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The computers rejecting job applications

bbc.co.uk

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Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#111

Post by Radim »

kleiba wrote: post #64
OliverGilan wrote: post #38

About a year and half ago I was applying for a software engineering internship at Goldman Sachs and they made me take a Pymetrics test. One of the tasks was to press the spacebar as many times as possible in 30 seconds. I didn't do the task and withdrew my application.

Fun fact: Pymetrics has hired a lot of former C64 game programmers.

Is that a reference to the infamous C64 Summer / Winter Games? Where you had to twiddle your joystick as fast as you can?

Fascinating that should carry over into the 21st century hiring process.

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#112

Post by nicbou »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #48
OliverGilan wrote: post #38

About a year and half ago I was applying for a software engineering internship at Goldman Sachs and they made me take a Pymetrics test. One of the tasks was to press the spacebar as many times as possible in 30 seconds. I didn't do the task and withdrew my application.

Cordless drill with a small paddle bit held the right distance from the space bar would have aced that test. Of course there's software tricks you could have used as well.

Or a software input device

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#113

Post by aspaceman »

zippergz wrote: post #105
aspaceman wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? This directly disagrees with my experience. I believe this person is mistaken. Resumes are always filtered before they hit my desk, I just never even knew the filter happened. Apparently they toss out a huge amount. Reading this tweet in depth disagrees with a lot of my experience in Fortune 500 tech companies. Can’t figure out the misunderstanding.

If you never knew it happened, how do you... know it happened? I can't conclusively say one way or the other. I have been a hiring manager at a F500 tech company and have never seen direct evidence of any automatic filtering or rejections. Anyone speaking with complete confidence in either direction needs to bring actual evidence...

As in, my managers always talked about their piles being “presorted by HR” which was just code for a computer did it. I never thought some well paid HR person was actually sorting through those, but maybe I guess.

There’s no evidence to bring? Like, in the case of bunch of people bringing personal anecdotes you can still create a sense of truth without evidence Christ.

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#114

Post by decafninja »

ghaff wrote: post #88
crispyambulance wrote: post #57

Doing an online application to initiate contact with a potential employer is already a strike against the applicant. The whole point of these systems is to whittle down the pool of candidates down to single digits. Of course each candidate is going to "perfectly match" the stated faux-objective criteria because that's what the users of these systems think they want. Whether or not that's what they need is another que…

That's been my experience but it probably does legitimately depend. I think there are some people whose skills match sought after keywords and they're fine with those positions. If you've got a more eclectic (and often more senior with varied types of experience), keywords probably don't help much at all.

I don't bother with online applications anymore - I don't think I've ever had a single experience where doing so didn't result in an automated rejection letter or simply no response. Seems like a total waste of time.

Applying via human connections (whether it be a friend, coworker, or even a recruiter - first or third party) has been tremendously more successful.

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#115

Post by kleiba »

Radim wrote: post #111
kleiba wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fun fact: Pymetrics has hired a lot of former C64 game programmers.

Is that a reference to the infamous C64 Summer / Winter Games? Where you had to twiddle your joystick as fast as you can? Fascinating that should carry over into the 21st century hiring process.

Yeah, I might have lied when I wrote "fact"...

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#116

Post by Clubber »

NotPavlovsDog wrote: post #80
wmil wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They successfully filtered out one of the applicants who won't put up with their bullshit. It's a pure win on their side.

This. People think stupid tests and ineffective recruitment stand for incompetence. They may actually signify a well-tuned process to identify compliant, mediocre individuals that don't produce results, stand out, nor are self-motivated, but rather aim to please the boss, without question, and to "fit in". As an engineer, you want to increase your value contribution to the org and the org should see you the same way.…

>They may actually signify a well-tuned process to identify compliant, mediocre individuals that don't produce results, stand out, nor are self-motivated, but rather aim to please the boss, without question, and to "fit in".

You might be giving them too much credit. I suspect that may have been the original intent of the question, but was mindlessly aped after appearing in an article by countless hiring managers and recruiters.

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#117

Post by greesil »

patrickthebold wrote: post #89
dcolkitt wrote: post #36

The next logical step would be to train an adversarial AI against the hiring AI. You'd have the system generate your resume and application to maximize your chances. Then the hiring AI would need to be re-trained to account for this. And so on. In the far future, this feedback loop creates an economy where every job application is total gibberish. No human can possibly explain why their resume is a recipe for carne a…

I have a section on my resume called: 'Technologies I'm Unfamiliar With' Underneath is a Laundry list of today's sexiest technologies. It's not quite as advanced as your suggestion, but it's pretty effective. It's also a good icebreaker when you have the in person interview.

Very clever!

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#118

Post by 2sk21 »

hkmurakami wrote: post #69
dcolkitt wrote: post #36

The next logical step would be to train an adversarial AI against the hiring AI. You'd have the system generate your resume and application to maximize your chances. Then the hiring AI would need to be re-trained to account for this. And so on. In the far future, this feedback loop creates an economy where every job application is total gibberish. No human can possibly explain why their resume is a recipe for carne a…

This has a strong Kurt Vonnegut smell to it.

I also thought of Player Piano when I saw this

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#119

Post by aboringusername »

Computers decide if you get a job (and access to a resource called "money", pretty important for living).

Computers decide if your Google accounts gets deleted, without warning.

Computers decide if you can get credit, or open a bank, or participate in society.

And there is 0, yup, 0 accountability. Computer doesn't like you? Tough shit, get fucked, nothing you can do. If you don't have an internet connection, you're fucked. If you don't have fast upload speeds and a capability to record video and are willing to store it on someone else's computer (where they will datamine it and use it against you in the future, or it'll be "leaked"/sold) then you're fucked.

So now, to get a job I need:

To participate in surveillance and trading of my data where it'll be data raped

A smart phone

A fast internet connection

So great, fuck you to all the poor people I guess who find technology hard, they can just go die.

I'm beginning to think computers were the biggest mistake humans ever made. We need regulation and fast against this sort of thing, to make the hiring process fair and accessible to everyone.

Re: The computers rejecting job applications

#120

Post by 00deadbeef »

OliverGilan wrote: post #38

About a year and half ago I was applying for a software engineering internship at Goldman Sachs and they made me take a Pymetrics test. One of the tasks was to press the spacebar as many times as possible in 30 seconds. I didn't do the task and withdrew my application.

I just timed myself. 224 times. I wonder what that says about me?
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