Sol 98
Four months. That’s how long I’ve been doing this job, the job of finding a job.
People think unemployment means not working. They’re wrong. I work 9–5, Monday to Friday. Sometimes longer, Often the weekends. The work just doesn’t pay.
0830: Morning briefing. Coffee. Three job boards open in separate tabs, Indeed, LinkedIn, CV-Library. Filter by “posted in last 24 hours” because anything older has already been carpet-bombed by 500 other applicants. Scan descriptions. Match keywords against my experience. Bookmark any ‘possibles’.
0930: Mission planning. Read each job spec properly this time. Highlight the critical requirements. Cross-reference against my master CV database. Calculate probability of success. Anything above 80% match goes into today’s application queue. Target: 10 applications. Each day, every day.
Ten seems like a lot, but I’ve been a Project Manager, Business Analyst, User Experience designer and a consultant. The cross-range capability is extensive, and (frankly) I’ve got the time.
1000: CV modification. This isn’t just copy-paste. Each application needs the CV tailored, reordering achievements, emphasising relevant skills, mirroring their language back at them. The ATS bots are unforgiving. One wrong keyword and you’re filtered out before human eyes ever see your name.
1300: Cover letters. Not always, but there’s often a tripwire in a job application. These are the worst. Crafting enthusiasm for the 47th “exciting opportunity to join a dynamic team” this month requires the acting skills I don’t have.
But I write them anyway. Personalised. Researched. Demonstrating I’ve actually read their website and understand their values.
1500: Applications submitted. Ten sent. Ten personalised CVs. Ten cover letters. Ten tiny bottles thrown into an ocean of digital silence.
1600: Email check. Automated rejections have started arriving. “Thank you for your interest… very impressed with your skills… high volume of applications… moving forward with other candidates… wish you success in your search.”
Copy, paste, repeat. The really efficient ones reject you within two hours. At least they’re honest about the futility.
1700: End of shift. Ten applications out. Three rejections back.
Seven in limbo. Tomorrow, I’ll do it again.
This is day 98 of pushing a boulder up a mountain and watching it roll back down before I can clock off.
I’m doing everything right. Tailored CVs. Strong cover letters. Targeted applications. Research. Keywords. Network engagement. All the advice from all the articles and career consultants.
And I’m getting nowhere.
The habitat, my savings, my confidence, my sense of purpose, is slowly leaking oxygen. Every day the pressure drops a little bit more. Every week the math gets harder. How many more months can I sustain this before the numbers stop working?
In ‘The Martian’ Mark Watney had Mars trying to kill him. I’ve got an entire hiring system designed to filter me out before anyone realises, I might actually be useful.
At least Watney knew what he was up against. At least his problems had equations he could solve.
Mine just have silence.
What next?
That’s the question, isn’t it? Because if “doing everything right” clearly isn’t enough. The system isn’t rewarding effort or skill, it’s rewarding something else entirely. Something I haven’t figured out yet.
So, either I’m missing something fundamental about how this works, or the entire system is broken and I need a different approach. And yeah, in those pervious days I’ve tried all that I know
Tomorrow is Sol 99. Same routine, or something different?
This isn’t ‘woe is me’ this is me working the problem.
I need to decide.
Thank you for your time
First: Medium 8 October 8, 2025