I completely agree—you can't rely solely on specific languages or skills. But I’m talking more about the growing trend in hiring: multi-page forms in “Easy Apply” that were supposed to make applying easier, not harder; cookie-cutter email responses (the standard four paragraphs); ATS; cover letters that no one reads; requests for personal websites, publications in major online media, and so on. It’s as if no one is actually trying to figure out what kind of professional you really are. They screen you based on your social media profiles using various metrics. Now almost all companies do this, even though it used to be relevant only for large corporations that needed to understand, for example, your social engagement and reputation. But now I see small firms doing the exact same thing for no good reason.)

> A solid engineer should be able to pick up a new language in a few hours or jump into an unfamiliar architecture quickly.

I don't see that hiring responsible are looking for intelligent developers. They, in my opinion, have always been looking for exact experience with specific technology and any arguments that you are able to quickly learn something are ignored and overruled by some other candidate having the exact experience they need.