The number one tip for getting a job in the American job market is networking. ‘Network, network, network!’ I hear it all the time, but in a world where everything related to jobs is online, networking is harder than ever.
Given how little actual human interaction is involved in job searching nowadays, I can’t help but question how effective networking is anymore. It is great when the people you know have a job opening at the company they work for — it can still get you in the door — but the days of walking in and making a good impression that turns into a full-time position are no more.
The market is just too competitive. With online job postings, we are competing with hundreds if not thousands of people, so just getting in the door is not enough. The competition is fierce, and you have to stand out in a way that is almost impossible.
Requirements are up the wazoo. Nothing seems entry level anymore. I have reached the point where I am applying for postings that want between 3-5 years of experience because that seems to be the least amount of experience needed. I’m just hoping my 3 years of internship experience count for something.
It also seems like Bachelor’s degrees are losing their value. Nowadays, so many people are getting their master’s and other post graduate degrees that more and more companies want.
Largely, the increase in difficulty in finding a job is due to the disconnect between employer and applicant. The only interactions these two have are through a screen. An employer has to go through hundreds of faceless resumes and cover letters. It seems inevitable that they all blend together, or at least that the employer will only spare a few seconds to glance at each one.
Even worse, these interactions can be filtered through AI. Many jobs are now using artificial intelligence to find resumes with specific key words and throw out the rest. This seems like a breach of trust to me. It also takes any human interaction out of the equation. AI can often miss potential in an applicant because it doesn’t match the exact words they have been fed into it. A human has more freedom to see an intriguing fact and transferable skills, which helps provide companies with their best employees.
As a potential applicant, it is hard to not feel like I am sending my resume out into the void. The lack of information on job postings makes it feel as if no one is on the other end of the job posting. The majority of the jobs posted online don’t have a hiring manager listed on them, meaning there is no one to contact with questions. In a world with almost unlimited communication methods, it seems ironic that lack of communication is such a problem in this job market, but it is.
The world of online job postings is not going away, nor is the world of AI. In fact, these realities are only predicted to grow. Instead of arguing for a complete removal of these practices, I will be more realistic and ask for regulations.
A lot of these issues I mention above could be solved by creating standards that guide online job postings and AI. For example, I would love laws that say jobs must be transparent with their use of AI during the hiring process and use a standardized AI that has been pre-approved. Additionally, requiring that companies put one human contact per job posting is ideal.
Simple regulations would make a huge difference in the ease and frustration of navigating the job market. If the American job market continues to go this way, the disconnect between employers and applicants will only widen. This means it will take longer and longer for people to find jobs and it may even increase the unemployment rate. The issues with job hunting can not be ignored. That is unfair and unsustainable.
