You joke, but this is very similar to the Secretary Problem's optimal solution [0] [1]: > The optimal cutoff tends to n/e as n increases, and the best applica

You joke, but this is very similar to the Secretary Problem's optimal solution [0] [1]: > The optimal cutoff tends to n/e as n increases, and the best applicant is selected with probability 1/e. So, you deliberately reject a first cohort of applicants, and then pick the first person you encounter that's better than the best one you rejected. Obviously, in the joke that's not possible as they are neglecting to interview them, so I think the sibling comments are correct about it being a skewering of the hiring process, but it's neat that there's such a close parallel. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_problem 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15567307 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15567307