Vent: That time a hiring algorithm rejected me for using the wrong keywords

Back in 2021, I was applying for a data analyst role at a mid-size tech company. I spent hours tailoring my resume, but the automated screening tool kept kicking it out because I used 'spreadsheets' instead of 'data visualization tools' in one section. A friend who worked there told me they fed resumes through a model trained on past hires' language patterns. I think these systems punish people who don't know the secret code words, and that feels broken to me. Has anyone else had a resume scrapped by an algorithm for something that minor?

4 comments

4 Comments

riverh491mo ago

Guess I should've listed "hot things" instead of "spreadsheets" for that chef job...

jakewhite1mo ago

Hold up, is that really that different though? I mean "spreadsheets" is a tool just like "data visualization tools" is a category. If you were listing Excel as a skill, that IS a data visualization tool. I get being frustrated but honestly, companies have to filter somehow and keywords do matter. You wouldn't apply for a chef job and say "I use hot things" instead of "I use ovens." The system is just looking for specific terms their own hiring people decided were important. It sucks when you miss one word but that's on you for not matching the job description exactly.

west.casey1mo ago

Man, I think there's a bigger problem here than just word matching. These systems are basically copying the language patterns of people who already got hired, which means they're just reinforcing whatever biased hiring happened before the algorithm existed. So instead of fixing the original unfairness, they're just automating it and making it harder to spot.

riverh491mo ago

west.casey, you hit it right on the head. I read somewhere that these tools basically just learn from old resumes, so they end up copying the same problems we already had with hiring.