Not OP, but to be honest, I think they just used too heavy of a word. I’m using this technique too, especially on freelancing sites. I’ll say something like:

Not OP, but to be honest, I think they just used too heavy of a word. I’m using this technique too, especially on freelancing sites. I’ll say something like: Make sure to include the word “horse” in your application. This isn’t a trick question. But the main reason I do this is to avoid bots and bot-like behaviour. Where applicants just copy paste the same mumbo-jumbo into every project, regardless of a fit. This happens with job applications a lot too. I’d estimate that about 80% of resumes received feel like spam. They are so unqualified it just makes no sense to apply. E.g. an ad for a NodeJs dev with web experience receives a resume with 10 years of C experience in embedded systems. Also no mention of wanting to change industry or anything like that. Just a resume without prelude. The second, minor, reason I do this is I check for attention to detail and ability to follow instructions.