‘Trying to stay human’: A look into what it takes to land a job

When 26-year-old Skyler Aikerson got laid off from her media job in February of this year, she thought she would have a similar experience as the last time she was in-between jobs. What awaited her, however, was a much more frustrating process.

Over the last three months, Aikerson has spent five to 10 hours a day combing through job postings across every available platform and filling out countless applications — she has even signed up to a few job-hunt-specific newsletters. When she isn’t glued to her computer, she’s attending networking events and scheduling coffees with potential contacts. 

So far, her efforts have led to only few responses from recruiters and even fewer interviews.  

“The market is really strange right now,” Aikerson says. “It seems like every week I’m hearing about another friend that has gotten laid off, but I also know people who are being turned down for opportunities they’re qualified and even overqualified for — it’s discouraging.” 

Read more: Recruiters tell all: Red flags, resumes and the 6-second rule

Aikerson isn’t alone in her seemingly fruitless pursuit. A recent survey from staffing agency Insight Global found that in 2023, recently unemployed full-time workers received just four responses after applying for an average of 30 jobs. The same survey found that 55% of unemployed adults feel burned out from their search.

That has definitely been the case for Aikerson, who landed her first job when she graduated from college in 2020, only a month before the pandemic shut down offices across the country. Even with industry-wide layoffs threatening her new position, Aikerson managed to stay in the same position for three years until she ultimately decided to start a new copywriting position in January, from which she was let go a month later. 

“After I left my first job it was kind of tricky to find another position, but it didn’t feel like this,” she recalls. “I’m not sure what’s so different about this one in that it feels a lot more like draining. I’m just trying to manage my time wisely, take breaks and stay human through all of it.” 

In an attempt to better her odds, Aikerson has even tried pivoting away from media positions and searching for marketing or advertising roles that may be easier to find. Still, the only interview opportunity she’s received was for a company that filled the position before she’d even finished the recruiting process. 

Read more: How job candidates can stand out in the era of AI

“That time I was at least able to talk to the recruiter about it and get feedback,” she says. “In the end they were respectful of me and respectful of my time — that’s not a courtesy that you get a lot of the time.” 

Most often she’s left without so much as a rejection email, and when she does receive one it’s less than satisfactory. 

“It’s just confusing to get that rejection email for a position I’m qualified for and have it be auto-generated without any specifics,” she says. “It makes me wonder whether people are even reading my resume or my cover letter. Are people looking at my materials knowing that I put in so much effort and work to even just find the position and apply for it? The answer is, probably not.” 

But it’s not all Aikerson’s fault: Stabilizing quit rates, a cooling job market with fewer openings and a change in employee expectations around salary are all creating a hyper-competitive landscape that’s hard to crack. 

Read more: How this organization is setting homeless moms up for professional success

And while the circumstances are largely out of her hands, there are changes Aikerson would like to see to the recruitment process, like transparency around company’s role-filling timelines, indications that a real person will review applications instead of AI, and better communication from recruiters once material has been reviewed and rejected. 

As for the advice she has for her fellow job seekers, Aikerson urges them to find the balance between finding a job and prioritizing themselves throughout the process. Taking her own advice, Aikerson recently went on a mini vacation where she left her laptop — and her anxieties — behind. 

“Set parameters around how long you’re going to be looking each day,” she suggests. “This is a full time job, but it shouldn’t be taking over your life.”