Top 5 Reasons Jobs Are So Fn Difficult to Get These Days

by: BOMBTHEBASS333

Are you currently job hunting right now? Everyone looking for a new job after resigning, getting laid off, or worse, getting fired is in for a whole new world of heartache and disappointment, let me tell you.

In the US alone, Business Insider reveals that an average job opening will receive 242 to 250-plus applicants within less than a week. If the job opening is a WFH opportunity, it can double, even triple that number. And about only 0.4% will land that job.

Your application also has to fight alongside referrals, internal hires, and direct connections. These are among the brutal truths you have to face to get that precious role and maybe prevent you from getting broke, evicted, and or becoming homeless. Good Luck!

Your CV/Resume Isn’t Optimized

Before we discuss other difficult reasons keeping you from getting your foot in the door in the first place, make sure your CV or resume is optimized for the job/s you’re applying for. This means tailoring it to highlight the most matching keywords, skills, experience, activities, and industries worked in to the role.

There are apps and free services online that can help you achieve a more fitting resume. Use them. There are also many online guides with useful tips to customize your resume into a stronger and more attractive version that can increase your chances in landing a job.

2 Words: Artificial Intelligence

The Terminator movies have sort of warned us about it back in the 80s and 90s. We might not make it, or at least hopeful job applicants won’t make it. We have to learn and adapt if we ever want to get that job while bypassing AI. It’s now all over many job application systems!

Companies today use Applicant Tracking Systems or ATS to pre-scan candidates. And yes, majority use AI. Jobsites such as Snaphunt or companies’ internal online job pages let AI handle these processes to save them time, money, and extensive work—just like how many lost their jobs to due to AI systems.

Most of the time, your resume won’t even reach a human. These days it pays to simplify your resume, use the right keywords, and organize it for easy scanning and parsing. And speaking of bypassing AI, ATS, and other automated systems to reach a real human with your crafted CV…

You Don’t Have The Right Connections

Let’s be honest, straight-up, brutal, and have no BS here; Many times, landing a role isn’t about how much experience and relevant skills you have—it’s who you know. Yes, skills and experience of course, still matter even in those scenarios where someone referred you to that job. But having the right connections is sometimes key.

The trustworthiness of that insider referral plus meeting the basic requirements are often enough to get you in. It bypasses many extraneous BS such as interviews, screenings, and testings because someone (specially those in higher positions) already vouched for you. This unfair shortcut can sometimes be fair (?) in a super competitive job market.

If you don’t know anyone from the inside, you can bypass many hurdles and hoops by networking through LinkedIn and other channels. Send your resume to an actual human. Do your own research and headhunting: look for the project manager, business owner, or the head of the department. Find a way to speak to them and pass your optimized resume directly to the higher ups.

The Job Market Is So Overcrowded

TBH, job hunting has become super difficult because of so many job applicants all vying for the limited job openings. You have fresh graduates, veterans, millenials, Gen Zs, Gen Xs, and people from all age groups all up in the quest to become employed and paid.

The job market has also tripled with the sheer number of WFH and remote jobs and countless applicants all over the world fighting to get noticed and interviewed and hopefully, hired. While certain limitations and issues have made it even more complicated and more difficult, the army of applicants that hiring staff have to wade through and choose from also make it more difficult for them.

It Really Is a Numbers Game

Job hunting these days is just like online dating. The more focused attempts you make, the better your chances of matching with the right job and the right company.

Given all these reasons and other factors, the best way to win is to never give up and continue to learn, improve, and optimize as you go along your job hunting journey. You miss the shots you don’t take, so said hockey OG Wayne Gretzky (I’m sure I’m paraphrasing here).

Don’t be afraid to fail, or look ridiculous or crazy by not giving up, because trying and trying, learning from it, and improving with focused intent will work wonders. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” ― Michael Jordan.

Good Luck!