[CaptainDecisive]

He is likely saying that he interviewed 300 people to fill about six engineer positions, given he states a 1-in-50 hire rate from interviews. Still, that means 500 applicants per open position which, I agree, seems high.

In tech-ese, his use of the word "position" is referring to the abstract job role, rather than an actual instance of that role.

[Peroni]

A 1-in-50 hire rate is absolutely shocking regardless of the company size, industry, etc. Whoever is responsible for prescreening these applicants prior to being interviewed simply isn't doing their job.

[karlmdavis]

Not really, no. I've found resumes to be terribly poor indicators of hiring suitability, and so I end up conducting brief first-round phone screens with most at-least-slightly-suitable candidates.

This correlates well with the article here, as it turns out that resumes were more useful as a writing sample assessment than a work experience assessment to this company.

[Peroni]

To be honest, I misinterpreted the ratio. I wasn't aware that the 50 included people who were phone screened. Fortunately the ratio makes a lot more sense in that context.