? Job hunting is a challenge, and services that facilitate applying to positions online are making it worse. As of May 2025, job applications submitted on LinkedIn have increased by 45%, aided by the platform’s Easy Apply feature — but according to Business Insider, more accessible job applications are increasing competition and making it harder to stand out. Piling résumés are overwhelming HR departments, leaving many job seekers on read, and making the convenience of job applications counterproductive.

Filtering out the noise. Few-click applications are taking many applicants out of the running by default as recruiters try to sort through thousands of résumés starting by using AI to weed out applications submitted through facilitation services like Easy Apply, which allow job seekers to solicit a position indiscriminately, whether or not they’re qualified. Hirevue chief data scientist Lindsay Zuloaga recalls having to review 4k applications for a senior scientist position. The kicker? Half of the applicants didn’t even qualify for the role.

A double-edged sword: More applications to review means more job applicants not hearing back based on menial markers such as missing keywords that filter out résumés, and good candidates can become collateral damage. Recruiters are pressured to use tracking systems to manage the large applicant flow, and the software can inadvertently filter out qualified candidates. Recruiter Jaylyn Jones tested her own résumé on an online scanner, which scored it at 16% thanks to some missing keywords.

Being ghosted by employers builds more pressure to send out even more applications. In a LinkedIn survey from late 2024, 37% of job seekers across a dozen countries reported that the more jobs they applied for, the less they heard back. Since everyone shares the same preconception that casting a wider net yields more fish, applying to jobs becomes a Sisyphian task for both the applicants and the recruiters, feeding into a counterproductive loop where insecurities grow for job seekers whose resumes were scrapped.

Breaking this cycle means that both sides need to get smarter about the hiring process. Job seekers should focus on quality over quantity by only applying to roles they’re genuinely interested in and qualified for. On the other side of the coin, companies need to ditch lazy keyword filters and AI sieves and invest in monitored screening that doesn't let good candidates slip through the cracks.

The future of job hunting might circle back to good old-fashioned human connection. As the digital arms race for employment gets more intense, the people landing jobs are the ones stepping away from the spray-and-pray approach, and instead shifting to networking, direct outreach, and relationship building instead of relying on mass automated applications.