Job Market 2025: Applying to Ghost Jobs Like Ghosting Your Ex, But Sadder

KEY POINTS

•Matthew English, a 60-something accountant from Alabama, has been job hunting since October 2024 without success, burning through his savings.
•Hilary Nordland from Minnesota began job searching after a July 2024 layoff and copes by donating plasma and using retirement funds.
•US employers announced 1.17 million job cuts in 2025, while AI screening and high application volumes make the job hunt frustratingly slow.

Welcome to 2025, where job seekers like Matthew English from Alabama — who applied to everything from accounting gigs to Chick-fil-A’s cow mascot — have burned through life savings and missed Christmas gift-buying because the hiring system is 'broken.' AI bots read résumés before humans get a chance, interviews cancel last minute (sometimes because the HR rep got fired mid-chat), and an average job listing now attracts 242 applicants, triple 2017’s crush. Hilary Nordland donated plasma and raided retirement funds while navigating a hiring labyrinth so cryptic even LinkedIn’s own economist Kory Kantenga calls it 'low momentum.' America's top companies made 1.17 million layoffs this year during the "Great Freeze," turning job hunting into the world's most soul-crushing zombie chase.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Applying for a job in 2025 means submitting to AI overlords, waiting for ghost interviews to vanish, and watching retirees sacrifice 401(k)s to survive corporate ice ages.

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