Stephanie O'Neal is finding it difficult to stay positive as her job search drags on with no end in sight. The 54-year-old communications veteran from Los Angeles has spent much of her more than 30-year career in technology. She was laid off in October 2024 and is still looking for work 13 months later.
The same goes for Pittsburgh marketing director Holly Teegarden, 52, who has been applying for 50 jobs a week since closing her cannabis business after her clientele dried up in February. So far she has had little success.
And for 37-year-old Charlsie Niemiek, a content marketing leader in Atlanta, it's that same radio silence. In the year following her layoff, she applied for 280 different jobs before finding a new job in January. But just seven months later she was laid off again – and in the three months since she was laid off she had already applied for 263 jobs.
They are fighting just as hard 7.4 million Americans unemployed all of whom have one thing in common: they take longer to find a job. As of August, Americans were unemployed average 24.5 weeksAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That's up from 21 weeks a year ago.
This longer timeline is also reflected in industry studies. According to the company, time to first offer from the start of the search averaged 68.5 days by June, up 22% from 56 days in April. Huntr Q2 2025 Job Search Trends Report. The study analyzed 461,000 applications and 285,000 job postings entered by 17,733 users into the platform's job tracking tool during the quarter. It turned out that the 10% of the most active job seekers send out 19 applications per week.
And with widespread adoption of artificial intelligence—both by job seekers and companies hiring—both experts and job seekers say the gap in the process is growing. In fact, 93% of job seekers use tools like ChatGPT to help with resumes and cover letters, Huntr said. But when faced with a one-way AI interview, seven out of ten job seekers say they give up.
The irony in all this? The very technology that promises to make the job search easier seems to make it even more difficult for job seekers to stand out from others.
Job seekers find themselves in a “sea of sameness”
AI tools are praised for helping job seekers scale and optimize their search for a new role. But as competition gets fiercer, this strategy is doing more harm than good, career experts say.
“AI kind of creates a sea of similarities,” said New York-based career coach Eliana Goldstein. “It automates everything and makes everyone sound the same—and sound like robots.”
Sofya Mishina, director of talent acquisition at AI Digital, agrees. “I see resumes that are perfectly formatted and easily forgotten—same buzzwords, same tone, no proof of work,” she said.
Adam Karpiak, co-founder of Karpiak Consulting, a national employment and staffing services firm, sees a challenge on the hiring side. With so many nearly identical resumes out there, it's becoming increasingly difficult for companies to find the right one because “everything looks AI-generated,” he explained.
“AI doesn’t understand context,” Karpiak said. “It doesn't know how you got your results or what made your impact unique. Without it, your resume might check all the keyword search boxes, but it won't connect with the human reader.”
The sheer volume was also overwhelming for both sides. It's no surprise that more companies are also relying on artificial intelligence tools to help them analyze large numbers of applications.
“When a job gets 1,000 applications in 10 minutes—half of it from people who are clearly unqualified—hiring teams have to triage,” Karpiak said. “This means good candidates are being missed out.
“AI can support this process, but it cannot replace judgment. The danger is that companies start to look at hiring as a data problem rather than a people problem.”
But it's at this stage that many candidates say companies harass them even when they check all the boxes in the job description. Without feedback during the process, job seekers say they don't understand what it takes to get past the automated applicant tracking systems many companies use.
“I also see the same job postings over and over again and I think they are trying to find people who are not […] there are: unicorns,” Teagarden said. – It's like playing the lottery. The only way to try to find a job right now is the old school way: just talk to people.”
Wrong Ways to Use AI in Your Job Search
What's the biggest mistake job seekers make? Transferring your critical thinking to AI rather than using it as an assistant.
“One of the most common mistakes I see is candidates relying too heavily on AI-generated content without customizing it to reflect their unique value,” said Kimberly Brown, career and leadership expert and founder of Brown Leadership.
“When someone sends a resume or cover letter that sounds like a generic template, it becomes apparent that a lack of authenticity can be a deal breaker.”
Karpiak notes that AI will not make a bad resume good. He adds that job seekers think they are “tailoring” their resume, when in reality they are simply rehashing the same content and adding keywords to the job description.
Using AI to distribute applications to hundreds of jobs is another counterproductive use of these tools, Goldstein said.
“If you look at the statistics, you probably get an interview in 2-3% of the places you apply for,” Goldstein said. “If you take a spray-and-pray approach, that figure will probably drop to around 0.5% or 1%. It will never succeed.”
Bbalancing the use of AI in your job search
So how should job seekers use AI to give a realistic picture of their resume to the hiring manager? Experts recommend treating him as an editor or thought consultant rather than a writer.
“Think of it as a starting point, not a finishing line,” Brown advised. “Use it to make a list of bullet points, identify keywords from job descriptions, or reformat your resume for clarity, then come back and fill it with your accomplishments and voice.”
Karpiak agrees. “The smartest way to use AI is to be an editor, not a ghostwriter,” he said. “Let it help you tighten up your language or check for clarity, but make sure the content, the how and why behind your achievements, is based on your own experience and not a regurgitated job advert.”
Mishina recommends spending a minimum of time on improving the AI.
“Spend 15 minutes cleaning up your resume,” she said. “Spend the next seven hours and 45 minutes doing the actual work: research the company and the hiring manager, map the team, and create something they'll be interested in—a brief, a repository, a one-page ideas document. It will get you in front of the decision maker, but a perfect resume will not.”
Huntr's analysis of more than 1.39 million job applications since the end of 2024 shows that tailored resumes generate approximately six interview opportunities per 100 applications, compared to less than three for general applications.
So what else helps attract attention in this job market?
In a market saturated with “AI junk,” as many call it, authenticity and specificity stand out.
“People are connecting the dots,” Karpiak said. “Instead of “managed a team,” say who the team is, what you accomplished, and what your work changed. That’s what recruiters remember.”
Brown emphasizes that the network is still superior to any system.
“Get your content into the hands of real people through informational interviews, recommendations, or direct communication. AI can open the door, but relationships get you in the room,” Brown advised.
The data confirms this. Goldstein notes that “when you have a referral, your chances of getting an interview go from 2% to 3% to 40%.”
Even if you do all of this, your resume can still go unnoticed—something Nimick, Teagarden, and O'Neill say they all experience first-hand.
“I have over 30 years of successful career; I think the longest it's ever taken me to find a job was six months,” O'Neill said. “Never in a million years would I have thought it would take this long. At this point, I'm pretty sure my corporate career in America is over. At 54, I was forced into retirement and need to find something else to do.”
Niemec is seeing another nefarious trend where applicants are asked to do unpaid tasks and then immediately rejected or rejected after handing in the work.
“I find it particularly disgusting,” she said, adding that this has happened to her before. “Basically, they're being sent a custom job for free… but they're also just looking for ideas because a lot of the jobs that do that are jobs that then come back with a job description a week later.”
How to stay resilient in a cutthroat market
For millions of unemployed job seekers, the uncertainty and financial stress of not knowing when they will get their next job is taking a toll on their mental health and self-confidence.
“The job search can feel like you're on an emotional roller coaster,” Brown said. “You have to separate rejection from your self-worth. Every “no” is a redirection, not a reflection of your value.”
Goldstein recommends focusing on “micro-wins”—celebrating small wins, such as clarifying target roles, scheduling network calls, or improving application materials. “The best way to gain momentum is not to just focus on one specific win or goal like, 'I'll be successful when I get a job,'” she said.
The job seekers we spoke to are finding it increasingly difficult to tap into their resilience reserves. They each openly post on LinkedIn about their job search struggles, using storytelling to build their personal brand. This is another approach that will help you stand out and could potentially attract hiring managers to your inbox, Niemek noted.
However, for those who see their savings dwindling, bills piling up, and hopes dashed by rejection after rejection, following this advice is easier said than done. But in this job market, Niemec has a simple message for others in her shoes.
“It’s not about you, it’s about the system, and the system is broken,” Niemiec said. “Until there's a broader conversation about how to fix this, we're just in this weird, terrible, awkward, painful in-between period.”
