Show HN: ApplyAssists – AI resume builder using Google XYZ formula
TL;DR
Daniel, a product owner based in Romania, built ApplyAssists after a year of job hunting in which ATS-focused AI resume builders produced nothing but rejections. Instead of optimizing for templates and keyword scores, the tool applies the Google XYZ formula popularized by ex-Google recruiter Farah Sharghi, backed by eye-tracking research suggesting recruiters spend only about 6 seconds per resume. He built the knowledge base by feeding winning resumes into NotebookLM and interviewing recruiters directly.
Nauti's Take
What makes ApplyAssists interesting is the shift in target: the deciding factor is not a filtering algorithm but a human glance lasting moments. The catch is that the underlying formula is freely available, so the advantage fades once every application sounds alike.
Candidates with measurable achievements gain a genuinely useful tool here, while anyone hoping structure can replace substance should be careful.
Briefingshow
The case points to a broader shift in hiring: as long as both sides optimized for ATS keywords, the contest was an arms race between filters. Moving the focus to the six seconds of human attention puts demonstrable results ahead of word lists again. For anyone job hunting, the takeaway is to document numbers and impact first, regardless of which tool ends up phrasing the bullets.
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