Ask HN: Who's getting their job applications rejected?

Hacker News Discussion ↗

State of the Job Market

  • Many report a sharp deterioration vs. 2021–2022: fewer roles, more applicants, lower offers, more ghosting.
  • Several describe “employer’s market” dynamics: take‑it‑or‑leave‑it offers, frozen or reduced salaries, and long funnels (100+ applicants → ~1 hire).
  • Some see this as a normalization after a ZIRP‑fueled bubble and over‑hiring; others say it feels like a recession specifically for tech.
  • A minority argues macro data still looks “fine” and that expectations were distorted by boom times.

Candidate Experiences

  • Senior engineers, PMs, ML/quant specialists, and sysadmins with strong pedigrees report:
    • Dozens to hundreds of applications with few responses.
    • Multiple interview loops ending in rejection, nitpicky coding‑test feedback, or last‑minute lowballing.
    • Ghosting at every stage, including after final rounds and even with referrals.
  • Some juniors and mid‑levels feel squeezed out by more experienced candidates now in the same pool.
  • Remote‑only preferences and short job stints can trigger automatic rejections in some orgs.

Hiring Manager & Company Perspectives

  • Many companies have hiring freezes, backfills denied, or strong pressure to “do more with less.”
  • Inbound volume is overwhelming (hundreds–thousands of applicants per posting), driving:
    • Crude filters, ATS use, and “first X resumes only.”
    • More emphasis on tenure and perceived long‑term commitment.
  • Some blame poor retention on companies (pay, growth, culture); others filter out frequent job‑hoppers.

Remote Work, Offshoring & Compensation

  • Multiple founders/managers say they now hire in Eastern Europe/LatAm/India for a fraction of US/UK salaries, often via contractor models.
  • Some see remote work as having backfired on Western devs by globalizing the talent pool and compressing salaries.
  • Others note prior outsourcing waves often under‑delivered, so long‑term impact is unclear.

AI, Skills & Roles

  • A few argue AI reduces need for juniors and rewards senior, architectural, and domain skills; others fear near‑term unemployability.
  • Sysadmins and “fixers” feel devalued relative to cloud/devops/web‑stack checklists but are advised to upskill (cloud, Terraform, React, etc.).

Advice & Coping Strategies

  • Common suggestions: massively widen application funnel, lean on networking/referrals, tailor resumes, build visible projects, consider non‑glamour geographies or even career pivots.
  • Some urge starting a business or side projects—though others note that’s only realistic with savings or support.