The experience of looking for work today is so soul-crushing that even the experts feel for job seekers.
“Applying online, if I’m being really honest, has to be one of the most degrading and depressing things people do,” recruiting expert J.T. O’Donnell tells CNBC Make It. She says she’s “never seen it this bad” in her 30 years in the hiring space.
Not only have employers pulled back on hiring and muddied the landscape with ghost jobs, but the positions they do advertise receive hundreds of applicants within hours thanks to AI-generated submissions and auto-apply options.
Given all that, O’Donnell says the old ways of looking for jobs on the internet aren’t going to cut it. “If I was looking for a job in 2026 I would honestly stop applying online,” she says.
Instead, she says the best way to get a job in 2026 will be to get recruited into one. That means thoughtfully boosting your online presence and making strategic connections to get on recruiters’ radars.
