Why You're Not Getting the Job—Recruiter Reveals 3360 Applicants for 1 Role

A LinkedIn post by a recruiter has sparked debate among job seekers after she shared insights into a recent hiring process.

In her viral post on the popular career-based social media site, Lusely Martinez revealed the staggering numbers behind a recent technical role she filled.

The position attracted a whopping 3,360 applicants and 7 referrals. One applicant was ultimately offered the role after a rigorous screening process that involved multiple stages and lasted 50 days from opening to closing.

Martinez outlined the challenges faced during the hiring process, including applicants who did not meet basic skills requirements, required visas, or lived far from the hiring location.

"There were several reasons for sharing the post, but primarily, I wanted to help job seekers," Martinez told Newsweek. "I realized I had useful information that could potentially aid others. As a recruiter, I have an insider's view of the process, and withholding this information would serve no purpose."

Of 3,360 applicants, she revealed that 1,662 weren't located in any of the listed hiring locations, 739 applicants required visa support and 763 of those applicants didn't showcase the basic skills or experience we needed for the role.

From thousands of applications, only 124 were passed to the hiring manager, and after that just 43 were screened by a recruiter.

"The numbers revealed a massive number of unqualified applicants at the outset and a considerable number of qualified individuals within that pool over the 50 days the role was open," Martinez said. "Our hiring manager found it difficult to make a final decision, but ultimately the data gathered throughout the process helped."

The LinkedIn post received more than 3 million impressions, with opinions divided among job seekers and recruiters alike.

"With all due respect, as a jobseeker, it is difficult to be empathetic and understanding for difficult and/or inefficient hiring processes when qualified jobseekers are put in situations where they aren't certain how their bills/rent will be paid in 6 months," Jennifer Pranger said in the comments section.

LinkedIn user Ken Lobo questioned if there was a better way: "What a huge waste of time and resources for the company and all of the candidates who applied for the role. Why not stop accepting applications for the position after 50 candidates have applied?"

Following some viral attention on LinkedIn, the post was shared on Reddit's r/recruitmenthell subreddit, where it has more than 5,000 upvotes and the caption: "This is why you aren't getting the job."

Redditor u/TheNeck94 lamented: "This just scares the s*** out of me. Like how the f*** are you supposed to be seen in this job market when job postings are getting this kind of attention."

"While some negativity is always expected because it's the internet, I did not expect it to get as much activity as it did," Martinez said. "It can be tempting to get caught up in the less positive comments, but I recognize we must take it with a grain of salt, as many people right now are angry."

Agreeing that the job market is competitive, she understood the frustration of job seekers.

"The reaction reflects the current times, we've seen mass layoffs," she said. "That said, we have to make the most of our given circumstances rather than blame others. As recruiters, we aim to guide stakeholders through best practices to reduce bias, but we are not the final decision-makers in the process."