u/Decent_Magician_1917

Genuine question.

We recently opened a remote role and probably 80% of the cover letters felt like the job description had been pasted into ChatGPT and rewritten back to us.

Perfectly written, hits every requirement, tells me absolutely nothing about the person.

I don't really blame candidates for using AI either, especially when they're applying to dozens of jobs.

But it's making me wonder if cover letters have basically become pointless.

Are recruiters still using them to screen people? If not, what's been more useful?

I’ve been looking at them for a VA and their setup seems pretty straightforward, but I’d rather hear from someone who’s actually used the service. How good are the assistants in practice? Any issues with consistency, communication, or needing to replace someone?

Hey all, I keep seeing them recommended for VAs and EAs, especially because they supposedly do a lot of the vetting/matching for you rather than just sending a huge list of candidates.

Has anyone here used them? Mainly curious if the candidate quality actually justifies going through them vs hiring directly from the Philippines or using Upwork.

I'm looking for reliable people to complete simple online tasks.

Dm for more information

Task Details:

Work is completely online.

No previous experience required.

Tasks may include basic social media engagement, surveys, app testing, or other simple online work (depending on availability).

Clear instructions will be provided before starting.

$5–$30 per task (depending on task complexity and completion).

People often describe NYC as a great place to build because of the density of talent, customers, investors and different industries.

But office space, salaries and the general cost of existing here are obviously high. And with remote work, a startup can technically hire and sell almost anywhere.

For founders currently building in New York, has the location created a meaningful advantage for your company?

Have you won customers because you could meet in person? Hired people you wouldn’t have found elsewhere? Benefited from being close to finance, media, healthcare, fashion or other industries?

Or could your company operate just as effectively from a less expensive city?

Interested in specific examples rather than the usual NYC has great energy answer.

I’m helping a small company hire for a remote operations role, and the hardest part isn’t getting applications. It’s figuring out which applications are genuine.

A lot of resumes now repeat the exact wording from the job description. Cover letters sound polished but vague, and several candidates claim experience with nearly every tool we mentioned.

At the same time, I don’t want to reject a genuinely good candidate simply because they used AI to improve their resume or English.

Recruiters and hiring managers, what signals make you believe someone’s experience is real?

Is it specific metrics, a detailed LinkedIn profile, work samples, video introductions, references or how they answer screening questions?

And what makes you immediately suspicious?