Do you remember the first job you ever applied for?
Maybe it was during your college placement cycle. Or perhaps it was a frantic search on Naukri.com or LinkedIn right after graduation.
However you did it, and whatever role it was for, the struggle was more or less the same. You probably spent hours tweaking your résumé, asking a friend to review your cover letter, even rehearsing answers in front of a mirror for that dreaded interview round.
That was the old way of applying. It was slow, deliberate, and more often than not, exhausting.
Fast forward to today, and that old slog feels almost quaint.
Today, a founder posts one role and wakes up to hundreds, sometimes thousands of applications. Most look perfect: tailored résumés, keyword-rich cover letters. But half were evidently written or polished by AI. By the first screen no one’s sure who actually did the work. Recruiters don’t trust résumés. Candidates don’t trust filters.
Which is why, some employers are starting to rewrite the hiring funnel.
In this episode of 90,000 Hours, we explore how.
Featuring insights from:
- Manav Garg, Founding Partner, Together Fund
- Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-founder, Scaler
- Sanam Rawal, Founding Partner, Metamorph
Listen in to understand the new rules of getting hired and how to stand out in an age when everyone looks perfect on paper.
Write to Rahel with your thoughts on the episode or something you have noticed at work that you would like her to explore next: rahel@the-ken.com
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