You update your CV. You apply for jobs that match your experience. You prepare for interviews. You follow up.
Still, nothing happens.
That does not always mean you are doing something wrong. The job market is hard, hiring is slower, and many companies are more careful about who they bring in. Strong candidates can spend six months on average looking for work and still receive very little feedback.
That would be difficult enough on its own. But job seekers now have another problem: people trying to profit from their fear.
Some sell CV rewrites even though they have never reviewed candidates or hired anyone. Others post endless Claude and ChatGPT prompts that sound useful but produce the same empty text for everyone. Or promise that one comment, like, and follow, they will reveal secrets recruiters do not want you to know.
Job coaches warn people that their ATS score is too low, then send them into a sales funnel for the fix.
One person says your CV must be one page. Another says it must be three.
One tells you to apply within the first hour. Another claims you need a referral for every job. Then someone posts a secret prompt that is supposed to beat the hiring system.
The amount of bad information is exhausting.It is no wonder so many job seekers are frustrated with recruiters. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems are often portrayed as the enemy, and the lack of feedback only makes that frustration worse.
It also makes job seekers blame themselves. They start changing their CV after every rejection, buying services they do not need, and following rules that were made to sell something rather than help them find work.
There is no hidden trick that will get you hired. No perfect CV can force a company to interview you. No AI prompt can replace experience. No fake ATS can tell you whether a hiring manager will see value in your background.
You can still improve your chances.
You can learn which jobs are worth your time, how recruiters review applications, what a strong CV needs to show, how referrals work, and how to prepare for interviews without sounding rehearsed.
The best way to fight bad job search advice is to share what works, what fails, and what job seekers should watch for. Because being informed will not guarantee that you get hired. But it is far better than being misled.
Your job search needs a target, not more tabs
Many people begin with job boards. I would begin with a blank page.
Write down the job you can credibly get next. That may be the same work you did before, a step up, a smaller role after a layoff, or a nearby field that uses much of what you already know.
Be specific enough that a recruiter can understand the target in one sentence.
“I am looking for senior project manager roles in software companies, based in Sandton or remote within South Africa.”
That works.
“I am open to project management, operations, customer success, marketing, HR, and anything involving people” does not.
It may be true, but it gives you no useful way to judge vacancies or present your experience.
Create a one-page search profile with these details:
- Several job titles you will search for
- Locations and work arrangements you can accept
- Your salary target and the lowest offer you would seriously consider
- Five skills you can prove with recent examples
- Conditions that rule out a job, such as no visa support or a requirement to work in the office five days a week
This exercise will help you define the type of role you should target. The next step is to build an updated list of job titles that companies use today. This matters even more if you are returning to the job market after several years, because titles and responsibilities can change a lot.
For the next two weeks, try a smaller test. Apply only when you can answer these questions:
- Why this role?
- Why would this company consider me?
- What proof will the recruiter find in the first half of my resume?
- What could remove me before an interview?
You will send fewer applications. That is the cost.
You may also start to see patterns that were hidden by the sheer volume of applications you were sending out.
