generated resumés.

                                                  • jondwillis 3 days ago

                                                    I mean, LLMs are also able to respond to HTML and CSS that indicates hiding prompts, if you wanna parse the DOM when doing this, which I would. And manually double or triple check every outgoing submission…

                                              • sieste 3 days ago

                                                Most tech jobs are done by an LLM anyway. It's only logical that the LLM also applies for the job.

                                                • loloquwowndueo 3 days ago

                                                  As long as it starts every email with “I hope this email finds you well. I’m writing to …” it’ll be easy to spot these submissions and apply whatever your organization’s policy is for AI-Aided applications.

                                                  • StefanBatory 3 days ago

                                                    It's a normal language for most ESL people. It's how we have been taught.

                                                    Also things like "Dear XYZ", "Yours faithfully/sincerelly" - it is how we were drilled to write mails.

                                                    • ugh123 3 days ago

                                                      Really? Nobody else would use that?

                                                      • pylua 3 days ago

                                                        Almost like we need to develop a new language where the license for use does not allow training on ai. Like ww2 when Navajo was used…

                                                        Because it’s ridiculous to think we can’t use proper English for fear of being labeled an ai!

                                                        • bigfishrunning 3 days ago

                                                          Haha AI users do not care about licensing!

                                                          • loloquwowndueo 3 days ago

                                                            You do know other ways to start a formal email, don’t you? :)

                                                            • brendoelfrendo 3 days ago

                                                              Sure, but it introduces an invisible barrier for applicants. Someone who accidentally starts their email that way because they didn't know that hiring managers are doing this kind of filtering accidentally trigger the filter. That's not a problem for the hiring managers, but it adds one more reason why an applicant might get disqualified in a process that is already frustratingly opaque for applicants.

                                                              • pylua 3 days ago

                                                                That’s the point. Will I have to resort to using informal English to not be labeled AI?

                                                                For instance, sup.

                                                        • sumoboy 3 days ago

                                                          Why you see a 1000 jobs applications submitted in less than a day for a single software eng. job.

                                                          • StefanBatory 3 days ago

                                                            I live in a decently sized city in Poland.

                                                            Helpdesk internship position I saw had more than 500 applications.

                                                            Helpdesk.

                                                            :(

                                                          • wq101010 3 days ago

                                                            It's interesting. I have been working on my job search product~ 17k dau, this tool will hugely benefit our users. I would love to talk. Add me on tele: @wq101010

                                                            • wq101010 3 days ago

                                                              we have resources to turn this into an actual product, MVP can be tested on our users.

                                                            • farhan11 2 days ago

                                                              Silquetech

                                                              • farhan11 2 days ago

                                                                Hello

                                                                • 015a 3 days ago

                                                                  I am absolutely, 100% certain, that AI is already destroying the job market. Its breaking in ways no one would have predicted, its causing insane damage to job mobility, and frankly there is zero indication that further advances in underlying technology will fix the problems the current imperfect tech has created (like, one might say is the case for e.g. image-gen)

                                                                  Here's one thing I'd say right off the bat: I applied to a role at OpenAI about eight months ago. I have a resume that, while certainly not the best, is definitely qualified for this role, and is entirely human written. I have not heard back, in the positive or negative. The job opening is still posted.

                                                                  I suspect this is a common story in many companies, because I have been on the hiring side this year. At a small-ish startup, which no one has heard of (relatively speaking), we posted a new mid-level software engineering role on only our own job board; we never got to broadcasting it to linkedin or within our local networks because, within the first 24 hours we received 800 applications. Our aging CTO was blown away, wow there must be so many fantastic candidates we'll work all night to sort through these; and I had to break it to him, man, its AI. But, ok, let's remain hopeful.

                                                                  - Using a combination of human might and HRIS AI tooling, we narrowed down the list down and started scheduling interviews. This was extremely expensive (person-hours + how expensive these HRIS tools are).

                                                                  - Many (~30%) of the applications were ghosts. We'd email them back trying to get an interview scheduled, and get no response. In a few cases we got email delivery bounce-backs.

                                                                  - But, after doing a handful of screening interviews, it became abundantly clear that many of the resumes were straight-up lies, not just concerning their depth of experience, but even the specific technologies ("Oh, I don't have much experience with React." "Your resume says you do..."). My leading theory is that there's some AI Job application tool out there which will both automatically apply to jobs for you, and generate a resume which is well-matched to the job description. A couple of the candidates seemed to be oblivious as to why their resume said what it said; but certainly if it were happening at scale most would have just lied about it.

                                                                  We paused the process, as it was clear that even with our HR generalist and me trying to sort through the slop every day for a week we have no way to trust the applications that were coming in. Fortunately, around the time we started wondering what we'd do, an old buddy came across my radar as looking for a new role; he did one interview with the CTO, I vouched for him, we extended an offer, and its been a great hire.

                                                                  The conclusion to this story: blind applications and blind job posts are dead. They do not work anymore. I had one former colleague tell me "I've applied to 800 jobs, I'm not finding anything, no one is even calling me back" yeah you're not adapting, my dude. The problem isn't the tech industry, its not the economy, its not you: its AI. I'm aware of one company in our local tech scene that won't even broadcast roles on the public internet anymore; we have private social networks in our 2nd tier US city that they exclusively share through. If you don't have a network; you're toast.

                                                                  The new grads coming out of college are so fucked, its not funny, its not ok.

                                                                  • zero-sharp 3 days ago

                                                                    So what's the solution for someone who doesn't have a network in the software space? I'm searching for career fairs in my city because talking to people seems like the right move. Is there an aggregator for career fairs? Am I missing something?

                                                                    • jakimfett 3 days ago

                                                                      Short answer: I don't know what will work for you.

                                                                      Less short answer: Find people in the software space that appeals to you, and build a reputation of the sorts of competence that they will seek.

                                                                      Even less short answer: Publish (your own software portfolio) or perish. Network (with people who you want to work with) or change your career path towards one that you can network within. Read books about connecting with others in your field, have conversations with people who know more than you. Establish yourself as a job-seeker, with job-seeking as your day job until you find one. Adapt. Adapt. Adapt.

                                                                      Nobody can find the magic path for you, you must take one step at a time and learn from every failure. There is no honor here, only temporary respite, for the days of remaining at a stable tech company through a decade or two of a career are over, and those who do not adapt will not weather this storm or the ones yet to come.

                                                                      If you can, find a different career path.

                                                                      I cannot emphasize this enough.

                                                                      Make software your hobby, and learn to herd yaks, work wood, or bend metal.

                                                                      • schnitzelstoat 3 days ago

                                                                        Career fairs, tech meetups, open-source contributions, tech blog etc.

                                                                        It's hard but tbh if I saw applicants with those things I'd definitely want to hire them.

                                                                        We've had a strong focus on interviews in the past, but we had bad hires (well, one bad hire, but its a small team) get through those.

                                                                        Someone can BS in an interview, but they can't BS months of open-source contributions or a tech blog they've kept or whatever. At least nowhere near as easily.

                                                                        • seanhunter 3 days ago

                                                                          I'm assuming you're going to be looking for a job in the software industry. The advice I would give is start with the end in mind.

                                                                          What kind of job do you want? What companies have that kind of role? That's your top of funnel. If you're not sure, look at what other smart people you know seem to be doing. What kinds of companies are they working for? What are similar kinds of companies.

                                                                          OK now make a shortlist. Do some research into the companies in your funnel and knock out companies you definitely don't want. Maybe you've read that their working conditions are terrible, their pay is bad, the location is wrong etc. You want to narrow the funnel down to a manageable size. What will determine what that size is is really up to you, how hard you want to work on the next steps vs how selective you can afford to be based on how big your funnel starts off. The bigger the starting funnel the more selective you can afford to be obviously.

                                                                          Right now you have your shortlist go on their website and look for career pages with job listings. Connect with their in-house recruiter on linkedin. Send them a nice, short, non-AI-generated message about why you are interested in their company and what kind of role you're looking for. Even if they don't have such a role right now, this will help. If they have a role you're interested in, mention it and ask any immediate clarifying questions you have.

                                                                          Cool. Now you have hopefully gone from a shortlist of companies to 1)A (probably very short, but that's ok) list of possible roles to apply for and 2)A (probably slightly longer, and that's a good thing) list of possible companies to apply to 3)A (probably medium-sized) list of recruiters you're starting to form initial working relationships with.

                                                                          Now apply to the roles you are interested in and go through their process. Don't try to game things, just pay attention to what they are trying to recruit for and be good at that. The research you've already done will stand you in very good stead.

                                                                          For the companies you are interested in, pay attention to what's happening in those industries, look for roles that spring up, look for new entrants and research them to see if they are companies you might be interested in.

                                                                          For the recruiters, keep on good terms with the ones of these that seem good/non-douchy. Good recruiters may move from company to company and will place candidates multiple times over the course of their career. Additionally they will bear you in mind and put you up for roles as they arise. There are lots or recruiters but not that many good recruiters so it's really not too hard to keep on top of these connections and they will stand you in very good stead. Also do the recruiters and your friends a favour and refer smart friends you have for roles if you see something that is a good fit for them even if it's not right for you (obviously ask permission first).

                                                                        • cruffle_duffle 3 days ago

                                                                          Even if you do have a good network you will still get ghosted when it comes time for your hookup to submit you as a referral. They’ll submit you and then crickets. Neither of you will have any visibility.

                                                                          The tech job market is so fucked right now.

                                                                        • ballooney 3 days ago

                                                                          Apply jobs to what?

                                                                          • dang 3 days ago

                                                                            (Submitted title was "AIHawk: AI bot to automatically apply jobs" - we've fixed the grammar now)

                                                                          • pretext 4 days ago

                                                                            [flagged]