We can’t possibly be reading the same thing. The post I linked explains that because there is deadwood that never gets hired but applies for every single programming job, every time you advertise for a programmer, you get two hundred applicants, one of whom is decent and 199 are the same 199 that apply for every job.

Therefore, 1/2 of one percent of the applicants for every programming job are qualified and the rest are not. That doesn’t mean that 1/2 of one percent of working programmers are qualified or that you are being especially picky when you reject so many candidates, just that the dynamics of the market ensure that you get a lot of crap resumes when you advertise.

Now, what did YOU think Joel’s article said?