The first month of 2024 has come to a close, and one key theme from 2023 has carried into the new year: Hiring is still a strange thing. It remains difficult for both employers and job seekers. The rise of AI—both to write resumes and to screen them, for example — has just made things more complex and difficult for both sides. The global economy's volatility hasn't helped either. With so much uncertainty and so many rapid shifts in hiring plans — all combined with unprecedented types and volumes of employee turnover in many fields.

There are a few main reasons why hiring —  and applying —  in 2024 has become so difficult:  

1. The current job market is oversaturated with talent

The first reason is one that many talent acquisition team members know well: sheer volume. With the number of applicants in the market, coupled with the relative ease of submitting an application via hiring platforms, a new job posting can easily accumulate hundreds of applicants in its first 24 hours. The avalanche of applications makes it almost impossible to screen those resumes, and certainly makes it challenging to respond to applicants in a personal, timely, and meaningful manner.

2. The challenge of optimizing each hire due to tight budgets and headcounts

Employers are trying to get the absolute most out of constrained payroll budgets. That means we're starting to see many employers steer away from easily-screened job requirements, including four-year degrees, a specific number of years of work experience, and so on. Instead, employers are starting to look harder at truly relevant, job-related skills and abilities. Both are a lot harder to evaluate through a traditional resume screening.

3. A stagnant hiring strategy makes it harder to find the right people

Make no mistake, finding the right people can be hard, if not impossible, if your hiring strategy doesn't acknowledge the realities of the current candidate market. Specifically, we have a generation of workers coming up who've discarded the notion that their only way forward is a high-cost, four year degree. Some 60% of the current U.S. population lacks such a degree, and that percentage is only expected to climb. There are a ton of complex reasons behind this trend, but it is real.