The REAL Reason Finding A Job Feels Impossible

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Chapters

00:00 Start Here
01:01 Misleading Statistics
04:46 A Shortage of ‘Good Jobs’
06:26 Ghost Job Listings
08:15 Applicant Tracking Systems
10:17 The Applicant Pool Has Widened
11:53 The Weakening of Weak Ties
13:59 The Process Has Gotten Ridiculous

Despite having a low unemployment rate, more jobs available than people looking for jobs, and the stock market at an all time high, it seems like finding a job is impossible in today's economy. In this video, I share 7 reasons why finding a job seems impossible and possible solutions.

1. Misleading Statistics

In 2023, the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.8%. Although it is low, it is a very misleading statistic because according to be considered "unemployed" you must be currently available to work and actively have looked for a job in the last 4 weeks. And so if you've been looking for a job for months and have decided to take a break, you are not counted towards the statistic. Also, being "employed" is misleading because it includes both part time and full time work. So if you are looking for a job and have picked up part time work to make extra money, you are considered employed.

2. A Shortage of ‘Good Jobs’

In 2023, there were more jobs available than job seekers. And although it seem like it should be easy to find a job, this is also very misleading. Many of the jobs available are jobs that people do not want that offer low pay, no benefits, and bad schedules, which will lead you to a low quality of life. On the other hand, good jobs that offer good pay, benefits, and good schedules that lead to a good quality of life are in short supply. If you are looking for any job, you can find one quickly; however, if you want a job that will give you a good quality of life, it will take months and hundreds of applications.

3. Ghost Job Listings

Not all job postings are bad jobs; however, some of the jobs that are currently posted are fake and called, "Ghost Job Listings." These are jobs that companies have no intention of filling. And companies do this for two reasons (1) to build up a pool of applicants to use in the future and (2) to get a better understanding of the job market. By posting Ghost Job Listings, companies can use the information they collect in their favor. These listings make many people feel discouraged and hopeless.

4. Applicant Tracking Systems

The reason many people apply to jobs without receiving a call back is because they format their resume and cover letter to be read by human beings; however, this often makes their application rejected. The majority of companies will use an algorithm to filter out resumes based on keywords due to an excess of resumes. If your application does not have the keywords the algorithm is looking for, it'll be rejected. If you are applying for jobs, it is important to understand Applicant Tracking Systems so that your resume doesn't get rejected by the algorithm.

5. The Applicant Pool Has Widened

Since the pandemic, we have gone from the working in the office to working remotely. This has changed the process in which companies go about hiring. Before, companies were limited to hiring in a specific area, which made the process less competitive; however, due to the rise of remote work, companies are able to find applicants from all around the country, which has made the application process more competitive. If you are applying for jobs, it will give you the upper hand to apply to in person jobs as they are less competitive.

6. The Weakening of Weak Ties

Another problem that has come out of remote work is that we're no longer building up connections of people, or weak ties, that can help us in our job search or to grow professionally. When we spend all day at home and do everything professional virtually, we don't meet new people who can help us in our search, which makes most people apply to job postings blindly.

7. The Process Has Gotten Ridiculous

The final reason that finding a job seems impossible is because the process to get a job is ridiculous. Companies often make people go through 3 or more rounds of interviews and create an assignment, ultimately to reject them which has made people jaded and feeling hopeless.

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[meropale]

Some things never change. Even before I ever had a job I remember hearing it's not what you know, it's who you know.

[theoriginalDAL]

Essentially every job I have ever been hired for was through someone I knew already that had connections to the company.

[Savvynomad]

I think people need to be consistently looking for opportunities, even if they have a job because that can change, at any time and for any reason.

[eastcoastkc]

So what can job hunters do about this?? Absolutely nothing....this all sucks right now😡

[MandalaBunnyhome]

There are soo many rounds of interviews it's ridiculous. I was ghosted by 2 places too. I'm so fortunate I found a job but the process was so awful and I have a master's in IT with experience.... just be consistent and don't give up, it's hard but you will get there

[jayocean]

I have been looking for a better job for 6 months. Competition is so fierce and you can easily put in application without hearing anything.

[malgorzatabuczynska]

Thank You for clarifying the job market. I have a job now but shiver at the thought of looking for it again.

[SilkBath]

I'm seeing lots of jobs that require experience in the field, yet they pay you very little. Hard for the new guy to get hired now.

[jilross]

Its inhuman that folks have to depend on jobs.

[reachthestars]

When my daughter first started looking for a job, she was not getting a response. I looked over one of her applications and realized she did not know how to complete a job application. After I taught her the correct way to fill out a job application, she started getting interviews and has been working every since.

[andreabellini]

I own a housekeeping business, I’ve had days where I had 9 interviews set up and nobody showed up. I don’t understand going through the process and not even showing up to an interview.

[scoter]

I recently got laid off due to economic reasons and yes, it is hard to find a good job, even as a software engineer with 15+ years of experience. Fake advertisements, employers don't answer, they reject you because you "only" fulfill 90% of the requirements, or make poor offers in terms of salary. It's crazy. Living in Germany.

[padmeasmr]

Right, everythings become so hard! I didn't get into the PhD program I wanted, noone would answer to my applications and CVS, so I focused on writing my novel and then I had to start creating my own opportunities: I found a room to host an acting course from September and I'm now promoting it, the people who rent me the place liked my CV so I did some random collaborations with them as interviewer and teacher, which led to some other occasional jobs at a summer camp as video editor and language/acting teacher. Moreover I had the idea of writing an article about an event they let me partecipate in and I went to a local newspaper office just outside my home the next day to see if they were interested. They loved it even if it was my first article ever and by chance they were looking for someone to hire part time (at the beginning at least) so they asked me if I wanted to start an intership right away.

I never dreamed of becoming a journalist but I love writing and learning and I'm interested in the publishing world as well as many other things. So I'm happy cuz I didn't just wait around. Today you need to push and push, act on ideas, go for it, do the work and make people see you can do it. The acting academy helped me a lot with the interpreneur mindset, how to market yourself. We need to be brave if we want a chance. Times have changed

[kovalas]

The best way to fix broken system is to stop complying. The system will take advantage on us as long as we will allow it. Thats why I no longer doing unpayed home assignements. Maybe I'll never find a job but I realized that being employee doesn't make sense anymore. The risk is the same as being enterpreneur but reward is limited.

[BasedDevil]

You know whats odd? Local news claims unemployment is at a 5 year high. Sure seems like it to me. Yet people I know who are looking for work...can't find it. Very odd.

[Christian-quml]

Exactly the same here in Australia. We are being gaslighted and lied to!

[disruptapps]

Thanks to Big Tech, AI, gig work, millions of us have now been 'thrust out into the wild' and forced to 'figure it out on our own.' We thought we'd go to college and find comfortable jobs where we'd be taken care of as our parents told us but here we are unemployed/ under-employed trying to learn to fend for ourselves LOL

[TheSimArchitect]

The biggest problem is that too many people have diplomas. Before you had to work harder than most people to be accepted or you needed to be able to afford to study. They removed that barrier of entry and we got a much worse one, which is the job market itself while you're likely buried in debt and with a degree you can't use to get a comfortable job that pays well because you're easily replaceable after hiring, and you're an abundant resource before.

[donnabennett]

When they give "mock assignments", what they're really doing is using the applicants for free work and never hire them. I remember watching something about this a while back.

[b.elizabethzermeno]

Yes my daughter is been applying for a summer job and none of them have give her a call