Tony Tellez Challenges 6-Minute AI Job Rejection Over 17 Years of IT Experience

3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · May 16

Six minutes after applying late Sunday for a senior managed-services role, Indianapolis IT professional Tony Tellez received a rejection email and messaged the company’s HR director to ask for a manual review.
Tellez, 49, said the speed of the response showed an automated screening system likely filtered him out, possibly because he lacks a bachelor’s degree that the posting listed as preferred, not required.
His complaint carried extra weight because he has 17 years in IT, including six years in service delivery and operations management, and said his résumé had been optimized with keywords and tested through an applicant-tracking system.
He has not heard back and the listing is gone, but the episode pushed him to make his résumé more AI-friendly while favoring employers that explicitly say every application gets human review.
The account underscores a broader hiring shift: experienced applicants increasingly feel they must adapt to AI gatekeepers before reaching a recruiter.

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