Job Seeker With 10 Years Of Experience Admits She 'Can't Get A Job' Despite Sending Out 500 Applications
"So if I, with 10 years of experience in all of those things that I just said, can't get a job. How are any of us supposed to get one?"
Zivica Kerkez / Shutterstock In a competitive and sparse job market, many unemployed individuals or people looking to switch careers are finding it hard to navigate the shifting landscape of available job opportunities. Such was the case for a content creator named Anna Mae Wood, who admitted in a TikTok video that after being recently laid off, she is not having any luck with finding a new job, despite being more than qualified.
She hasn't been hired despite having 10 years of experience and sending out over 500 job applications.
"I wanna know how people in my generation are supposed to get on in this economy," questioned a frustrated Wood. The lifestyle-based influencer admitted that she's exasperated with the lack of available jobs in the market right now, and even though she has mounds of experience and skills, it's as if she's sending out her resume into an empty void. "I have over 10 years of experience in sales, retail management, upper management, training, hiring. I mean the list goes on," Wood continued. "Visual merchandising, marketing, social media marketing, content creating."
Unfortunately, Wood explained that she was recently laid off off from a job that was pretty "high-paying" and since then, has been sending out her resume to over 500 different open job positions, but has failed to hear back from any of them, or get called in for an interview. During her time applying, Wood only heard back from one company, which later rejected her application.
"I have a good resume, a good cover letter. I have great experience. I'm actually a really valuable worker and I know my worth in the workplace," Wood stressed. She acknowledged that she could just end up applying for a minimum wage, $18-an-hour job, but living on that type of income wouldn't be sustainable for the economy that we are living in right now. "I need to be making $70,000 a year, and that's not even to be living lavish, that's to survive. So if I, with 10 years of experience in all of those things that I just said, can't get a job. How are any of us supposed to get one?"
Many job seekers are finding it hard to get employment, despite having all of the necessary requirements.
According to data acquired by TIME, the hiring process for many companies has lengthened due to employers firing "human resources staff" and "delegating interviewing and hiring to line managers who aren’t familiar with the process." The amount of time it takes to hire a new employee reached an all-time high of 44 days in early 2023, according to a report released by the Josh Bersin Company and AMS, a workforce solutions firm.
On top of that, many legitimate companies are posting "ghost jobs" for positions that they don't ever intend to fill. Companies will post these ghost jobs roles to get a pool of candidates that they may use someday, to give the impression that their company is growing, and to keep current employees motivated, according to the survey of 1,045 managers involved in the hiring process, via TIME.
Even job seekers with a college degree are finding it difficult to score a job, despite being told that higher education is the tool to receiving a high-paying career. 51% of job seekers with bachelor’s degrees who had at least one interview completed the interview process without receiving an offer, compared to 35% with at most a high school diploma.
According to CNBC, for 2023, 96% of workers are looking for a new position, largely in search of better pay. Nearly half, or 40%, of job seekers, said they need a higher income due to inflation and rising expenses,
The question Wood raises at the end of her video goes beyond her personal experience and has become a collective plea that many individuals are asking themselves: How are any of us supposed to secure a job when faced with such formidable obstacles in the employment landscape? It's an inquiry that demands a broader conversation about systemic issues in the workforce, evolving hiring practices that are leaving people out of actually finding a job, and addressing the societal hindrance that stops those trying to seek a meaningful and sustainable livelihood.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.