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This has leaked outside of tech too. My spouse works at a large public health nonprofit and has started receiving AI copypasta spam for open positions on Linked

This has leaked outside of tech too. My spouse works at a large public health nonprofit and has started receiving AI copypasta spam for open positions on LinkedIn. Despite the "cover letters considered harmful" sentiment here in the land of tech mercenaries on HN, in most industries (and especially in mission driven organizations) some form of direct personal communication beyond a resume is a useful way to determine if somebody has a genuine interest in the organization and its mission. I don't even know why people are trying to stuff AI generated spam in an interaction where the entire point is to find some genuine human connection. Do they think it actually works? Do they think that demonstrating a complete lack of effort is going to impress anybody? It seems like it would be a huge red flag and negative signal.

JohnFen 3y ago
> some form of direct personal communication beyond a resume is a useful way to determine if somebody has a genuine interest in the organization and its mission. This is true. But I suspect that a lot of people who don't want to write cover letters are people who are just applying for a job that they think they qualify for, rather than applying for a job because they have a genuine interest in that particular company. The lack of a cover letter may serve as a useful clue for when that's the case.
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  Some people surprise surprise are motivated by, well not dying on the streets. The question is whether spending say 8 hours spamming 100 applications or crafting 2 or 3 is the better route? Given there is no guarantee the job you are applying for even exists… we are indeed in a lemons market.
carlosjobim 3y ago
> I don't even know why people are trying to stuff AI generated spam in an interaction where the entire point is to find some genuine human connection. Do they think it actually works? Kind of obviously they do think it works. And if it works sometimes, it will be worth the minimum effort to send them. Recruiters aren't known for taking their jobs seriously, so why would candidates. You're asking them to write a serious cover letter, when the position might already be filled by somebody's niece, when an applicant is very likely to be dismissed based on sex and origin, or because he looks a little bit like the recruiter's uncle, who she hates.

JohnFen 3y ago

> some form of direct personal communication beyond a resume is a useful way to determine if somebody has a genuine interest in the organization and its mission. This is true. But I suspect that a lot of people who don't want to write cover letters are people who are just applying for a job that they think they qualify for, rather than applying for a job because they have a genuine interest in that particular company. The lack of a cover letter may serve as a useful clue for when that's the case.

quickthrower2 3y ago
Some people surprise surprise are motivated by, well not dying on the streets. The question is whether spending say 8 hours spamming 100 applications or crafting 2 or 3 is the better route? Given there is no guarantee the job you are applying for even exists… we are indeed in a lemons market.

carlosjobim 3y ago

> I don't even know why people are trying to stuff AI generated spam in an interaction where the entire point is to find some genuine human connection. Do they think it actually works? Kind of obviously they do think it works. And if it works sometimes, it will be worth the minimum effort to send them. Recruiters aren't known for taking their jobs seriously, so why would candidates. You're asking them to write a serious cover letter, when the position might already be filled by somebody's niece, when an applicant is very likely to be dismissed based on sex and origin, or because he looks a little bit like the recruiter's uncle, who she hates.