Fuck AI

I literally just updated my CV and exported it as PDF/X. Then I remembered that a decade ago I sent someone else a PDF/X document and they were annoyed that they couldn't add notes on it while reading it (because apparently Adobe Reader was stupidly designed like that, can't just save an editable copy - dunno, I've not used that app in forever) and wondered if recruiters would be annoyed.

But then I was like "blaaaaah, recruiters, are they even reading this stuff anymore? Were they ever reading this stuff? Probably not. Shouldn't worry about it."

(Well, some did, once in a while. A few years ago I did end up in a few group interviews in which the recruiters apparently printed out my CV. In colour. ...As I just updated my CV, I realised that I used only black plus one colour for the entire document, which means uneven toner usage. Recruiters vs Printers: No Matter Who Wins, We Lose.)

(I don't know what the hell I'm rambling about, I'm giga high on caffeine, holy shit)

I've started hiding industry-specific keywords in white text in the footer of my resume in hopes of getting flagged and put in front of a human.

I'm a graphic designer who spent a lot of time designing a beautiful resume because I was taught in college that designers who have word doc resumes are garbage and never get hired.

16 years later and I'm asking Claude to shit out an ATS compliant version of my resume tailored to each job posting.

Sucks so much, but it does work.

It's yet another symptom of late stage capitalism in a nutshell. Everyone wants to reap the short term gaina, no one want's to invest in the future. Everyone wants highly skilled and experienced employees to work for them but no one wants to invest in young employees and train them.

Hear me out, people. This is jobs in a nutshell, right now. Guess what will be of our social interactions in a not so distant future if we keep using this trash like it's cool

Seriously I keep seeing recruiters on Linkedin saying the ATS misses like 80% of good candidates. So guys you admit the main tool you use for your job sucks? You don't see a problem here?

AI feedback loops. Mmm yummy.

ChatGPT, checking its own homework

My dyslexic brain read that as "The Job Market ** In** Hell"

I was thinking if that's were ya gotta go for a decent job these days

If simulation theory wasn't real before, it's becoming so now.

The loop in that article is deliberate. ATS exists to externalize the cost of screening onto applicants while giving employers plausible deniability about who gets filtered. The "objective" framing is the fraud. I built a tool for this (CircuitForge-Peregrine, open-core, local-first). Not because I think the system should exist, but because I kept watching people get filtered before any human ever saw their application. A lot of neurodivergent folks especially, people who interview brilliantly but get wrecked by the performance art of keyword optimization. Resume coaches and LinkedIn premium exist for people who can afford to play the game. Peregrine is for everyone else.

Using AI to survive AI screening is genuinely stupid and I don't love it. But I'd rather the tool be free and local than have the only options be "pay someone" or "lose."

If no one is getting hired, why are they placing job requests? If they need someone, they will keep looking until they can hire someone. Whether or not their application was written with AI.

This post is bullshit.