Nobody reads my job applications anyway. Why should I put the effort in?

Detailed summary

The job market in Australia has fundamentally changed over the last few years. With that change has come a new set of conventions in the job application process.

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I’m stuck in a job I don’t like, and my job search is getting me nowhere. I’ve given up on putting effort into my applications. I use the “quick apply” function common on many job sites these days, where you can literally apply for a job in 30 seconds. I don’t have to worry about a cover letter. I don’t even bother finessing my CV to suit the role.

I’ve decided to use this because for at least the last five years I have found the old way (putting a lot of time and care into job applications) is a total waste of effort. The best I can hope for is an employer to mark my application as “viewed” so I know they’ve at least looked at it. An interview opportunity feels like a one in a hundred shot. Do I need to go back to spending time on my applications?

I have genuine sympathy for you and the position you find yourself in. The job market in Australia has fundamentally changed over the last few years and has radically shifted in certain industries and sectors, especially those vulnerable to the new era of AI. (Those who say that AI is about to upend the world of work are living in 2023. Or are blind to reality.)

With that change has come a new set of conventions in the job application process; they can seem utterly foreign to anyone who was applying for jobs a decade ago (which I know you were).

Where once it felt like you mostly knew where you stood after applying for a job, today it can feel like you’re not sending your application to a person or a hiring team, but into a dark abyss. So often these days, just as you’ve experienced, diligence at your end is met with silence at the other.

It can feel demoralising, particularly when the non-responses pile up, and you find yourself having submitted countless applications, every one apparently ignored.

So I completely get your decision to significantly reduce your effort. From one angle it makes logical sense.

Yes, some employers take…

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