A TikToker frustrated with her job search shared some alarming stats on how difficult it is for her to land a job in a viral video.
Samantha (@samsramblings) wanted to provide some assurance for other job seekers who may be in the same position, that the issue may not be them or their approach to finding gainful employment.
The TikToker says that she applied to a staggering 1,800 different jobs in just four-and-a-half months and has heard back from 430 of them, booking an interview for each in the process. However, she goes on to say that out of those 430 companies, 120 of them said that they were on a hiring freeze.
While those numbers seem almost impossible, Samantha claims that she had anywhere from 7-30 job interviews booked in a single week over the 19-week period she discusses in the video.
@samsramblings It is not you… #jobsearch #jobinterview #jobmarket #layoffs #techlayoffs #tech #career #careertiktok #careertok #jobs #interviewing #wtf #storytime ♬ original sound – Samantha
“On this week’s ‘what the fuck is the job market,’ I have some statistics that I pulled that everybody needs to hear, because it really is the job market, it’s not you,” Samantha starts.
She then explains that she’s interviewed for 24% of the 1,800 jobs she’s applied for, or 430 interviews.
“That sounds kind of great, right? Say you’ve interviewed for over 400 companies. That’s amazing…out of that 430, over 120 of those jobs were frozen. I don’t have the exact number in my head but I remember the percentage, cause that was just more it was easier for me to remember. It’s 32.92% That’s fucking terrifying.”
“Pretty much, I was interviewing for no reason,” she concludes.
She goes on to state that the job market is currently “oversaturated” with talent as there are a lot of individuals who have been laid off. And depending on the sector that one specializes in, they could be vying against a much larger number of job applicants. Big Tech, for instance, has seen tens of thousands of layoffs to begin 2023, with Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon terminating the contracts of throngs of workers.
Samantha says that these layoffs, coupled with companies who are incompetent when it comes to the hiring process, make for a double-whammy of despair for folks who are trying to secure a job. “Just know that a lot of people also don’t know how to hire and there are companies that have over 3,000 candidates and still put the job back into the market,” she claims. “So that’s a whole other thing just to be very mindful of. I’ve watched companies that had a job open for over 4 months and still haven’t hired for it. That’s insane.”
She capped off her clip by urging her followers to keep applying to gigs and “buckle in” for rejection as the state of employment affairs aren’t looking so hot by her estimation right now. “So just keep that in mind there are really just things that you can’t control as you’re going through the job market… ” she concludes. “It is just really, really, really, really, really not a good time and the average [time] for people to get hired after being laid off at this point in our job market… is 4 to 7 months. So buckle in, fucking get to it. And know that perseverance will truly lead you to where you are supposed to be, hopefully.”
Samantha’s anecdotal claims seem to support Fact Check’s assessment of the Biden administration’s claims about economic recovery and a mitigating unemployment rate as being misleading.
In the comments, several viewers shared their own difficulty landing a job.
“I’m at 7 months. I was just soft rejected because they said I’m over qualified for the position. This has happened before, and they don’t wanna pay” one wrote.
Another said, “One recruiter just told me that they are checking the candidates but in reality don’t have any job offers, but they need to justify THEIR time.”
Someone else penned, “well I’m on month five. so hopefully that 4 to 7 month range is accurate”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Samantha via TikTok comment for further information.
