For the growing ranks of Britain's unemployed, the modern job search has morphed into a demoralising and often dehumanising process. With 5% of Brits currently out of work, applicants are navigating a landscape filled with fake advertisements, automated gatekeepers, and a profound lack of human connection.
The Rise of the 'Ghost Job'
One of the most disheartening trends is the proliferation of 'ghost jobs'. These are positions advertised by companies that have no real intention of hiring, created simply to project an image of growth and success. In 2024, a staggering 40% of companies have been found to post such listings. The regulation of these misleading ads falls to the Advertising Standards Authority, whose primary power is to have the advert removed—a slap on the wrist with no real deterrent for employers. This ethical vacuum in the job market means the time and hopes of thousands of applicants are being casually wasted.
Navigating the Robot Gatekeepers
Even when a job is genuine, the first hurdle is often an artificial intelligence HR bot. While hard data is scarce, the use of AI to filter applications is widespread, with countless online guides teaching candidates how to 'game' the systems with the right keywords. As one Atlantic article starkly put it: "Young people are using ChatGPT to write their applications; HR is using AI to read them; no one is getting hired." The automation doesn't stop at the CV screen. For those who pass the initial algorithmic cull, the interview itself may be conducted by another bot, meaning a candidate can go through almost the entire process without speaking to a single human being.
A Crisis Beyond Graduates
This broken system is often framed as a graduate problem, but it is severely impacting experienced professionals too. Many skilled workers with years of experience report being unable to secure interviews for even entry-level positions. The job market has become saturated with ill-defined 'franken-jobs' that demand a vast array of skills—from SEO to video editing—for modest salaries, often accompanied by a requirement for cult-like devotion to a company's obscure mission.
The hiring process has become so mechanised, both in practice and in spirit, that success often seems to hinge on being the best at manipulating the system rather than having the most suitable skills. This leaves a critical question unanswered: what happens to those who cannot or will not play this game? For many, the experience is one of shouting into a void, left to wonder if their carefully crafted applications are ever seen by human eyes, or are simply lost forever in a digital ether.
