A number of folks looking for jobs have expressed their frustration—and lack of luck—in finding a gig despite numerous applications, reach outs, and follow-ups.
As the old adage goes, finding a job is a job in itself, and there are a lot of ups and downs in attempting to break into a new vocation. One of the more annoying experiences in a job-seeking journey is not hearing back from potential employers, but TikToker Heather Kathryn (@heathermaekathryn) didn’t have that issue with Creative Artists Agency.
Heather applied for a Music Touring Assistant position with the company, only to learn that 20 minutes later after submitting her application for the gig, she was summarily turned down. This led TikTokers to speculate that she was immediately ruled out by a screening tool utilized by the talent representation company.
Heather posts a TikTok montage that tells the tale of her 20-minute job rejection in a series of screenshots presented in a slide format.
The first image shows an email from CAA’s no-reply email address that notifies her that her application has been received at 11:00am.
A follow-up email from the company reads, “Dear Heather Kathryn, we appreciate your interest in CAA and the time you have invested in applying for Assistant – Music Touring. While we were impressed with your background, we have chosen not to move forward with your candidacy at this time.”
The time that Heather received the rejection? 11:20am.
Many job-seekers on social media have expressed difficulty in being able to secure employment recently. One laid-off worker says that they have applied to 100 jobs with a grand total of zero offers from any of them.
The Biden administration has recently claimed that the rate of unemployment in the United States is at the lowest it’s been in 54 years. However, a number of researchers, including Fact Check, have stated that this number is “misleading.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ own raw data counteracts’ the current Oval Office’s team, and when reached out for further explanation, presidential officials clarified that the unemployment figures aren’t based on the number of folks who have jobs, but rather the number of people who are currently collecting unemployment benefits for being out of work. “A White House spokesperson told us Biden was referring to the number of people receiving unemployment insurance benefits,” the outlet wrote.
Judging from the alacrity with which Heather was denied, many viewers who saw her post presumed that CAA already had someone selected for the position, but nonetheless needed to list the job anyway.
“They probably had someone picked out but still had to post the job advertisement,” one TikToker wrote.
Others think that Heather simply got on the wrong side of the company’s job screening algorithm.
“It’s likely an automated rejection,” a user said. “If you didn’t meet the screening questions or qualifications, the system can automatically disqualify you.”
Someone else said they’ve been rejected in an even shorter period of time than Heather, sharing, “My record is 90 seconds I was like damn ok,” which seems to be a common experience based on another person’s response.
“I once was rejected for a job within 8 minutes of applying,” the user claimed. “That same company offered to interview for a different role the next day.”
Others remarked that “at least” Heather heard back from the company so she wouldn’t hold out hope for the position.
As one user wrote, “At least they responded so many companies just never reply back.”
The Daily Dot reached out to CAA via email and Heather via TikTok comment.
