Make your job application stand out among the other 10,000 applications submitted online for the exact same job, with this incredible trick from video games!

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The Issue:

Now that most job applications are posted online, it’s unbelievably difficult for a person to have their job application actually noticed (or read by a human being at all). Any legitimate-looking job posting for something like “graphic designer: intro level: salary: slightly above minimum wage” will probably get 1000+ applicants the first day it shows up online.

With so many applicants, it’s very unlikely that jobs will be evaluated primarily on merit, and it’s likely that 90% of applications will go into the garbage based on semi-random criteria.

Proposal:

The solution is simple: the company listing the job should include a video-game-inspired “skill tree” that candidates can fill out to indicate their expertise.

(In many video games, a character can level up and “spec” into particular types of expertise: for example, a character might learn “Archery” (Level 1) first, then “Shoot Fire Arrows” (Level 2), and finally “Shoot Exploding Fire Arrows” (Level 3).)

When a job is listed, the company could provide a similar “skill tree” for applicants to fill out, except the categories would be things like “Spreadsheet Basics” (Level 1), and “Spreadsheet: Knows about formulas” (Level 2), and “Spreadsheet: Can use ‘VLOOKUP’” (Level 3).

The applicant would just need to click on the relevant skills that they have in order to highlight them (Figure 1).

Fig. 1: Here, we see the various desired job skills and qualifications (all the rectangular boxes) that a company thinks are relevant for a candidate. This particular has indicated that they have the colored-in skills/qualifications (so this candidate is allegedly literate, has a high school diploma and an A.A. (Associate’s degree), knows how to use a spreadsheet, and types at at least 20 words per minute).

(A similar idea was proposed in 2021 for education, where students would “level up” their knowledge in a video game skill tree, rather than using traditional grades: https://worstplans.com/2021/03/01/educational-game-skill-tree/)

Conclusion:

This should greatly simplify the job application process and make it easier for more-qualified applicants to show off their skills.

PROS: Makes job-searching easier and less random.

CONS: May increase people’s career mobility, which would reduce the ability for a single employer to drastically underpay a long-term employee who doesn’t enjoy job-hopping.

Originally published 2025-02-03.