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Let me start with myself
I am a true-blue Millennial (Gen Y) with something of a Gen Z mentality (I was ahead of my time). I never bought into the idea of climbing a corporate ladder. Autonomy over my work and control of my own time have always been my most important career values. I also wanted a place where I could grow, a team that can innovate and take risks that matter, and be surrounded by people who can inspire and challenge me to be better. Even after all these years in the workforce, that hasn't changed a bit for me.
So imagine how hard it was to find the 'ideal' job. I have no clue what 'building a career' even meant. There was no guidance that I can actually seek from. To top it off, I graduated straight into the 2008 Global Financial Crisis period. It was not fun.
Today, we are going through another disruption that is reshaping the workforce and what it takes to survive and thrive.
Is it bad? Well, that very much depends on which side of the table you are sitting on.
What carried me through was never exceptional talent. It was this: I am not afraid of failures, I am willing to start all over again. I am disciplined, diligent and strong at execution. None of that is luck, and all of it is learnable. So let's talk about what you can actually do.
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Hundreds of applications, zero replies
Here are my thoughts:
1. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU.
Before we can talk about what we can control, we need to first understand what we cannot control. For example, a big share of 'zero replies' reflects the market, not the applicant.
- Postings get published that were never going to hire anyone reposted to look like the company is growing
- 'Always-on' pipelines with no live role behind them
- Roles already earmarked for an internal candidate.
- ...
Stop reading the silence as feedback on your worth. We cannot A/B test our way past a job that was never open. 2. THE GAP.
The majority of the job seekers are looking for opportunities in the opposite direction to how companies actually prefer to fill the roles, i.e. employers fill roles internally and through referrals first, and through public postings last, yet most job seekers start and stop at the portals.
Are you looking 'smartly'? 3. THE MINDSET SHIFT.
- Clicking "APPLY” is not ACTIVE job searching. Applying is necessary, but it is not the whole job.
The real job search is a SET of activities, and most of us skip the hard ones because they are hard. For example, tailoring to each application, reaching out to your existing network, expanding your network, sharpening rusty skills, and following-up.
- Volume feels like progress because we can count it, “I’ve sent 40 applications” vs “I had two great conversations”
- The urgency trap - wanting a reply now is not a character flaw, but it helps to know that the process takes time
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What can help move the needle
- Get referred
- Trade volume for targeted, tailored applications
- Talk to people, not just portals
- Fix the search language, get creative e.g. do not limit yourself to just job titles, there are functional skills you can include in your search too!
- Skip and deprioritise postings with vague descriptions, months-old reposts
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How I diagnose it
So when someone comes to me and says, "I've applied to so many and got nothing", my first move is always the same: "NOTHING" is a diagnosis, let's find where it is actually leaking.
Case A — "I applied a lot and got zero responses": The leak is at the top. Before you conclude that "the market hates me," ask yourself two things:
- How many of those were genuinely quality, tailored applications through a decent channel?
- How many were ghost jobs that were never going to reply to anyone?
Fix the inputs: channel, targeting, relevance — and then re-measure. Case B — "I applied a lot and got zero offers" (but you did get responses or interviews): The leak is late in the funnel. Applications are working but the conversion is not:
- Look at interview performance
- How you are positioning your story
- How you are addressing your level and/ or fit mismatch
- How you close
Fix the interview, not the resume. Your one action this week
 Most people say that job searching is a full-time job. Yes, to a certain extent because it requires consistency and discipline. But one thing that I always emphasise and pay attention to is one's ENERGY.
Good energy flows and it is contagious — it can be felt in a tailored application, a good networking conversation. It is what lets you send the follow-up instead of assuming you will be ignored.
Volume drains it. Conversations restore it.
So this week, swap ten applications for one good converastion. Reach out to one person in the field you want to be.
Samantha Ng
Career Futurist
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