Glassdoor President: finding the right job shouldn’t feel like winning the lottery

The search for a job today can feel akin to trying to win the lottery. Applicants frequently submit resumes and cover letters to an overwhelming number of application portals, only to receive no response. The problem isn't that applying takes effort; it's that the effort rarely yields any results. Job seekers often feel that their resumes go straight into a "black box," with the number of applications per job more than doubling since 2022.

Meanwhile, the average company now employs 56% fewer recruiters to review these applications. Fifteen years ago, job seekers faced a different challenge – they had little visibility into what a company was truly like before accepting a position. Pay, culture, management style, and whether promises made during interviews were upheld were all unknown factors.

Glassdoor was established to rectify this imbalance by providing a platform for workplace transparency through anonymous employee reviews and ratings. This gave job seekers a firsthand account of what they were getting into, directly from current employees who had no incentive to lie. However, this transparency was incomplete. While it provided insight into what a company was like, it didn't tell job seekers or employers whether a specific person and role were truly compatible.

Resumes are highlight reels, and job descriptions are wish lists; neither can accurately predict job satisfaction or a company's ability to deliver on its promises. When there is a mismatch, the consequences can be significant. When workers end up in unsuitable roles, their confidence and engagement levels drop, affecting not only their well-being but also the company's bottom line.

These workers, feeling stuck, often stay, perpetuating the broken search process. Glassdoor, now part of Indeed, is addressing this issue from both sides of the hiring process. Over the past two years, data has shown that burned-out workers are less likely to apply for another job compared to those who have similar ratings. Employers are also affected, as 96% of people who changed jobs last year did so without a recruiter.

The hiring process is seen as a "vicious cycle" by Indeed's CEO, Deko Idekoba, with 96% of those who changed jobs doing so without a recruiter's involvement. The traditional approach of applying to more jobs and expecting better odds, or recruiting more candidates to find the right fit, doesn't work anymore. AI usage, primarily for generating and processing applications, exacerbates the problem rather than solving it.

Employee confidence is at a record low, with workers expressing a bleak outlook on their employer's next six months. The number of software job postings has increased by roughly 20% year over year, even as tech employment remains 3.8% below its 2022 peak. While jobs are available, confidence and the right tools to target them effectively are lacking.

The real question should not be whether someone can get a job, but whether a job is suitable for someone. Resumes and job descriptions alone cannot answer this question. Glassdoor Recruiter, launched this month, aims to address this gap. Rather than sorting through thousands of listings, it surfaces a curated set of roles most likely to align with an individual's experience, goals, and the realities of the workplace.

By leveraging workplace insights instead of just relying on resumes and job descriptions, it offers a clearer picture of what a job entails. This approach turns the search into a two-way conversation, giving job seekers more control over their visibility to potential employers. The future of hiring involves helping more people find work that fits their skills and values, and more companies finding employees who can thrive in their organizations.

Solving this problem requires more than just technological advancements; it demands an industry that recognizes the limitations of merely providing information. Finding a job that fits shouldn't feel like winning the lottery.