Screening software engineers in the LLM era

06 Feb, 2025

The game has changed. It used to be about identifying promising candidates. Now it feels like identifying humans.

The problem

Too many messages sound the same. They follow identical structures, use generic language, and lack personality.

Common Patterns:

• Standardized formulations
• Too much focus on tech fit
• Verbose & formal writing

Examples:

I am interested in this position because it aligns perfectly with my skills, experiences, and career goals.

I’m interested in this position because it aligns with my experience and passion for full-stack development, and I’m excited to contribute to innovative projects while growing professionally.

I'm genuinely passionate about this industry, and the opportunity to work in this role feels like a perfect fit for my career aspirations.

More than half of applications now start with a sentence containing some flavor of “I am excited about Nango because it aligns with my skills/experiences/goals”. I got this exact sentence an impressive number of times!

Some sentences have become so repetitive that I assume this is due to the growing usage of LLMs.

The problem is that it doesn’t feel authentic and doesn’t give any real insight into the person behind them.

Why I reject these

Not because the person is necessarily bad, but because there’s no signal and too many applicants. I only have so much time, so my #1 screening criterion is finding applications that sound human.

How to stand out in the LLM era

Be human. That’s it.

• Keep it short (we know you can’t write a custom cover letter for every job)
• Use a personal, authentic tone
• Show reciprocity: express genuine interest in the company, not just yourself
• Go beyond tech fit—talk about product, customers, mission

Joining a company is a career bet. If you’re intentional about that bet, we’ll suspect you’re a top candidate.

What stands out for us (early-stage YC dev-tool)

I suspect every company has unique hiring needs. And the earlier the company, the more specific their search.

At Nango, we look for:

• Startup experience: You understand trade-offs and how to bet on them. Without this, the risk of misfit is too high. We particularly value candidates who have worked at YC startups—they share a common way of working.
• Dev tools experience: Building for developers requires engineering excellence, DX taste, and an ability to engage with a technical audience.
• Seniority: Tiny teams can’t afford to mentor juniors. We need people who unblock themselves.
• Full-stack skills: We’re too small for specialized roles. Everyone contributes across the stack.

This probably applies to 0.1% of engineers, but early-stage startups win by doing things that don’t scale.

A great example

Here’s the exact outreach message from our last hire:

"Hi! I’m [first name], a software engineer. I’ve been helping build startups since 2000, and in that time have felt the pains Nango addresses a few times!

I would love to talk more about how things are going with Nango, where you’re headed, and if I could lend a hand."

It’s short. It shows he knows startups. It values the product. It signals he wants to make a bet and be helpful. I suspected not only a great engineer, but someone who understands what we need. And he turned out great.

The best way to stand out? Just be real. It’s surprisingly rare.