“It's a battle of who can out AI the best, where your actual experience or the best candidate means nothing.”

I've never felt more helpless, than I have applying to tech roles over the last year of being unemployed. It's a battle of who can out AI the best, where your actual experience or the best candidate means nothing. Can you match your resume 100% to the job description, even though that means your resume is 100% bullshit? That's the game. Honesty means nothing and that's not even to get an interview, that's the min bar to even get your resume seen by human eyes. What's the point? It makes me feel like employers are not even serious about hiring. Posting jobs, just to meet a quota or to unlock some extra budget with no intention to fill.

I have submitted over 200 applications, do all the things people suggest to beat AI, do all the things people suggest you don't do to beat AI. Needless to say I have done all the things.

The net result? 4 actual interviews, 3 phone screens, 4 recruiter calls (3 of which ghosted me after telling me they passed my resume to the hiring team) -- 6% total hit rate and only a 2% interview rate....even with making continual adjustments to my resume to beat ATS.

After a year where I've spent more hours per day finding work than an actual 9-5 job, it's hard to keep your head up. This journey has taken a toll on my mental health and self-confidence and sometimes it feels like the good days are out numbered by the bad.