The economics job market has all job candidates apply for new jobs every Fall through its American Economic Association Job Openings for Economists website. It is a centralized location for employers to post jobs and job seekers to apply. As a result, it's very easy for job candidates to apply to many jobs -- regardless of interest or job fit. Many new PhDs apply to over 100 jobs in a given year and each job opening receives 250+ job applications. Employers are looking for a fast way to narrow down applications and want to be able to identify which candidates are serious applicants. Which of the following methods is likely to be most effective in identifying serious job candidates?

Tell job candidates to put a big smiley face in the upper left corner of their application to indicate their serious intent.

Allow job candidates to notify up to three jobs of their serious intent.

Tell employers to search for the word "interest" in each job candidates cover letter.

Have job candidates send messages to those jobs they are particularly interested in.