Y Combinator logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.

It’s a particularly dismal time for a job hunt, especially in the layoff-ridden tech industry, and one San Francisco startup is getting flak online for a controversial hiring stunt meant to find committed talent.

LemonLime, a Y Combinator-backed artificial intelligence startup for small businesses, offered company tattoos in exchange for an “instant interview” at a YC Startup School afterparty on Saturday, according to a now-deleted LinkedIn post from its co-founder Jordan Zietz. The post showed a woman sitting in front of a tattoo artist, appearing to prep for getting inked on her right forearm.

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Zeitz wrote that he hosted the party to meet “exceptional people” and find out if they were “just as crazy as we are.” The post says seven people left with permanent tattoos, but doesn’t mention if any were actually hired. 

ICYMI –– The YC startup founder that bragged about trading tattoos for interviews took down the posts. Now he claims interviews were available to anyone. (They also........

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