Bending Spoons Hired 0.04% of 800,000 Applicants

Bending Spoons received 800,000 job applications in the past year, hiring only 286 candidates, resulting in an acceptance rate of 0.04%. The $21 billion company, which owns digital businesses including Eventbrite, Vimeo, and AOL, has observed increasing competition for roles. CEO Luca Ferrari described the company's hiring process as "crazy" but effective, aiming to be significantly more predictive than traditional interviews. He stated that "a run-of-the-mill interview is almost entirely non-predictive, like tossing a coin," deeming them "completely useless."

The rigorous selection process begins with tens of thousands of candidates progressing through an initial screening. Those who pass this first round, numbering around 60,000, undergo tests designed to evaluate their reasoning abilities, judgment, and learning speed. Following these assessments, candidates proceed to an interview stage. After the interviews, Bending Spoons employs hiring algorithms to analyze candidate performance against both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Less than 9% of candidates who reach the interview stage ultimately receive a job offer.

This stringent approach results in an acceptance rate that is 100 times more selective than Ivy League colleges, which typically admit around 4% of applicants. The company, based in Milan and employing fewer than 1,000 individuals, processed an applicant pool larger than the populations of cities such as Seattle, Boston, and Las Vegas. The overall hiring market has seen a slowdown, with U.S. job openings falling to 6.54 million last year, the lowest figure since September 2020.