More than a label

Hello, My Name Is... Unseen. Ignored. Overlooked.

At least, that’s what the hiring process makes us feel.

Every job seeker has felt it—the dehumanization of the process, the way we are reduced to applications, keywords, and data points. The way companies claim they want top talent but treat job seekers like we are interchangeable, nameless, faceless, and unworthy of their time.

But here’s the truth: we are not broken. This system is.

450 Days: The Reality of Job Searching

Today is day 450 of my job search—the longest I’ve been out of work since I was 15 years old. And I know I’m not alone. There are thousands of us, searching, applying, networking, showing up every single day despite the rejections, the silence, the dismissals.

We follow the advice. We tweak our resumes, rewrite our cover letters, optimize for ATS, tailor for every role. We take courses, upskill, network, and send polite follow-ups that rarely get answered. We do everything “right,” and still, we are ignored.

That’s not because we lack talent, drive, or experience. It’s because hiring has become a broken, exclusionary system that erases people instead of seeing them.

The System’s Blind Spot: The Real Value of Job Seekers

The companies that reject us without a second thought? They are the ones losing.

Talent isn’t disappearing—it’s being overlooked. Because hiring managers aren’t looking for the best people. They’re looking for the safest choice, the easiest hire, the most algorithm-approved resume.

We are not just applicants. We are leaders, creators, problem-solvers. The system may reduce us to numbers, but our value remains. The companies that can’t see that? That’s their failure, not ours.

Community Over System: Seeing Each Other, Lifting Each Other

If hiring managers won’t see us, we will see each other.

The greatest power job seekers have is each other. We support, encourage, and amplify each other in ways hiring systems never will. We make introductions, share leads, review resumes, and remind each other that we are not alone in this.

This process makes us feel invisible. But we are not invisible to each other.

Change the System or Get Left Behind

If you are in a position to hire, it’s time to rethink how you do it.

🔹 Stop hiding behind broken processes. If great candidates keep getting overlooked, your hiring system is failing—not them.
🔹 Question your bias. If long-term unemployment makes you hesitate, ask yourself: Why? Talent doesn’t expire.
🔹 Be human. Hiring isn’t just a business process—it’s people’s lives. Treat candidates accordingly.

To every job seeker out there: You are more than a label. More than an applicant. More than this system allows you to be. And if a company can’t see that?

Their loss.