The Frustrating Reality of Job Hunting: A Programmer’s Journey Through 250 Applications

After landing an interview, Sachdev spent 40 hours scouring job sites for tips, cramming his notebook full of hypothetical questions and their responses, compiling a presentation the company required—and neglecting his coursework. He eventually got the job, but it was short-lived when the recruiter rescinded the offer after learning about his immigration status. Sachdev started over and eventually found a job with a startup that was willing to sponsor his H-1B visa. Inspired by his experience, he decided to create a career blog offering help to other job seekers in similar situations.

According to Chris Russell, managing director of the recruitment consultancy RecTech Media, the process of online job hunting has brought fresh annoyances since the mid-’90s. The rise of online job boards flooded companies with candidates, leading to the development of applicant tracking systems that aimed to help recruiters manage the overwhelming number of applicants. However, from the job seeker’s perspective, these systems felt like a new barrier and were not user-friendly. As a result, a cottage industry of tools and résumé whisperers emerged, promising to assist job seekers in navigating the automated scanners.

In recent years, additional barriers have been introduced, such as psychological assessments and “digital interviews” where applicants answer prepared questions into their webcams. Despite these advancements, Scott Dobroski, a career trends expert at Indeed, believes that the fundamentals of hiring remain outdated. He points out that it takes most Indeed users three and a half months to find a job, while other aspects of life have become faster-paced.

Time Wasters

Despite the challenges faced by job seekers, Sachdev decided to concentrate his efforts on the initial application process. He identified three main factors that influenced application time: the size of the company, the industry it belonged to, and the applicant tracking software used. Applicant tracking software was a significant source of frustration for Sachdev. The most common systems he encountered were Workday, Taleo, Greenhouse, Lever, and Phenom, each with its own set of issues. By the end of his 250 applications, Sachdev had created 83 separate accounts due to the redirection and account creation requirements of certain systems like Workday and Taleo.