A hiring manager applied to a job whose description they'd written — and was rejected in six minutes. In an anonymous Reddit account shared on LinkedIn, they say they used a fake name after HR told them a key position remained unfilled because candidates weren't passing screenings. The alleged problem: Their resume said they knew "React," while the filter required "React.js" — two names for the same programming tool. A recruiting-software founder cites the story as a warning about rigid keyword checks. The account hasn't been independently verified, but the story has struck a nerve.
OK, this one’s wild 😅
A team lead applied to his OWN company’s job under a fake name. Basically his own CV. The guy who literally wrote the job description.
Auto-rejected in 6 minutes.
Why? The filter wanted “React.js”. His CV said “React”. That’s it. One dot.
And for months he’s sitting in meetings hearing “pipeline is thin, market is tough bro”. Meanwhile the system is just yeeting every good candidate over punctuation 🙃
Honestly, this is just dumb. HR hands hiring over to a bot, nobody checks what it’s doing, and real good engineers get cut without a human ever seeing their CV. Hope they found the real HR-imposter here 👀
So yeah:
If you hire, go apply to your own job once. You might be surprised
Actually look at who got auto-rejected, not just the shortlist
Don’t let a dumb keyword filter run your hiring
And if you’re job hunting and getting instant rejects for jobs you’re clearly good for… honestly, it might not be you.
Anyone here ever tested their own funnel? Curious what you found 👀
BOSS applied to his own job and got REJECTED in 6 minutes🚫 !!
The filter required "React.js." His CV said, "React." That's it. Every qualified applicant since April was rejected over punctuation, and nobody noticed.
Now imagine that, but with AI making the call at scale.
My take: ↓
Keyword filter or AI model, the failure is the same: a machine said no and no human looked.
AI is moving into tech, healthcare, real estate, everything. I'm fine with most of it. But hiring is where I draw the line.
Businesses run on people, and people should be read by people.
A CV that can't impress an algorithm doesn't mean the person can't impress the world once they get a chance.
So read the CV. Meet them. Talk to them. Understand their story. Then decide.
Period.
When was the last time you checked who your system rejects?
This hiring manager got auto-rejected by his own job posting.
He's the one who wrote the job description
HR kept telling him there wasn't good talent, so he applied under a fake name => auto-rejected in 6 minutes.
Reason for his rejection: his CV said “React,” but the filter wanted “React.js” exactly.
If that minor detail is enough to reject the person who wrote the JD, imagine the quality talent that never made it through.
Frankly, this is why keyword-based screening sucks. You let the wording on someone's CV decide whether their profile is even worth looking at.
Nobody's got the time to read thousands of CVs. That’s why we buy the tools.
But what’s the point of paying for screening if it filters out the people you’re paying to find?
