Finding a job in the current market may be more difficult as interest rates rise and the hot job market of the last year begins to cool, according to the Washington Post.
For one woman, this meant 76 job applications going completely unanswered. In a viral video, with more than 1.4 million views on TikTok, @kayleyalissa says she spent more than eight weeks looking for a job.
@kayleyalissa i need a job #unemployed #laidoff ♬ original sound – Slayley
“Y’all, I have been off work for nine weeks,” she says in the video. “I was laid off in May; my company downsized and eliminated my position. I was completely blindsided by that. I took literally one week off to be sad about my life, and then I started putting in applications. In these last eight weeks since I’ve been putting (in) applications, I’ve put in 76 applications. For local work, remote work, a lot of marketing, digital, social, where my strengths lie and where I know I’m very good at my job.
Even with all those applications sent off, @kayleyalissa says she still has not heard back about a single one of them.
“Seventy six applications, and I’ve not had one interview,” she says. “I’ve not had any interest whatsoever. Y’all cannot tell me that companies are struggling because they don’t have any workers when you’re not hiring anyone. I don’t know what to do at this point. I have the most beautiful, elaborate resumé, I have a detailed resumé, I have a beautiful cover letter, and, like, it’s all a scam.”
Viewers shared their own experiences attempting to navigate a difficult job market.
“Getting an interview and then getting ghosted only to then respond to my email, ‘we’ve closed that position.. good luck in your search,’” one commenter wrote.
“I’ve been looking for two years,” a commenter wrote. “I apply to hundreds of jobs every month and I’ve had one interview.”
“I see help wanted signs everywhere but then they won’t even call you after you apply,” another commenter wrote. “I’ve seen so many people having this same issue.”
Many referenced the labor shortage that has affected businesses across the nation ever since the onset of the pandemic. According to Harvard Business Review, which cited the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 47 million quit their jobs in 2021 in what is dubbed the “Great Resignation.” Workers are reportedly continuing to quit at near-record numbers in 2022.
However, Vox referred to the current job market as a “very weird” one. According to the publication, which spoked with hiring industry experts and economists, there are over 11 million job openings. Historically, companies, during a recession, lay off workers and enact hiring freezes. While there have been notable layoffs made at major companies in the past few weeks, Vox reports a possible recession may not be a concern for the job market as companies are still trying to backfill the positions that were vacated during the pandemic. Forbes further reports hiring freezes may be specifically affecting the tech industry as nearly 70,000 tech employees have been laid off so far in 2022.
The Daily Dot reached out to @kayleyalissa via Instagram direct message regarding the video.
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