Ask HN: With AI written resumes, what are the new hiring signals?
3 plentysun 4 7/30/2025, 2:46:00 AM
AI tools are getting incredibly good at generating perfectly polished, keyword optimized resumes. As the traditional signals get diluted, it's becoming harder to see the real person behind the document.
I'm curious what hiring managers are now looking for to cut through the noise. What are the genuine, harder-to-fake signs of a great engineer? Is it the quality of their GitHub READMEs, the questions they ask in an interview, a personal blog, or something else entirely?
A referral.
At least, in my experience a year or two ago. It was impossible to get past initial screenings for jobs I was perfect for on paper.
None of my skills, experience, etc. even mattered. In the end what mattered was getting a nepo referral for a job I wasn’t even qualified for on paper.
If it is too polished, then chances are its AI :)