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ā€¢2 min read

I Applied to Anthropic (And Other Tales of Delusion)

careeranthropicjob-hunting

i did something crazy today.

i applied to anthropic.

the context

for the past year, i've been obsessing over this company. reading their research. using claude. telling anyone who will listen about constitutional AI.

and they had a job posting. research engineer, alignment science. the description reads like my dream job.

so i applied. on valentine's day. because i have a parasocial relationship with a company. romantic.

the realization that stopped me

"i'm a 19-year-old undergrad with one research project and no publications. why would they even look at my application?"

this thought almost kept me from clicking submit.

but then i thought: what's the worst case? they say no. my current trajectory is unchanged. zero risk.

the best case is... well. let's not get ahead of ourselves.

what the application asked for

  • resume (refined it for two days)
  • cover letter (rewrote it four times)
  • links to projects (finally glad i have public github repos)
  • the usual demographic stuff

the cover letter was the hardest part. how do you say "i'm obsessed with your company's mission and i think about AI safety every day" without sounding unhinged?

what i wrote (roughly)

  • why i care about AI safety (genuine passion, specific examples)
  • what i've done that's relevant (thesis work, research experience)
  • why anthropic specifically (their approach, their research, their values)
  • acknowledgment that i'm early in my career (but eager to grow)

i tried to be honest, specific, and not too cringe. success level: unclear.

expectations management

realistically: i won't hear back. or i'll get a polite rejection. that's fine. this is a long game.

optimistically: maybe they'll keep my resume for future roles.

delusionally: maybe they'll see something and give me a chance???

i'm holding all three possibilities in my head simultaneously. it's crowded in here.

why i'm posting this

documenting the moment. whether this leads to nothing or something, i want to remember that i took the shot.

you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, or whatever.

application submitted. refresh email every 30 seconds for the next month. healthy coping mechanisms.