The current state of the job market is incredibly disheartening, especially for designers. I know because I recently resigned from my agency job to pursue more of an in-house role. However, the journey of finding a new job is slowly eroding my once-confident predisposition.

The problem, on the surface, is an over-saturation of job seekers and limited positions — evidenced by the thousands of candidates applying for singular jobs across the board.

The number of job applicants is so astronomical that at the end of 2023, LinkedIn limited their application view count to display “Over 100 Applicants” instead of indicating the raw number, which can sometimes be in the thousands.

I’m not sure of LinkedIn’s rationale, but in my opinion, this absurd update reduces transparency and is highly deceptive.

The excess of job-seeking talent is partly due to recent mass layoffs from big tech companies as well as a rise in boot camps and certification programs that falsely promise jobs.

However, this is only part of the underlying problem.

A significant contributing aspect to the chaotic job market is the fact that more than 70 percent of currently employed people are considering or actively pursuing a new job. That’s a massive number of people, which indicates a systemic issue at play.

Typical reasons, such as seeking meaningful work, a better culture, a work-life balance, and an increased salary, are likely the desire.

Unfortunately, this noble and self-prioritizing quest has led to a bloating of candidate competition, making it extremely difficult for those without jobs to find work.

The surplus of employed job seekers can be attributed to many things. However, one scenario that could be a root cause is the surge of articles, influencers, and thought leaders peddling…