Why do this: “Please mention the word 'crane' in your application”?

Question

I saw a job ad for a startup role which among the list of requirements specifies: "Please mention the word 'crane' in your application". Have you seen this before? Any idea why it's done? What do you think of this practice?

onion2k · Accepted Answer

It's testing to see if you read the instructions, or to filter out people who cut'n'paste hundreds of applications, or possibly to block bots but I don't really know why someone would write a bot to apply for jobs.

thanatos519 · Answer

Maybe something like this?https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brown-out/

_the_inflator · Answer

To check if the candidate read through the profile/anti-bot.I would not use it.

Why do this: “Please mention the word 'crane' in your application”?

I saw a job ad for a startup role which among the list of requirements specifies: "Please mention the word 'crane' in your application". Have you seen this before? Any idea why it's done? What do you think of this practice?

It's testing to see if you read the instructions, or to filter out people who cut'n'paste hundreds of applications, or possibly to block bots but I don't really know why someone would write a bot to apply for jobs.

Maybe something like this?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brown-out/

To check if the candidate read through the profile/anti-bot.
I would not use it.