Millions of unemployed Americans have one thing in common: It’s taking them longer to find work. And AI is making it worse
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Stephanie O’Neill is finding it hard to stay positive as her job search drags on with no end in sight. The 54-year-old communications veteran in Los Angeles has spent most of her 30-plus year career in tech. She was laid off in October 2024 and is still looking for a job — 13 months later.
The same goes for Pittsburgh marketing executive Holly Teegarden, 52, who’s been applying to 50 jobs a week since she closed her cannabis business after her clientele dried up in February. So far, she’s had little success.
And for Charlsie Niemiec, 37, a content marketing leader in Atlanta, it’s the same radio silence. She applied to 280 different roles within a year of being laid off before landing a new job in January. But just seven months later, she was laid off again — and has already applied to 263 jobs in the three months since being let go.
A similarly taxing struggle is shared by 7.4 million unemployed Americans who all have one thing in common: it’s taking them longer to find work. As of August, Americans were unemployed an average of 24.5 weeks, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s up from 21 weeks a year ago.
This longer timetable is reflected in industry studies, too. The time to first offer from search initiation took a median of 68.5 days by June, up 22% from April’s 56 days, according to Huntr’s Q2 2025 Job Search Trends Report. The study analyzed 461,000 applications and 285,000 job postings entered by 17,733 users on the platform’s job tracking tool over the quarter. It revealed that the top 10% of active job seekers are sending out 19 applications per week.
And with widespread AI adoption — by applicants and hiring companies — experts and job seekers alike say the disconnect in the process is growing. In fact, 93% of job seekers use tools like ChatGPT to help with resumes and cover letters, Huntr reported. But when faced with one-way AI interviews, seven in 10 job seekers say they reject them.
The irony to all this? The very technology promising to streamline the job search seems to be making it harder than ever for applicants to stand out.
AI tools are lauded for helping job seekers to scale and optimize their search for a new role. But as competition gets fiercer, this strategy is hurting more than it helps, career experts say.
"AI kind of creates a sea of sameness," said New York-based career coach Eliana Goldstein. "It automates everything, and it makes everybody sound the same — and sound robotic."
Sofia Mishina, a talent acquisition director at AI Digital, agrees. "I see resumes that are perfectly formatted and perfectly forgettable — the same buzzwords, same tone, no proof of work," she said.
Adam Karpiak, co-founder of Karpiak Consulting, a national career services and recruiting firm, sees the problem from the hiring side. With so many nearly identical resumes flooding in, companies are finding it harder to find the right fit because “everything looks AI-generated,” he explained.
"AI doesn't understand context,” Karpiak said. “It doesn't know how you got results or what made your impact unique. Without that, your resume might check all the boxes for keyword searches, but it won’t connect with a human reader.”
The sheer volume has become overwhelming on both sides, too. It’s not surprising more companies are also relying on AI tools to help them sift through high numbers of applications.
"When a job gets 1,000 applications in 10 minutes — half from people who clearly aren't qualified — hiring teams have to triage," Karpiak said. "That means good candidates get missed.
"AI can support the process, but it can’t replace judgment. The danger is when companies start treating hiring like a data problem instead of a people problem."
But this step is where many candidates say they’re getting ghosted by companies even when they check all the boxes in the job description. With no feedback in the process, job seekers say they’re at a loss of what it’ll take to get past the automated applicant tracking systems that many companies use.
“I’m also seeing the same job postings over and over again, and I think they’re trying to find people that don’t [...] exist: unicorns,” Teegarden said. “This is like playing the lottery. The only way to try to find a job right now is old school: just connecting with people.”
The biggest mistake job seekers make? Outsourcing their critical thinking to AI rather than using it as an assistant.
"One of the most common mistakes I see is applicants relying too heavily on AI-generated content without customizing it to reflect their unique value," said Kimberly Brown, career and leadership expert and founder of Brown Leadership.
"When someone submits a resume or cover letter that sounds like a generic template, it becomes obvious and that lack of authenticity can be a dealbreaker."
Karpiak notes that AI isn’t going to make a bad resume good. He adds that job seekers think they're "tailoring" their resume when they're really just rewording the same content and adding job description keywords.
Using AI to blast applications across hundreds of job postings is another counterproductive use of those tools, Goldstein said.
"If you look at the statistics, maybe you're getting an interview with 2% to 3% of the places that you're applying,” Goldstein said. “If you're kind of using a more spray-and-pray mentality, that probably drops to like 0.5% or 1%. It’s never going to be successful."
So how should job seekers use AI so they have a realistic shot of their resume getting in front of a hiring manager? Experts recommend treating it as an editor or thought consultant rather than a writer.
"Think of it as a starting point, not the finish line," Brown advised. "Use it to generate bullet points, identify keywords from job descriptions or reformat your resume for clarity — but then go back and infuse it with your accomplishments and voice."
Karpiak agrees. "The smartest way to use AI is as an editor, not a ghostwriter,” he said. “Let it help you tighten your language or check for clarity, but make sure the content, the how and why behind your achievements, comes from your own experience — not regurgitating the job posting.”
Mishina recommends spending minimal time on AI polish.
"Spend 15 minutes cleaning your CV," she said. "Spend the next seven hours and 45 minutes doing real work: research the company and the hiring manager, map the team and create something they'll care about — a short teardown, a repo, a one-pager with ideas. That gets you to a decision-maker; a polished CV does not."
Huntr's analysis of over 1.39 million job applications since the end of 2024 shows that tailored resumes generate approximately six interview opportunities per 100 applications, compared to fewer than three for generic submissions.
In a market saturated with “AI slop,” as many call it, authenticity and specificity stand out.
"Humans connect with details," Karpiak said. "Instead of 'managed a team,' say what kind of team, what you achieved and what changed because of your work. That’s what recruiters remember.”
Brown emphasizes that networking still beats any system.
"Get your materials into the hands of actual people through informational interviews, referrals or direct outreach. AI can open the door, but relationships get you in the room,” Brown advised.
The data backs this up. Goldstein notes that "when you have a referral, you go from a 2% to 3% chance of getting an interview to a 40% chance of getting an interview."
Even if you’re doing all of these things, your resume may still get passed over — something Niemiec, Teegarden and O’Neill say they’re all experiencing first-hand.
“I've had a successful 30-plus year career; I think the longest it's ever taken to get a job was six months,” O’Neill said. “I never in a million years would have thought that it would take this long. I'm pretty confident, at this point, that my corporate America career is over. I've been forced into retirement at 54 and I need to find something else to do.”
Niemiec is seeing another nefarious trend where applicants are asked to do unpaid assignments — then promptly ghosted or rejected after handing in the work.
“This particularly disgusts me,” she said, adding that she’s had it happen to her. “It’s essentially sending them free spec work … but they're also just farming for ideas, because a lot of those jobs that do that are the jobs that then put the job description back up a week later.”
For millions of job seekers out of work, the uncertainty and financial strain of not knowing when they’ll land their next role is taking a toll on their mental health and self-confidence.
"Job searching can feel like you're on an emotional rollercoaster," Brown said. "You have to separate rejection from your self-worth. Each 'no' is redirection, not a reflection of your value."
Goldstein recommends focusing on "micro wins" — celebrating small victories like clarifying target roles, scheduling networking calls or improving application materials. "The best way to build momentum is to not just focus on one specific win or a goal of 'I will be successful when I land a job,’” she said.
The job seekers we spoke to are finding it harder to draw on their reserves of resilience. They each post openly on LinkedIn about their job search struggles, using storytelling to build a personal brand. That’s another approach that helps you stand out and can potentially bring hiring managers to your inbox, Niemiec pointed out.
Still, for those who are seeing their savings dwindle, bills pile up and hopes crushed by rejection after rejection, following this advice is easier said than done. But in this job market, Niemiec has a simple message for others in her shoes.
“It's not you; it's the system, and the system is broken,” Niemiec said. “Until there is a larger conversation of how it's fixed, we are just in this weird, awful, awkward, painful in-between time.”
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