Key Takeaways
- Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait says the job market is competitive, with an average of 254 job applicants for each open role.
- His solution is to look past the biggest names in tech and business, like OpenAI, because they receive more interest.
- Instead, he advises candidates to identify the kind of work they want to do and target lesser-known employers doing similar work.
If you’re finding that the job hunt feels unusually difficult, you’re not alone.
Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait recently told Fortune that the competition is staggering. On his company’s platform alone, 2,539 people apply for every 10 available positions.
Chait’s solution is to look past the biggest names in tech and business.
“Don’t just apply to, you know, OpenAI, because they’re in the news every day,” Chait told Fortune. Instead, he advises candidates to identify the kind of work they want to do and target lesser-known employers doing similar work, where they’re more likely to get noticed.
The data illustrates why. Greenhouse is a leading hiring platform; it currently lists about 175,000 active openings, with an average of 254 applicants per posting. Meanwhile, applications handled per recruiter have climbed 412%.
That pressure is not evenly distributed, however. Widely recognized companies attract an outsized share of applicants.
“It’s actually less about the roles, and it’s more about the companies,” Chait explained. He added that high-profile employers, especially those frequently in the news or familiar to consumers, can receive tens of thousands of applications for a single vacancy.
A comparable business with similar roles but less brand recognition may receive only a small fraction of that interest. For job-seekers, the challenge may not be their qualifications or the role they are pursuing. It may be the visibility of the companies they keep applying to.
Chait’s bottom line advice is to expand your job search beyond the companies dominating the headlines.
A tough job market
AI has added a new twist to the job market. It’s not just that more people are applying for limited positions; it’s also that AI has turned hiring into a frustrating loop. Candidates use AI to help fill out applications, while employers use AI to screen them. The result is more noise, more filtering and less chance to feel seen.
Then come the extra hurdles. Applicants face weekend interviews and unwritten dealbreakers, like how polite they were to the taxi driver or receptionist. One investor, Instacart cofounder Max Mullen, looks at the state of a founder’s shoes; the more tattered they are, the more likely he is to invest. His rationale is that focused founders are too busy building companies to care about their footwear.
For Gen Z, the job market is especially grim. Data from the International Labour Organization shows that one in five young people globally are not working, studying or in training.
Still, there are a few ways to get noticed.
Camille K. Manaois, a 25-year-old social media strategist, landed a job last year by using a creative, old-school tactic. According to CNBC Make It, she snail-mailed her resume to top companies she wanted to work for and received an interview request, then a job offer, from communications agency Carma Connected.
Kristin Whittemore, vice president of the firm, told CNBC that Manaois “impressed” everyone.
“For someone as young as her to think about putting something in the mail was just wild, so it got all of our attention,” Whittemore said.
Key Takeaways
- Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait says the job market is competitive, with an average of 254 job applicants for each open role.
- His solution is to look past the biggest names in tech and business, like OpenAI, because they receive more interest.
- Instead, he advises candidates to identify the kind of work they want to do and target lesser-known employers doing similar work.
If you’re finding that the job hunt feels unusually difficult, you’re not alone.
Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait recently told Fortune that the competition is staggering. On his company’s platform alone, 2,539 people apply for every 10 available positions.
Chait’s solution is to look past the biggest names in tech and business.
