We applied for a $195K Treasury job using AI and got wildly different results.
When Sam Corcos (@samcorcos) posted a government IT specialist position requiring applicants to write a 10 page Great Gatsby analysis using AI, translate it into Spanish and Mandarin, and condense it into 200 words... we saw an opportunity to show you two completely different approaches to the same ambiguous problem.
Mike (CTO) took the engineering route: Claude Code in terminal, planning phases, validation agents, citation checking, and systematic translation with dialect considerations.
Justin (CEO) went full marketing: scrollable website, Roaring Twenties aesthetic, personality woven throughout, and creative ways to stand out in a sea of AI generated submissions.
The truth? They're both testing the same thing. How do you break down an ambiguous task? How do you demonstrate your thought process? How do you use AI as a tool while showing your unique problem solving approach?
This isn't just about landing a government job. It's about the future of interviews in an AI world. Show your work. Demonstrate your thinking. Stand out with your approach, not just your output.
🔗 Original Job Post: https://x.com/SamCorcos/status/201229...
🔗 Job Listing: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/854817200
🔗 Justin's V0 Webpage: https://v0.app/chat/gatsby-treasury-e...
Chapters:
00:00 Intro: Applying for a $195K Government Job
02:30 Breaking Down the Supplemental Assignment
08:20 Mike's Technical Approach with Claude Code
21:30 Planning Mode and Context Management
32:00 Justin's Creative Marketing Approach
46:00 Translation Challenges: Spanish and Mandarin
54:00 Final Results: Engineering vs Marketing
01:02:00 Key Lessons: Process Over Output
Follow Sam Corcos: @samcorcos on X
Forward to Extraordinary.
Top comments (0)