After getting a layoff discover in Could, engineer Todd Hendricks, 46, began his job search. One Friday, he signed on to Zoom for the coding spherical of a multistep interview course of and waited for somebody to seem. Nobody did.
He reached out to the recruiter and heard nothing again. The subsequent Monday, an e mail landed in his inbox. The corporate stated it was now not transferring ahead along with his utility, primarily based on his efficiency within the interview he says by no means occurred.
Hendricks is one in every of many American job seekers who consider the hiring course of is “damaged.” Discovering a job has not often been simple, however in 2026, fierce competitors, the rising use of synthetic intelligence and an absence of belief in employers have additional sophisticated the method. U.S. employers shed 23,000 roles in July, and expertise accounted for 31% of introduced job cuts this yr, in response to Challenger, Grey & Christmas.
The nation’s unemployment price was 4.1% in July, although economists say it fell this yr largely as a result of employees dropped out of the labor power, not as a result of an enormous variety of candidates have been employed. Some analysts consider one purpose behind the departures is burnout from the job search.
Extra Candidates, Much less Human Consideration
After being laid off in Could 2023, Candee Petersen stated she secured a brand new job three months later in August, solely to be laid off once more in September. Although she has landed some contract work since, Petersen, 54, stated that about 5,000 functions later, she’s nonetheless and not using a full-time job. A former government administrative enterprise accomplice, she first utilized to comparable roles. As time dragged on, she utilized to “every thing” that aligned along with her ability set.
Amanda Dobson, founding father of Clear Pathways, an HR and management advisory agency, stated one of many issues with hiring right this moment could also be that “quantity has changed intention” for job seekers and recruiters alike.
The explosion of distant work amid the COVID-19 pandemic led to extra candidates vying for a similar jobs across the nation somewhat than competing with simply these of their space or these prepared to relocate for a place, Dobson stated.
U.S. candidates per open function have doubled since spring 2022, in response to LinkedIn analysis launched at first of this yr. It discovered that 65% of individuals stated discovering a job had grow to be tougher, citing competitors as the principle impediment.
Recruiters used to assessment about 100 functions per function in early 2021. They’re now processing 291 per rent, in response to a 2026 Expertise Traits report by Ashby, a recruiting platform.
Employers obtain tons of of functions and can’t reply to every. Candidates don’t hear again, so that they apply for extra jobs, and the cycle continues, Dobson stated.
Vicki Salemi, a profession professional at job listings web site Monster, stated she has seen lifeguards apply to licensed public accountant roles and a candidate apply to 10 positions on the identical firm at one time, a “pink flag” to the employer. She and Dobson advise job seekers to slim their search.
In the event you’re “sending out 500 functions as a candidate, there’s no approach that you simply really wish to work for these 500 jobs,” Dobson stated. “As a substitute of spending the vitality — the 5 to 10 minutes per utility that you simply’re sending out — and sending it out 500 occasions, take 20 minutes in your resume and take 20 minutes in your utility to thoughtfully reply the applying questions.”
The Rising Position of Synthetic Intelligence
An issue with that method could also be that solely 10% of job seekers really feel that the majority of their functions are reviewed by a human, in response to LiveCareer’s 2025 Job Search Frustration Survey, although 64% believed their resumes have been optimized for applicant monitoring techniques.
Dobson stated they’re proper to be skeptical.
“I discuss with numerous HR professionals, and within the recruitment course of, they’re not taking a look at each single resume,” she stated. “They’re letting the techniques try this.”
At 93%, most recruiters surveyed by LinkedIn late final yr stated they deliberate to extend their AI use in 2026, and 59% stated the expertise was already serving to them uncover new candidates. Some have gone as far as to introduce AI interviewers.
“No person talks to you anymore. You get invites, ‘Oh, we have now an AI interview.’ I’m not speaking to AI. I’m not sending a Loom video simply so you possibly can see me sitting there speaking to myself,” Petersen stated. “The place’s the humanity on this?”
However candidates are utilizing AI, too. The LinkedIn survey discovered 81% of individuals had used AI to help their job search or stated they deliberate to. Hendricks described it as an “automation arms race.”
“Candidates are more and more utilizing AI to tailor their resumes and canopy letters on the functions, and employers more and more will use AI or different automated techniques to filter and rank these functions,” he stated.
Hendricks shouldn’t be counting on AI to rewrite his functions, nonetheless.
“Even earlier than AI, there was this idea that you must have a novel resume for each job utility,” he stated. “Now, AI has made that simpler, whereas individuals used to do it by hand. However I imply, my expertise is my expertise. I’m not going to reinforce it in ways in which aren’t true.”
Even when an applicant makes use of AI to assist optimize their utility, if a monitoring system is flagging resumes for particular key phrases or phrases, a misplaced comma could be the purpose an applicant isn’t critically thought-about, Dobson stated.
“Due to the place a comma was positioned of their standards, they have been auto-rejecting numerous candidates that they need to have been reviewing,” she stated of 1 firm. “We’re relying too closely on these techniques and never utilizing a human to assessment candidates.”
Ghost Jobs and a Lack of Belief
The same old approach individuals measure job market tightness is by evaluating the variety of open jobs with the variety of unemployed individuals.
Nevertheless, “a big and rising share of job postings goal already-employed employees or symbolize inactive listings,” a Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis evaluation stated final November. “In consequence, the vacancy-to-unemployment ratio now overstates how tight the labor market actually is for unemployed employees.”
Even when a job itemizing shouldn’t be a rip-off, an organization might submit a job whereas planning to rent internally or recruiting somebody already employed elsewhere. A finances change might imply a job that was as soon as actual is now lower. In these instances, an organization might promote a gap that job seekers by no means had a sensible probability of getting. Candidates name these listings “ghost jobs.”
One other Ashby report launched final yr analyzing knowledge from its buyer base discovered that 82% of open jobs in 2024 led to an actual rent however that 5.5% have been paused, 1% led to a suggestion however no rent, and three.5% have been pulled and not using a purpose given.
Candidates “don’t have any solution to know whether or not one other candidate was chosen, or the hiring plan modified, or the place was by no means actively being crammed, and it was only a itemizing to extend the looks of success on the a part of the corporate,” Hendricks stated. “If I apply to 10 positions and obtain no interviews, I have to know whether or not meaning I’m concentrating on the unsuitable roles, or I’m presenting my expertise poorly, or I’m making use of to positions that weren’t lifelike alternatives within the first place.”
Salemi stated that whereas it’s true there are job postings unemployed candidates by no means had a sensible probability of getting, corporations “don’t submit them only for enjoyable” however somewhat to construct a expertise pipeline or stack of resumes to reference the subsequent time they’ve a gap.
Expertise pipelines haven’t labored out for Petersen.
“No person ever has referred to as me again as a result of they constructed a pipeline from a job that I utilized to a few years in the past,” Petersen stated.
Doubting Job Descriptions and Scanning for Scams
Candidates have extra belief in job postings when corporations share clear wage ranges in addition to clear expectations round workload and hours, a brand new Monster report discovered. However they don’t at all times get them.
After reviewing sufficient job posts that listed the place as distant solely to seek out out the corporate requires staff to work in workplace, Petersen doesn’t belief job descriptions anymore.
She’s not alone. Solely 10% of employees say job descriptions “at all times” precisely mirror the truth of the function, in response to the Monster report. It discovered that 81% of employees surveyed stated they a minimum of typically encounter job descriptions that “really feel imprecise or overly polished.”
Past figuring out whether or not an organization means what it says in a job posting, candidates are also navigating rip-off presents. Petersen stated she receives suspicious texts and emails promising to assist her land a job “on daily basis.”
“You get, ‘After all. Yeah. Now we have a job for you, however you have to pay this individual to rewrite your resume,’” she stated. “It’s scary to see how many individuals will attempt to benefit from someone who’s already down.”
At 95%, most job seekers have encountered a suspicious job supply, and 98% stated right this moment’s job market will increase vulnerability to scams, a separate Monster report discovered.
To confirm whether or not a possibility is actual, Salemi stated, job seekers ought to ask themselves a number of questions: Is it lifelike? Does it spotlight particular obligations? Is it listed on the corporate web site? Does the corporate have a mailing deal with? Does the recruiter have knowledgeable e mail deal with?
She reminds job seekers that the majority corporations gained’t want their Social Safety quantity or deal with till after they’re onboarded.
“Reliable employers won’t simply instantly rent you with out having screened you,” Salemi stated. “Your intestine was possible going to be proper anyway. So belief it.”
Attain Rachel Barber at [email protected], comply with her on X @rachelbarber_, and subscribe to her e-newsletter “Making Extra of Your Cash” right here.
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: ‘The place’s the humanity?’ Why job seekers say hiring is ‘damaged’
Reporting by Rachel Barber, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Community through Reuters Join
Trending Merchandise
