With jobs hard to come by on both sides of the Atlantic, applicants are spending money on everything from recruitment site subscriptions to career coaches and resume-writing software, to stand out from the crowd.
“I’d guess I’ve spent around $6,000 [£4,500] on job hunting,” says Giovanna Ventola who is 35 and lives in North Carolina.
With more applicants chasing fewer roles, Ventola is one of many jobseekers on both sides of the Atlantic who are turning to paid tools to help them secure work.
She says she has spent money on everything from resume/CV writing software, to interview training courses, and premium access to job-search websites. “I was doing more than just submitting applications,” explains Ventola, who has been searching for a job in commercial real estate. “There were lots of services that I paid for.”
Those in the recruitment industry believe this growing trend is linked to a slow job market.
In the US it now takes an unemployed person an average of six months to find a new position, according to official figures. That is up from five months last year. Meanwhile, Canada lost 66,000 jobs in August, pushing its unemployment rate up to 7.1%.
In the UK, job vacancies fell by 9,000, or 1.3%, in the three months to September, official data showed. This was the 39th consecutive period in which job openings had declined compared to the previous three months.
It’s having a knock-on effect on job-search platforms like LinkedIn. “Premium subscriber growth has increased nearly 50% over the past two years, and almost 40% of subscribers have used our AI features to improve their profiles,” LinkedIn told the BBC.
With job interviews proving elusive, Ventola began sharing her experience on TikTok last year. “I wasn’t sure what to do, so posting on social media became a way of answering my own questions and troubleshooting for myself. Very quickly, I realised I wasn’t the only one going through this.”
Kaycia Duncan, 30, can relate. She lives in Buckinghamshire in the UK, and has struggled to find work in marketing for more than a year.
“Honestly, it feels disheartening. I have good credentials and previous work experience, and I think that highlights how tough the market is.”
Like Ventola, Duncan has also been investing in tools that she believes will strengthen her job prospects, spending around £30 per month. “For me I justify the costs as it’s similar to an affordable gym membership,” she says.
“I signed up to a premium jobs service as it allows you to talk directly to HR managers, and I’ve also got a graphic design subscription, which allows me to make high-quality CVs and portfolio work.”
In the meantime, she has taken on temp work and launched a YouTube channel sharing her job-seeking journey, while continuing to submit applications.
“It ebbs and flows,” says Duncan, “but I’ve submitted over 200 applications. I originally started tracking them, but I think when it reached around 180, I just didn’t have it in me to keep track anymore.”
While Duncan has yet to find a new full-time job, she believes that the money she has spent on job hunting has been worth it. “Any small thing could make a difference.”
Back in North Carolina, Ventola has seen her TikTok videos on jobhunting rack up hundreds of comments from other people also struggling to find work. One reads: “I’m 52. I was let go in June from a company I worked for a little over 20 years. I am terrified, mentally unwell and no idea what to do.” (BBC)
