If I Were a Recruiter Today, I'd Hate the Easy Apply Button
75% of applicants aren't even qualified for the roles they apply to, and recruiters are buried. More applications won't get you seen. Here's what will.
If I were a recruiter today, I would hate the Easy Apply button.
Before this function existed, I was managing 15K to 30K candidates for 15-20 job openings at a time.
I prided myself on reviewing every application, even though my boss wanted me to stop after the first few dozen well-qualified applicants.
Why did I risk my job to review every applicant?
Because I've been that bottom-of-the-barrel candidate, the one someone took a chance on early in my career.
I believe in paying that kindness forward.
But now, with the Easy Apply button, recruiters are flooded.
From my friends still in the industry, they're getting 10X the applicants they used to, often thousands within hours.
Imagine trying to sift through 150K to 300K applicants a month. It would be impossible.
So if you're wondering why you're getting zero responses after applying, it's because you're competing with tens of thousands of others.
And the kicker is that 75% of them aren't even qualified for the role.
Recruiters report that 75% of applicants lack the necessary skills and experience for the jobs they apply to, adding to the overwhelming volume they have to manage (Resume.io, 2024; LegalJobs.io, 2024).
Here's the rub. Getting on the shortlist is your only chance of success in today's job market.
More applications won't get you there.
The ease of applying has made it nearly impossible to stand out.
You could be the most qualified candidate, but you're buried under the competition.
It's not just about hitting apply anymore.
It's about standing out, and there's a specific strategy to do that, one that can make you the Candidate of Choice.
The pattern lives in the Hireability Gap manifesto.
Ready to become the Candidate of Choice instead of getting buried in the applicant pile? Start at sixfigureremotecareerstrategy.com.
