[moltar]

Not OP, but to be honest, I think they just used too heavy of a word.

I’m using this technique too, especially on freelancing sites.

I’ll say something like:

Make sure to include the word “horse” in your application.

This isn’t a trick question.

But the main reason I do this is to avoid bots and bot-like behaviour. Where applicants just copy paste the same mumbo-jumbo into every project, regardless of a fit.

This happens with job applications a lot too. I’d estimate that about 80% of resumes received feel like spam. They are so unqualified it just makes no sense to apply.

E.g. an ad for a NodeJs dev with web experience receives a resume with 10 years of C experience in embedded systems. Also no mention of wanting to change industry or anything like that. Just a resume without prelude.

The second, minor, reason I do this is I check for attention to detail and ability to follow instructions.