ZeroHero.net was launched over a year ago, right into the middle of a period of dramatic changes in the employment world. As the U.S. was emerging out of the COVID pandemic there more jobs than there were people looking. This resulted in a severe shortage of workers applying for new jobs. Now in 2024 things have flipped. While we still have low unemployment, recruiters are finding themselves inundated with hundreds or thousands of applications for some roles. Yet amid all these applications, many recruiters say they have have skill shortages across the board. So what gives?
One driver of this current dilemma is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to screen and rank applicants. This means that hundreds of potentially qualified applications are never being viewed by humans. This leads to frustration and a sense of futility among job seekers who are diligently applying for jobs they feel they are qualified for, but perhaps their resume or cover letter doesn't have the right content or keywords to rank well within the AI tools.
The application frustration experienced by job seekers has lead to the proliferation of another AI tool, automated applications. Job seekers have started using various tools that will search for job openings and automatically apply to those jobs on their behalf. This means some people are applying to hundreds or thousands of jobs and receiving a handful of responses that may result in an interview. Some people may think of that as success while others doubt the value.
Recruiters increasing say they rarely find qualified candidates in those piles of resumes. They most often rely on networking or referrals to find the best candidates that are ultimately hired.
What are you experiencing? Since this newsletter and the website is focused on you, I want to know what you think about the current state of job seeking and how Zero Hero can help you. Please take a minute to complete this brief survey which will inform the way Zero Hero moves forward:
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I continue to research, curate, and expand the number of companies on the list. These established companies and startups are doing truly amazing things related to solar, wind, hydrogen, energy storage, geothermal, carbon capture, low carbon materials, transportation and many others. Let me know if you have companies you would like to see added!
