Each day I start by opening several tabs on my computer. I scan LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and dozens of other websites that promise to have waves of eager employers waiting for my application. In addition to these tabs, I also have multiple pages full of resume advice and networking opportunities. Despite hours of meticulous applications, both my phone and email receive little to no messages. What could I possibly be doing wrong? This is a shared issue amongst new and upcoming grads. The job market feels like it’s getting us nowhere.
It’s hard to understand why new grads are struggling to find jobs despite incredible job growth and low unemployment. Is it the fault of current job seekers? Maybe that resume or cover letter needs another rewrite? Are there simply not enough jobs to fill? After running through these questions multiple times, I’ve finally found some factors that may be contributing to the hiring slump.
Ghost Jobs
A term I recently discovered was ghost jobs. It essentially means a fake job posting. Many companies will post hundreds of positions that they have no intention of filling, flooding your job feed with worthless postings that take up your time and energy. No one is properly monitoring many of these accounts, so anything sent to them, whether it be inquiring messages or completed applications, will remain unread indefinitely. So when you feel like you’ve sent your resume into the void, you’re unfortunately probably right.
A recent graduate from the University of Michigan shared her frustrations with us: “It’s annoying because where are you supposed to look for jobs? Half of them are scams and the other half never even call you.” Some grads went as far as applying in person, only to encounter obstacles and receive instructions to apply online.
They then ended up in the exact same situation as before.
There isn’t a justifiable reason why these companies keep these fake postings up. In fact, the only reasons for putting up these fake jobs in the first place are shady and arguably unethical. Ghost jobs often exaggerate the growth of a company. If the company can make others think that they’re adding hundreds of new jobs, then they’ll look more impressive overall. This inflates statistics for stockholders, and convinces current employees that they can be replaced if needed. This then sparks reluctant passiveness in employees over poor working conditions.
Additionally, some of these posted positions do exist, but the company that posted them isn’t really hiring. Many advertise jobs that internal employees have already been promised. This results in an overall confusing and disheartening experience, especially for grads who aren’t getting any responses from employers.
Exhausting Job Interviews
If ghost jobs haven’t already fatigued you, the interview process will. Most candidates must endure months of extensive interviewing and testing to even earn consideration for a position. That’s months of scheduling zoom calls, in-person interviews, phone interviews, and tests that can range from reading comprehension to personality assessments. After all that, you’re still likely to get a rejection, or even ghosted by the company entirely. It’s frustrating to go through all of this work and not get the position.
Assuming that you are either still employed at your current job or frantically searching for some way to earn money, this is especially disrespectful of your own time. The scheduling and prep time is atrocious, and that’s not even including what your references might have to go through if you’re applying to multiple jobs. Whatever company you’re applying for is more than likely not trying to schedule a time to speak with your refence and is instead just cold calling whenever it’s convenient for them. It’s doable for one position, but after multiple calls at inconvenient times it gets harder to muster up the energy to answer.
There is a possibility that this new rigorous hiring process is a new attempt at reducing the likelihood of having to rehire. Millennials and Gen-Z switch jobs more often than their Gen X and Boomer counterparts. However, most of these changes are due to the newer generations of employees seeking benefits such as work-life balance and generous compensation. Increasing the length of the hiring process only shows potential employees that their time will not be valued at this establishment.
New Competition
A common woe amongst job seekers is the misleading title of Entry-level jobs. The title suggests that the position requires little to no experience. However, many of these positions will list the need for multiple years of expertise beyond a university education. Although there are many reasons why these positions look for so much experience despite advertising as entry-level, one of them is very recent: job-cuts. And lots of them.
Within the past couple of years, there have been huge job cuts in very specific industries. The most notable of them is the tech industry, which is where most grads have been flocking to. An over-whelming amount of these lay-offs have been in the thousands, like when Elon Musk cut around 80% of his Twitter staff. Some other mass firings were because of company mergers that lead to downsizing, others were victims of AI automation, and some were simply cut to give more money to higher-ups as inflation rose.
This leaves thousands of college-educated people out of the job, having to start from scratch with a lack of open mid-level positions. So, they’re rushing to snatch up any entry-level jobs that will take them. Unfortunately, this leaves the newer grads with even fewer options than before. With dwindling positions, what do you do with a degree that thousands of others also possess?
What now?
Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer to this. The issues with the job market right now revolve around an uncertain economy and out-of-touch CEOs who are fumbling their decisions. None of these issues fall on the shoulders of the new grads who are doing everything they possibly can to get hired.
Really, what you can do is continue applying, but preserve your mental health while doing so. It’s easy to scroll continuously on job sites while you look for the perfect opportunity, but try to limit your job search to a specific time frame in your schedule. You’ll be better off. Also, don’t be ashamed to apply to something outside of your field. A paycheck now will ease your worries. Also, you don’t have to be glued to this job forever. You have the freedom to leave when a preferred position becomes available.
This also a good time to try and reach out to other recent grads and make connections. Although it’s not all that you need, having a good network right now can really help push those applications through and hopefully get you some faster responses.
Just remember you’re doing your best, and you’ll make it through this.
