Look in any of the job-related forums on Reddit over the last few months and the same statement keeps getting posted. Different variations occur, but it's the same thing; a seemingly qualified person can't find a meaningful job to make a living right now. The mismatch of labor to demand started with a vengeance at the end of 2023 and has continued, despite robust claims of economic boom times and a vibrant job market. In reality, we are just going through the next wave of AI-related job cuts and labor restructuring.
What's Wrong With Me?
Most candidates who are struggling will first look at comparable peers who are employed and start asking themselves what they did wrong. This is particularly evident in job-seekers with otherwise all the right bells: young in their 20s, just accomplished a major technical degree in school, notable projects under their belt or at least proof of applicable work, and in some cases prior work experience. Three years ago, companies were screaming for these people. Now, the emails don't even bother with a auto-responder.
It's the System, Stupid
A couple things occurred that really capsized the job market as traditionally known. First, AI is being used for everything in screening now. Previously, there were scanning programs used to filter out resumes for specific needs, but AI is added additional analyses with biases to the mix, nixing even more players. The only ones bypassing this filter consistently are those who network and get hired by name and contact versus cold-calling job openings. Second, a high majority of jobs with big companies are being handed to "recruiters" and "hiring firms" to manage, or they are being assigned to contractors who pretend to be hiring for jobs but really just need temps. This second problem is particularly brutal as job seekers really aren't interviewing or connecting at all with a prime employer; they are wasting time with middlemen looking for a markup fee or finder's fee. Even if you do make it into a company, you are the "temp," and won't be considered or treated as a real candidate for hiring. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Additionally, 2025 has been brutal with downsizing. In addition to companies "right-sizing" their labor force with replacement technology, the federal government has slashed and burned through thousands of positions, flooding regional markets in the US with experienced and qualified candidates, adding to the competition pool. These people have mortgage and bills to pay too, so they make it that much harder for hires to make a connection.
Finally, inflation and rising living costs are forcing older workers to work longer, refuse to retire or come back to the workforce. Those in positions are refusing to leave them, figuring it's safer for now in flux to have a dedicated full paycheck and add a bit to retirement than risk retiring early and being short. Those who are coming back are the latter, needing more income for a variety of reasons, and they are willing to work immediately with training as well as be flexible. Both mean bad news and less options for younger workers coming in or looking to move up.
But There are Plenty of Job Ads!
The constant flood of job ads on job sites and similar is a paradox, if it was logical. The dirty secret is, these jobs are often fake or impossible to fill. The first clue comes in the specs; outrageous expectations for skillsets combined with lower than industry average pay is a non-starter. It makes no sense unless an employer is really just trying to make a fake argument that they tried to find workers, couldn't, so now they need to hire contractors or folks outside the country. This is a common strategy to get high-skilled third party labor at lower cost and bypass political expectations to provide jobs.
Background checks are taking a toll as well. No, I don't mean flagging candidates who were fired or had some scandal in their past. I'm referring to character checks. Companies and employers are practicing intense reviews of people, doxing them aggressively to find any hint of political, social or personal quirks that don't match the company expectation. When found, such candidates are quietly removed from vetting before even being considered, so there's no way for one to argue discrimination because it never occurred formally. This has been a huge concern in certain industries sensitive to modern topics and issues. Add in the fact that most people post everything they do online, and there's plenty to work with for flagging.
Sometimes It Really is About You
Put aside all the above, and there really is the factor of the candidate specifically. Too much energy, not enough, said the wrong thing, not enough experience, too over-qualified, in the wrong location, has the wrong social culture, too dependent, too independent, etc. The list goes on by thousands of different nuances. This is the traditional barrier that affect some people and was never a problem for others, usually those who were very good at networking and were charismatic. The rest of us had to learn how to adjust, the expectation still applies even more today.
Fortunately, this one aspect people can do something about, whether its changing appearances, behavior or how one answers conversations etc. Experience can be gained, training can be obtained and more. The question here is how much one is willing to commit in time, energy and money to make the change stick long enough to get hired. That's a personal decision no hiring book or tips web page is going to answer. That comes from within you.
How do you change to make the fit? Research whom you are trying to get hired by. What is their ideal employee? What doesn't fit? There's plenty of details available on the Internet if you know where to look. Just put in the time and homework. No one is going to spoon-feed it for you.
Consider Starting Your Own Business
Despite all the above, there's never been a time versus the last decade when it's been easier to run your own business, especially a digital one. All the tools are available, and even AI is there to help from technical to strategy to concept brainstorming. You just have to come up with the service or product that sells. Freelancing is a great start in this arena because it gives you practical experience in work management, time management, client sales, personal accounting, taxes and digital tools all in the same role. You are the business owner/worker/salesperson/operations manager for your freelancing business, even as a contractor. Then, you level up from there if you find a niche people want, and you bring in others to partner with and help. This is not a new science, only the Internet makes it more doable now versus 10 years ago.
Don't have the right experience? Volunteer for roles that will give it to you with non-profits. Don't have the right education? Go to community college with cheap tuition (or free), or use online education courses like Coursera or Edx.org. Similar free course programs are on LinkedIn as well as Harvard University. Don't have the right connections? Hang out a business community forums like your Chamber of Commerce events or business socials and connect with people. You'll be surprised by who notices your initiative to connect.
This last path is particularly useful for older workers who are running into agism and being blocked from jobs they can definitely do. It's also a good path for young workers with no experience and only book smarts from school.
Job hunting has never been easy; it was a headache even when I started in the early 1990s. However, today's market is particularly challenging and would but even the best job candidates on their rears without a good strategy. Just a look at all the computer science grads currently complaining they can't find a job out of school now. It's a different world.
