Have You Applied to 100 Jobs and Not Gotten an Interview?

According to LinkedIn, the number of US applicants per open role has doubled since 2022, creating a highly competitive market for active job seekers. If you think job seekers have it bad dealing with job boards, imagine being the company trying to hire!

One of the most common things I hear from job seekers is:  “I’ve submitted 100+ applications and heard nothing back.” And they’re frustrated for good reason.

But companies are struggling too. Most job postings now receive hundreds of applications. In many cases, far more than they did just a few years ago. Why? AI, of course.

Candidates can now drop a resume and job description into ChatGPT or Claude and generate a highly tailored resume in minutes. What used to take hours now takes five minutes.

Before AI, people were more selective in the roles they applied to because customizing applications was time consuming. Now many candidates are applying to everything remotely relevant because they can. Heck, why not? Most people think the job search is a numbers game. It's not.

At first glance, this sounds great for employers. More applicants = better talent pool, right? Not necessarily.

Hiring is already time consuming and stressful. Now companies have to sort through massive volumes of applications trying to determine:  Who is genuinely qualified? Who strategically aligned their experience? And who simply optimized keywords with AI?

The result is a hiring process that has become harder for everyone. AI is changing the application process. But it hasn’t changed the most important thing: Relationships still matter. Human connection still matters.

The candidates having the most success in their job search are not sitting behind a computer endlessly applying online. They are having conversations. Building relationships. Engaging with people. Creating visibility.

Ironically, networking feels slower to most people. But in reality, it’s the fastest path to a better job. Get out of the application game and out from behind your computer. It's a human making the final hiring decision. Get in front of decision makers.