Searching for a job is already stressful, but the modern recruiting process makes it downright exhausting. Too many job seekers are met with a cycle of redundant steps, rejections, and unanswered questions. You see a job posting labeled as "urgent," apply with a polished resume and a personalized cover letter, fill out a never-ending application on Workday, follow up with the hiring manager—and then, after weeks of waiting, receive a generic rejection. But wait—why is the same job posted again the next week? Was this job ever real?
The Endless Loop of Hiring
Many job seekers have experienced this scenario:
The Exciting Job Posting: A company advertises a position that aligns perfectly with your skills and experience. You apply, eager and hopeful.
The Resume Black Hole: Despite submitting a tailored resume and cover letter, you’re asked to manually enter the same information into an outdated applicant tracking system.
The Waiting Game: Days or weeks go by. No updates. No feedback. Just silence.
The Generic Rejection: Eventually, you receive a vague email saying they “went with another candidate” who was a “better fit.”
The Mysterious Repost: Not long after, the job appears again—sometimes multiple times—suggesting they never filled it at all.
This cycle repeats endlessly, leaving job seekers wondering: What’s really going on here?
Is the Job Even Real?
One of the biggest concerns among job seekers is whether the roles they’re applying for actually exist. In many cases, companies post jobs for reasons unrelated to hiring:
Building a Talent Pipeline: Some companies collect resumes to have candidates on file, even when they aren’t actively hiring.
Meeting Compliance Requirements: Companies may be required to post jobs externally, even if they already have an internal candidate in mind.
Boosting Engagement: Some businesses use job postings to drive traffic to their LinkedIn pages and careers site, even if no real position exists.
Market Research: Recruiters sometimes post jobs to gauge interest in certain roles or salary expectations in the industry.
These misleading tactics waste job seekers' time and create a demoralizing experience.
The Hiring Process is Broken
Another glaring issue is the inefficiency of modern hiring systems. Many companies rely on automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) that filter resumes based on rigid keyword-matching algorithms, meaning perfectly qualified candidates can get rejected before a human ever sees their application.
Additionally, requiring candidates to manually input every detail from their resumes into an application system—often riddled with glitches—is outdated and disrespectful of their time. The lack of human interaction in the hiring process, paired with robotic rejections, only adds to the frustration.
What Needs to Change
The job market is competitive, but companies must recognize that the hiring process should be a two-way street. Here’s how it could improve:
Respect Candidates' Time: If a resume and cover letter are required, recruiters should actually read them instead of making candidates re-enter the same information.
Improve Communication: If an applicant is rejected, companies should provide meaningful feedback instead of generic responses.
Be Transparent: Employers should be honest about whether they’re actually hiring or just collecting resumes.
Streamline the Process: Ditch clunky systems like Workday that create unnecessary hurdles. The process should be efficient, not an endurance test.
The Takeaway
For many job seekers, the hiring process feels like a never-ending loop of wasted effort and false hope. If companies truly want the best candidates, they need to create a fair, transparent, and efficient hiring system. Otherwise, they'll continue losing great talent to the frustration of the process itself.
Until then, job seekers are left asking the same question: Make it make sense.
Thanks for reading,
William Rochelle, but you can call me Bill
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