What Most People Get Wrong About Job Seekers

“If they really wanted a job, they’d have one by now.”

That was an actual comment I heard - said out loud, without irony.

It’s the kind of sentence that reveals more about the speaker than the subject. Because the truth is, most people think they understand what it means to be a job seeker.
They don’t.

They imagine someone scrolling job boards over coffee, casually clicking “Apply”, then complaining when the offers don’t roll in.

What they don’t see is the reality:

• Dozens of rejections without feedback.

• Hours customizing CVs, only to be filtered out by an algorithm.

• Ghosted interviews after five rounds of preparation.

• The emotional toll of staying optimistic while your savings disappear.

Let’s set the record straight.
Here are three of the biggest myths about job seekers, and why they don’t hold up.

1. “They’re just not trying hard enough.”

This is the go-to judgment. It’s also completely false.

Job seekers are often working harder than most full-time employees. They’re writing cover letters at midnight. Networking between childcare pickups. Attending webinars, revising portfolios, chasing recruiters for updates that never come.

They’re not sitting around - they’re spinning plates on a moving train. And the idea that effort alone guarantees results ignores how broken the hiring process actually is.

Effort ≠ Outcome when you’re up against:

• Biased gatekeeping (“You’re not from our industry.”)

• Ghosting from employers who demanded 12-hour take-home assignments

• Unpaid trials, endless interviews, or offers that disappear

This isn’t about laziness. It’s about persistence in a rigged game.

2. “They must not be qualified.”

Wrong again.

Many job seekers are overqualified. Or multi-skilled. Or just don’t fit neatly into the checkbox criteria on a recruiter’s screen.

They’re overlooked not because they can’t do the job, but because they haven’t done that exact job, in that exact industry, using that exact software version, at a company the hiring manager already knows.

The irony?
Some of the most innovative people in the workforce are the ones who don’t come from your industry. They bring fresh ideas. Diverse thinking. Real adaptability.

But too often, companies hire for comfort, not potential.

And potential doesn’t get filtered in by an ATS.

3. “They’re all the same.”

This is perhaps the most damaging myth of all.

There’s no single “job seeker persona.”

Some are recent grads.
Some left abusive workplaces.
Some are immigrants shut out of networks.
Some are pivoting careers after burnout.
Some are returning from caregiving, illness, or trauma.

They’re navigating different realities. Different constraints. Different barriers.

But they all have one thing in common:

They’re still showing up.
Still applying.
Still hoping someone will give them a fair shot.

That’s not failure. That’s resilience.

So what’s the real problem?

It’s not that job seekers are lazy, unqualified, or identical.

It’s that hiring systems are outdated, biased, and often hostile to anyone who doesn’t look like the “safe bet.”

We say we want innovation - but hire for sameness.
We claim to care about people - then ghost them for weeks.
We build employer brands around empathy - then filter out anyone who took a non-linear path.

It’s time to stop blaming job seekers for struggling.

And start asking why the system keeps making them struggle in the first place.

If you’re hiring:
Look beyond the CV.
Ask what someone could do, not just what they’ve already done.
And above all, treat job seekers like people, not problems.

Because the longer we let these myths go unchallenged, the more talent we waste.

And that’s a cost no company - or economy - can afford.