The Reason You Get Ghosted and Rejected So Much

I used to think my resume was the problem.

Then I realized everyone I know and coach gets a lot of rejections. Strong engineers. Senior engineers. Everyone.

Here is what changed how I think about it. 90% of employers use automated systems to rank or screen candidates (Source: Stanford).

And when a human does look at your resume, the first scan takes 7.4 seconds (Source: Ladders).

That's the game. Most candidates don't know they are playing it.

You Can't Control Most Rejections

Rejections don't always mean your resume is bad or you are not a top candidate.

It's due to:

• Fake job postings

• Roles already filled by internal candidates

• Roles filled by an employee referral

• Overworked recruiters managing too many roles

• 1,000+ applicants per opening

  
  

You can't control any of this.

Which means you can never 100% prevent lots of rejections. And with 1,000+ candidates in the pipeline, every resume will not be reviewed. This is why many candidates get rejected or don't hear back at all.

Stop blaming yourself for this part.

Do People or AI Review Resumes

There's disagreement over whether companies use automated ATS systems or review resumes by hand.

The answer: it depends on the company. Many do both.

Many big tech companies review all resumes by hand. Other companies use ATS systems that scan resumes with AI. I have heard both firsthand.

Many ATS systems use AI to summarize and rank candidates. Recruiters often look at the summaries and rankings first, before your actual resume. So your language should be simple enough for AI to easily understand.

Format for ATS and People

Keep it simple. Use simple resume templates and single column resumes that are easy to read by recruiters and hiring managers.

You also want the ATS system to read your resume without missing words.

Test it. Upload your resume to a site like ZipRecruiter that scans it and adds it to a profile. If it read your format correctly, you have robot friendly formatting.

What You Should Do

Use auto apply tools to test your resume.

50 to 100 applications should give you an idea of what is going on behind the scenes:

• Getting interviews? Your resume works. The silence is the market.

• Total silence? That's a pattern. Fix your resume or your targeting.

  
  

Stop Relying on Online Applications Alone

Applying online is the black hole. It has the lowest chance of success.

Do these instead:

• Connect directly with recruiters, managers, and teams hiring

• Get more referrals from employees

• Build your LinkedIn to get more recruiter outreach to you

• Create profiles on other sites

  
  

Your goal is to get hand picked. Not pulled out of a pile of 1,000.

The Bottom Line

Rejections are part of the process. Even for the best candidates.

I promise, the silence is not a verdict on you. It's a system problem. And you can work around the system.

Control what you can. Let go of the rest.