Anecdote: a while back, I did an internship at a YC “darling” company that you’ve definitely heard of. They apparently liked me so much that a couple years ago, the lead of intern recruiting emailed me encouraging me to re-apply if I was ever on the job market.
Well it’s fall 2024, and they automatically rejected my resume without review.
Apparently not even internships are good enough as a hiring signal anymore.
HR and hiring managers aren't the same people, and aren't always operating with the same set of criteria. I was directed to re-apply and answer some of the questions differently (and not quite truthfully...) just to get past the screening system.
I would encourage you to reach back out to intern recruiting and see what's up.
Reach out for sure. Do anything humanly possible to avoid going through HR.
if you literally worked there, and you know the names of people who also work there, to include managers and HR, reach out to them directly. a polite email and a couple of calls and you've got a start date.
They switched to "AI" for efficiency :)