Employers, please use postmarked letters for job applications (2025)

Post by BobbyTables2 » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 5:12 AM UTC

ralph84 wrote: post #5

They already do this, listen to the radio at off hours and there will be many job ads with instructions to apply via postal mail. Of course the reason isn't to deter LLMs it's to deter Americans so the employer can claim no Americans applied in their visa and green card filings.

Post by aitchnyu » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 6:27 AM UTC

msten wrote: post #55

Last job I hired for I required short video submission answering some basic questions. If you didn't submit a video you were automatically disqualified. The previous position we hired for had over 1,000 applicants this last position around 500.

Post by thaumasiotes » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 6:37 AM UTC

vulcan01 wrote: post #18

stackskipton wrote: post #6

After seeing the flood of resumes for application, I do think a small cost to apply wouldn't be a bad thing for either applicants or companies. I also realize that if someone is unemployed, getting them to pay money they don't have to find a new job is counterproductive. However, when we wanted to hire a new Ops person at work, the flood of obviously not qualified at all applicants we got was insane.

> the flood of obviously not qualified at all applicants we got was insane From speaking to folks looking for jobs in tech over the past few years, this is a natural result. 1. Companies write requirements on the job posting that are a little beyond reasonable for the role and salary. 2. Applicants learn over time, and start applying to jobs for which they only meet most of the qualifications. 3. Companies adjust and…

Post by rapidaneurism » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:13 AM UTC

BobbyTables2 wrote: post #61

x0x0 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last req I opened I closed around 500 applicants. I opened it Thursday afternoon and closed it Tuesday morning. Over 40% were totally nonqualified. The job was for a rails engineer. In the current market, I wanted exactly what I asked for: a senior rails eng. But as long as the applicant had shipped a web app in a dynamic language -- node, react, vue, svelte, django, flask, phoenix, whatever the php folks use, et…

Reminds me of the joke: A hiring manager throws away half the applications without looking at them. They don’t want to hire “unlucky” people.

Post by rapidaneurism » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC

msten wrote: post #55

Last job I hired for I required short video submission answering some basic questions. If you didn't submit a video you were automatically disqualified. The previous position we hired for had over 1,000 applicants this last position around 500.