Two-thirds of U.S. job candidates say they’re struggling to land a role in an intensely competitive labor market — and only 7% believe the market favors them, according to a July 17 report from Greenhouse, a hiring platform.
Job seekers reported challenges such as hiring automation, employer ghosting and bias. In turn, candidates are responding by using artificial intelligence tools, resume hacks and interview tricks to get attention.
“Hiring is stuck in an AI doom loop,” Daniel Chait, CEO and co-founder of Greenhouse, said in a statement.
“We don’t need more friction or hoops to jump through; we need a hiring process that allows people’s true selves to come through more clearly and more completely,” Chait added. “A more human and three-dimensional hiring process that helps candidates showcase their skills and focus their job search is the only way to cut through the chaos and connect the right people to the right roles.”
In a survey of more than 2,200 active job seekers in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, 72% said they’ve encountered “bait-and-switch” tactics during the hiring process, where the job they applied for turned out to be different from the offered position. Workers said employment uncertainty, reduced hours and job losses led them to look for a new role.
In an attempt to become more competitive, 59% of candidates said they’ve altered their resumes, and among those, 45% said they’ve embellished their qualifications.
Job seekers also said they’re turning to AI to remain competitive, with 67% of U.S. candidates using AI during the job hunt. While 45% use AI to prepare for interviews, 28% use it to create fake work samples, and 22% use automated bots to submit applications.
With the growth of AI use in hiring, more than a quarter of candidates said it’s even harder to stand out, and nearly a third have claimed AI skills they don’t have.
As the hiring process grows even more competitive, 10% of job seekers said they’ve lied on their resume, typically about dates of employment, years of experience and job responsibilities in previous roles, according to an AI Resume Builder report. Only 21% said they regret lying, and 92% said their lies were never discovered.
Ghosting appears to go both ways — while 63% of candidates surveyed by Greenhouse said they’re often left in the dark after interviews, about half said they’ve ghosted an employer as well. Among Gen Z job seekers, 73% said they’ve walked away mid-process, including 26% after receiving an offer.
