The Hidden Cost of Being Ghosted by Today’s Hiring Process
Editorial: This article reflects my personal experiences and opinions while looking for work. Your experience may be different, and I’d genuinely like to hear it.
I got another rejection email recently.
Just kidding.
That isn’t true.
At least a rejection email is a response.
Most of the time, I don’t get anything at all.
And lately, I’ve been wondering something.
How many times can someone be ignored before they start questioning themselves?
Because I don’t think that’s just my experience anymore.
I think a lot of workers are quietly asking themselves the same question.
The Routine Has Become Familiar
I know this routine by heart now.
Find another job posting.
Open the résumé.
Change a few words because everyone tells you to tailor it for every application.
Write another cover letter, even though you’ve already said the same thing a hundred different ways.
Create another account on another company website.
Fill out pages of information that’s already sitting on your résumé.
Answer screening questions.
Sometimes complete assessments before you’ve spoken to a single person.
Upload the résumé.
Then manually type everything back into the application because the upload didn’t fill it in correctly.
Double-check everything.
Click Submit.
Then…
Nothing.
No interview.
No rejection.
No confirmation that anyone actually looked at what you spent your time putting together.
Just another application disappearing into what feels like a black hole.
Then you do it all over again tomorrow.
After a while, it stops feeling like you’re applying for jobs.
It starts feeling like your full-time job is filling out applications that nobody ever seems to read.
And honestly, that’s frustrating.
Not because I’m afraid of putting in the work.
I’ve worked my entire life.
It’s frustrating because the amount of effort that goes into applying for one job often feels completely disconnected from what comes back.
Sometimes it feels like the only thing I know for certain is that tomorrow I’ll be doing it all over again.
Silence Leaves Room for Doubt
I can handle rejection.
I don’t enjoy it, but at least I know where I stand.
Silence is different.
Silence lets your mind fill in the blanks.
Was my résumé terrible?
Am I overqualified?
Underqualified?
Too old?
Did anyone ever actually read it?
Was there ever a real opportunity to begin with?
The truth is, I’ll probably never know.
That’s what makes modern job searching so exhausting.
You’re expected to improve your approach without ever being told what isn’t working.
I’m Living This Right Now
Right now, I work a seasonal job.
The season was shortened.
Our hours were reduced.
My income dropped as part of cost-cutting.
Like a lot of workers, I’ve been looking for opportunities online.
I’ve applied for jobs that match my experience.
I’ve applied for jobs below my experience.
I’ve applied for jobs that I honestly shouldn’t have to explain why I’m qualified for.
Most of the time…
Nothing.
Even the Rejections Feel Automated
Every once in a while, I do get a rejection email.
Sometimes it’s obvious no one even finished editing the template before sending it.
I’ve received emails where the job title was never filled in.
I’ve received others that referenced a completely different position than the one I applied for.
Maybe those are simple mistakes.
But after spending time researching a company, tailoring my résumé, writing a cover letter, and answering screening questions, it’s hard not to notice.
If I submitted work that incomplete in many of the jobs I’ve had over the years, someone would have expected me to fix it.
I don’t expect employers to personally respond to every applicant.
I understand that isn’t realistic.
But I do think applicants deserve the same level of professionalism that’s expected from them.
I Have Started Feeling Less Human
The longer I go through this process, the less human it starts to feel.
And if I’m being honest…
Sometimes I feel more like a number… or just another résumé… than a person.
That probably sounds dramatic, but it’s the best way I know how to describe it.
Upload.
Submit.
Wait.
Repeat.
Then do it all over again tomorrow.
After a while, you stop feeling like a person introducing yourself to a potential employer.
You start feeling like another application moving through a system.
Then I open LinkedIn and see a job posting with over 1,000 applicants.
Sometimes even more.
Before I’ve even applied, I’m already wondering if anyone will ever see my résumé.
That’s a strange feeling.
Especially because it’s so different from what I was taught growing up.
My old man gave me advice that I honestly believed would carry me through my working life.
Work hard.
Show up.
Half the battle is simply being there.
Get an education.
Do the jobs nobody else wants to do.
Volunteer for overtime.
Show people you’re willing to work.
Show them your value.
I believed him.
For a long time, I believed that if I followed that advice, everything else would eventually fall into place.
I have worked blue collar to white collar.
Full-time to part-time.
I’ve shown up.
I’ve adapted.
I’ve continued learning.
I’ve kept working because I believed experience and reliability would eventually count for something.
Lately…
I’m not so sure the hiring process values those things the way it used to.
Sometimes it feels like decades of experience are competing against keywords, algorithms, and applicant counts.
That’s a hard thing to accept.
Not because I think I’m entitled to a job.
But because I honestly believed that experience, reliability, and showing up still meant something.
Maybe they do.
I just wish it felt that way more often.
The Part That Worries Me Most
The rejection emails aren’t what worry me.
The software doesn’t worry me.
The silence does.
Because after enough unanswered applications, something changes.
At first, you question the hiring process.
Eventually…
You start questioning yourself.
Maybe I’m too old.
Maybe my experience doesn’t matter anymore.
Maybe my skills aren’t relevant.
Maybe nobody wants me.
I’ve had those thoughts.
I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one.
And that’s the part I think we need to talk about more.
A hiring process can be broken.
That doesn’t automatically mean the people going through it are.
Those are two different things.
I Don’t Have the Answer
I don’t know how to fix modern hiring.
I wish I did.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll probably open LinkedIn again.
I’ll search again.
I’ll tailor another résumé.
I’ll fill out another application.
Not because I think the system works particularly well.
Because it’s the system I’ve got.
What I do know is that we don’t talk enough about what prolonged silence does to people.
It chips away at confidence.
It makes experienced workers question decades of hard work.
It convinces good people that they’re somehow no longer good enough.
I don’t think that’s healthy.
And I don’t think it’s something workers should carry by themselves.
That’s one reason I started The Exploited Worker 138.
Not because I’ve figured this out.
Not because I have the perfect advice.
Because I’m living through it too.
If you’ve been sending applications into what feels like a black hole…
You’re not the only one.
Let’s Talk About It
Everything I’ve shared here comes from my own experiences and observations. They aren’t meant to represent every worker or every employer.
I’d genuinely like to hear your experience.
What’s the longest you’ve gone without hearing back after applying for a job?
Roughly how many applications have you submitted?
And if you could change one thing about today’s hiring process, what would it be?
Leave a comment below.
This website exists because I believe workers deserve a place where we can have honest conversations about what we’re experiencing—even when the answers aren’t easy.
These are my personal opinions and experiences. They are shared to encourage discussion, not to speak for every worker or every employer. If your experience has been different, I’d genuinely like to hear it.