This startup added a new job app requirement for interns: handwritten cover letters
Startup Dumb.co began requiring handwritten cover letters for internship applications to filter out AI-generated content. The company found that this analog approach helped identify candidates who were genuinely aligned with their mission.
Why it matters
This reflects a growing trend of companies pushing back against AI-generated job applications to ensure authentic candidate engagement.
Dumb.co, a startup that makes customized flip phones, said it was inundated with AI slop. Then it required that cover letters be handwritten. iStock; Tyler Le/BI Dumb.co, a startup that makes modified "dumb" phones, said it was sick of AI slop in job apps. The company started requiring handwritten cover letters for its internship applications. "It felt like someone actually was looking through what I had to say," said one candidate, who got hired. Even the companies promoting analog lifestyles are being inundated with AI job applications. Dumb.co, a startup selling modified flip phones , was looking for interns passionate about being more offline. There was just one glitch: A startling number of cover letters appeared to have been written by AI — or at least sounded like it.
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