How the Job Market Actually Works (vs. What You Were Told)

You've been staring at job boards for months.

Your LinkedIn profile is "optimized."

Your resume has been through seventeen iterations. You've applied to 147 positions that feel like varying degrees of soul-crushing compromise.

And you have exactly three interviews to show for it—two of which ended with "we've decided to go with someone who's more of a cultural fit" and one that resulted in a lowball offer for a role that somehow required both entry-level enthusiasm and senior-level experience.

If this sounds familiar, let me save you some time:

It’s not you. Your college career counselors (myself included!) prepped with you career advice more outdated than Aztec-print leggings. 

Here’s how the job market actually works today vs. what we were told:

The Shot Before the Chaser

Some data that might make you feel less insane about your job search experience:

The application “black hole” is real:

• The average corporate job posting receives 250+ applications (Harvard Business Review, 2024)

• Only 2% of applicants get interviews from online applications

• 85% of jobs are filled through networking, not job boards (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) → but you knew this one already, right?

The experience trap has gotten worse:

• 61% of "entry-level" positions now require 3+ years of experience, up from 35% in 2019 (Burning Glass Institute)

• Mid-level roles increasingly demand experience with tools, platforms, or strategies that didn't exist five years ago

The hiring process has become performatively complex:

• Average time-to-hire is 44 days, up from 23 days in 2010

• Companies are conducting an average of 6-8 interview rounds for roles that used to require 2-3 (!!)

• 42% of job postings are "ghost jobs"—positions companies post but never intend to fill, either to gauge market interest or meet internal posting requirements

Confessions of a College Career Counselor: 

This one hurts my soul, but I need to own it. I was a peer career counselor for three years in college, prepping my classmates for the “real world” with resume critiques, mock interview prep, and on-campus recruitment opportunities.

Eleven years ago, I was one of the (very well-meaning) people who taught you to:

• "Tailor your resume for each application" (spend hours customizing keywords for jobs you'll never hear back from)

• "Follow up professionally" (send thank-you emails into the void)

• "Research the company culture" (insert mission statement buzzwords into your cover letter)

• "Show your passion" (send an Edible Arrangement to the recruiter’s office)

What we prepared you for: A world where merit was transparent, where "the best candidate" got the job, where “going the extra mile” to stand out actually worked, where following the rules and working hard guaranteed upward mobility.

What you got instead: A hiring landscape dominated by applicant tracking systems that filter out qualified candidates, referral networks that prioritize connections over qualifications, and companies that have turned recruitment into elaborate theater while making actual hiring decisions through completely different channels.

And while this advice wasn’t “wrong” for the time, no honest career coach should still be supplying it today without any caveats or more strategic approaches is not long for this market…

How to Land a New Job in 2025

Alas, here’s the advice I’m giving today.

The 70-20-10 Rule of Modern Job Searching:

• 70% of your energy should go toward building relationships and visibility within your industry

• 20% should focus on direct outreach to specific people at target companies

• 10% should be spent on traditional applications (and only for roles where you have an internal connection)

What this looks like in practice:

Instead of applying to 50 jobs this month, identify 10 companies where you want to work and find 2-3 people at each company who are doing work you admire or are in positions adjacent to what you want. Comment thoughtfully on their LinkedIn content. Share their posts with your own insights. Send a brief, genuine LinkedIn message about something specific they've worked on or posted and why it matters to you.

Yes, this feels like "networking," which might make your skin crawl. 

But it's not the same as the transactional schmoozing you were taught to fear. It’s relationship building at its core, and it's how the job market really functions.

Why it’s important (and what we couldn’t admit back then):

Most hiring managers would rather hire someone they know (or someone vouched for by someone they trust) than wade through hundreds of applications from strangers. This isn't corruption (most of the time), but human nature combined with company resource constraints.

And, the people getting hired in 2025 aren't necessarily the most qualified– they're the most memorable. In a market flooded with talent, being memorable matters more than being perfect.

The job market rewards people who understand that hiring is fundamentally about risk reduction, relationship building, and pattern recognition. It's a complex social system disguised as a professional process (not the meritocracy we thought it was back in college).

This doesn't mean the system is fair, and it doesn't mean you should stop pushing for change. But it does mean that succeeding within it requires understanding how it actually operates, not how we wish it operated.

So, your next move isn't to apply to more jobs; it's to get better at the game that's actually being played.

What's your take? Are you seeing these patterns in your own job search, or have you found strategies that actually work? The comments are open—I'm curious how this matches (or doesn't match) your experience.

This week’s question comes from Maxime over on Instagram. She writes:

I’ve always been an advocate for a few strategically-placed personal details that will make you more than just a list of bullets on a resume!

In your “Skills” or “Additional Experience” sections, I’d choose 1-3 personal hobbies, skills, strengths, accomplishments, or affiliations that are meaningful to you (and that you’d be excited to talk about in an interview, because someone is likely to use them as an icebreaker!).

Good examples of ones I’ve seen from clients or people I’ve hired:

• 5-time NYC Marathon finisher

• WSET 3 Sommelier

• 10-year Dungeons & Dragons Game Master

• Planned Parenthood Phone Bank Organizer

• Trained concert violinist

• Won a car on The Price is Right (!!!!)

Love the newsletter but want more? Did you know I put together an entire course called Pivot with Purpose? Think of it like a supercharged version of all the best content from this newsletter, tailored to help you nail your career goals.