“Doomjobbing”: The New Response to an Awful Job Market

Job seekers say that the market has become incredibly challenging in 2026. CNN reported that in the past two years, one in five laid-off workers had to submit over 100 applications before managing to land a job.

Some job seekers are doomjobbing even harder—one user on Reddit recently claimed they applied to over 350 jobs before finally landing something.

There’s no single reason why people now need to apply for so many jobs. A combination of factors has made job hunting far more challenging.

High competition

One major reason Americans are doomjobbing is that there’s an uneven ratio of open jobs to applicants.

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of job openings dropped to 6.54 million in December 2025. Conversely, there were 7.5 million unemployed people in the US at the end of last year. That means there were just 0.87 unfilled positions for every job seeker. 1

The ongoing layoffs in the US have only worsened this problem. Over 100 companies announced layoffs at the start of 2026, and more are planning to follow suit in the coming months. This, coupled with slow economic growth and higher business costs as a result of the Trump administration’s tariffs, means that the ratio of unemployed people to available jobs will only increase.

Applicant tracking systems

AI tools are increasingly being used by recruiters, and this means that job seekers are far more likely to automatically be rejected than in years past.

Many recruiters use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to automatically screen candidates before a human sees their resume. An ATS operates by analyzing job applications and looking for keywords that fit the job description. For instance, if a job listing asks for “leadership skills,” candidates who don’t include this keyword in their applications may be filtered out.

This exacerbates an increasingly competitive labor market. Candidates that an ATS perceives as not being a perfect match often get disqualified automatically. Mark Slack, a career expert at SideHustles.com, said that the challenge of sifting through so many applications means those who aren’t perfect matches are at a disadvantage.

“If you’re HR, an 80% resume match isn’t good enough if you have to filter 900 candidates and even 20% of them are 100% matches,” he said. “Basically, even a 90% match is invisible.”

The death of “entry-level” jobs

Another reason for the emergence of doomjobbing is what many job seekers see as the death of entry-level positions.

Part of this can be attributed to AI—many firms are using AI tools to complete lower-level tasks, such as administrative work. As a result, entry-level white-collar workers are being hit the hardest by AI adoption.

The remaining jobs that are categorized as entry-level now ask for more extensive qualifications or experience. According to the career blog The Interview Guys, 35% of entry-level jobs require several years of experience. Some industries are especially demanding, with 60% of jobs in IT and software requiring at least 3 years of experience.

With fewer truly entry-level jobs on the market, job seekers now have to wade through a seemingly endless list of positions, often with diminishing returns.

The rise of “ghost jobs”

On top of stricter filtering and high competition for jobs, many listings aren’t real at all. In recent years, job seekers have seen the rise of “ghost jobs”: listings for positions that either don’t exist or have already been filled.

In a survey from SideHustles.com, nearly 2 in 3 freelancers (65%) said they have applied for a job that turned out to be a ghost job.

If workers are wasting their time applying for jobs that don’t actually exist, it’s no surprise they’ll try to make up for it by applying for jobs more aggressively.

As with doomscrolling, doomjobbing has few benefits. Dan Kejsefman, Talent Director at the AI-powered SaaS recruiting software Avature, told Forbes that more applications don’t necessarily result in more opportunities.

“After a layoff, it’s natural to feel urgency,” he said. “But when that urgency turns into constant activity, it often creates the illusion of progress without actually improving outcomes.”

If job seekers are frantically applying for jobs, they’re probably not taking the time to strengthen their applications. More generic applications have fewer chances of getting past AI filtering.

The psychological impact of doomjobbing

Doomjobbing doesn’t just hurt your chances of getting hired—it can also damage your mental health.

This has become a surprisingly common phenomenon. According to a survey from SideHustles.com, more than half of workers (54%) said that the current job market has had a negative impact on their mental health.

Repeatedly sending out multiple applications only to be rejected or ignored is enough to damage anyone’s confidence. Candidates who doomjob are more likely to feel less confident when completing subsequent applications, which will likely hinder their chances.

Doomjobbing is a symptom of the challenges job seekers face in 2026, but it isn’t the solution. Instead of blindly applying for any openings, there are better ways to get ahead in your job hunt.

Learn what skills are in demand

Joe Patterson, Vice President of Workforce and Community Education at National University, told Forbes that job seekers should invest their time and energy in learning new skills if they want to land jobs.

“Having a strong portfolio of in-demand skills can make or break a job seeker’s chances,” he said. “Replacing time spent on aimless ‘doomjobbing’ with time spent researching workforce demands, top skills required by industry, and talent gaps can inform a more targeted and effective job search.” 2

Create better applications for fewer jobs

Rather than endlessly applying for open positions, job seekers are better off spending more time on a smaller number of applications. Since recruiters increasingly rely on ATS to sort through candidates, more generic applications are likely to get left behind.

When looking at job postings, Kejsefman told Forbes that applicants should be “tailoring resumes based on how roles are described,” as well as applying directly on company websites, where possible.

Use technology to “beat the bots”

Along with learning what skills are in demand and spending more time on fewer applications, technology also has a role to play.

Although AI can make it harder for job seekers to find opportunities, it can also be a useful tool for strengthening applications. In SideHustles.com’s survey, 84% of respondents said they’d be willing to use AI when applying for jobs in at least some capacity. 3

With AI already being used heavily by recruiters, Slack thinks it’s only natural that job seekers will use these technologies themselves. “For better or for worse, AI tools will almost certainly become more prevalent in this area, not less,” he said.

That isn’t to say job seekers should have AI apply for them. There are reports of companies rejecting candidates for using AI on their applications. But most respondents (43%) in SideHustles.com’s survey said they’d be willing to use AI to screen job boards for suitable jobs, and another 39% said they’d use it for proofreading job materials—use cases that come with far fewer risks.

Focus on networking

According to data from Glassdoor, cold-applying (i.e., applying via a job site) is still the number one way to get a job, accounting for 60% of all hires in 2025. However, that number is down from 73% back in 2023.

Chris Martin, the lead researcher for Glassdoor’s study, said that while job hunting “used to be a reliable numbers game,” declining hiring rates mean that job seekers “are struggling to make progress even after hundreds of applications.”

Many people have better luck finding jobs through networking. In Glassdoor’s survey, 64% of workers said their network has helped them advance professionally. Their data also suggests that applicants are 35% more likely to receive a job offer if their interview came from a referral.