I'm interested in your position. I mainly don't agree about the non-zero sum or definite ordering parts (the BigTechCos that I've worked out explicitly stack rank applicants, so that means they do think there is some definite ordering that can at least be approximated), but I don't think that is a really interesting debate to have.
I think more interestingly, it seems like what I've seen is looking to hire interns where we can't even fill the spots we want with people who appear that they are likely to be actually qualified, they hire interns who are unlikely to be qualified because its worth it to filter down to the few that are. It seems that your suggestion that you get more qualified applicants than you have positions for, which really flies in the face of my experiences. Is it really true or were you exaggerating somewhat to make a point?
Not exaggerating at all. I've never been in a position where I felt I had to lower my standards below "the best in the world (for our team)", and I've always been able to turn down a candidate who doesn't meet that criteria without having to worry about having an empty seat. That's how tech hiring should be; you're building an effective team rather than laying bricks.
Maybe I've been lucky with the organizations I've been associated with, but none of them has thought of hiring as filling slots, or of internships as anything other than nurturing the most promising young people to become great hires later.
Are people really hiring interns to get work done? No wonder we have so much unimaginative cookie-cutter software! I mean, there's no doubt that tons of people use absolutely abysmal hiring practices where making certain decisions would make them even worse, but that's not really interesting to talk about.
I think more interestingly, it seems like what I've seen is looking to hire interns where we can't even fill the spots we want with people who appear that they are likely to be actually qualified, they hire interns who are unlikely to be qualified because its worth it to filter down to the few that are. It seems that your suggestion that you get more qualified applicants than you have positions for, which really flies in the face of my experiences. Is it really true or were you exaggerating somewhat to make a point?