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SAN FRANCISCO — Job hunting for Nadeera Waduwara Kankanamalage has been nothing short of frustrating over the past two years. So a week before Thanksgiving, the 32-year-old Austin resident took an unlikely approach to landing a new tech gig: He went on LinkedIn offering a $3,000 reward to anyone who connects him to his next job.

Kankanamalage’s written plea in his post sums up what many job seekers are experiencing right now: The market is “brutal” and the number of rejections are “a gut punch.”

“It’s a whatever-it-takes mentality,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post. “Hopefully it’s a good signal for a potential employer that I’m proactive, and I’m trying to solve this problem in a creative way.”

Exasperated by too much competition, no return communications and automated rejection letters, job seekers are getting creative on social media to get a foot in the door. Many of them have spent months looking for roles, applying to hundreds of openings and turning to social media with seemingly nothing to lose. Some are offering rewards for job leads, tagging employers in their posts in the hopes of getting a comment, and getting vulnerable with videos and banners that say they are “desperate” for work. Their approaches represent a marked shift from how people used to handle layoffs and employment.

Washington Post illustration; Nadeera Waduwara Kankanamalage via Linkedin

That shift “might be a by-product of people’s greater willingness to be open,” said Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia Business School. “Not too long ago, people would’ve been mortified to say they were open to work.”

Kankanamalage said he is trying different things to see “what sticks.”

“I need to be creative in getting myself into the workforce again,” he said.

While more people are using social media networks to amplify their job hunt, unemployment remains relatively low in the United States at 4.1 percent, just above the 54-year record low last year of 3.4 percent, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The strong labor market is expected to continue into next year under the new presidential administration, House predicts.

Despite the strong labor market, some industries are experiencing substantial churn as they reconfigure their workforce to address evolving business needs like artificial intelligence, he added. The share of people who have been unemployed for six months or more is increasing, while many workers may be less likely to relocate due to low mortgage rates that they scored during the pandemic, he said.

Some job seekers have taken to TikTok, shedding tears as they explain their layoffs and ask for help. Others are making creative videos to show their skills, or producing video résumés. Then there’s the multitude of people who are making their case on the professional networking platform LinkedIn.

Laura Martyna, a recruiting and human resources professional, created a mini marketing campaign for herself on LinkedIn after being laid off in September. Even though the 43-year-old in Concord, North Carolina, has more than 15 years of experience, including at Amazon, she said she’s only landed two interviews out of hundreds of job applications.

Washington Post illustration; Laura Martyna via Linkedin

When her dream job at Eli Lilly opened, she listed the reasons the company should hire her. She tagged the company, as well as former colleagues and bosses, whom she asked to add comments to support her effort. She also tagged the hiring manager, who responded with appreciation for the enthusiasm.

“I don’t know how else to get flashing lights to get attention,” Martyna said the day after she posted. “It’s worth a shot. Nothing else is working.”

Days later, Martyna got an automated rejection letter. But shortly after, the hiring manager asked to set up a meeting to learn more about her. For Martyna, the post paid off.

Other job seekers have tried to cast wide nets by using banners that border their LinkedIn profile pictures with the phrase “Open to Work.” It’s one of the most common banners used, but some who’ve added it complain that it lures scams and bots. As an alternative, some LinkedIn members created their own banners using words like “motivated” or “excited” instead.

One banner, made by a designer out of Britain, briefly went viral a couple of months ago. It pulled no punches with one blunt word: “desperate.”

Jordan Dye, a 27-year-old, who’s been trying to break into the cybersecurity industry, added it to his profile immediately after seeing it.

Washington Post illustration; Jordan Dye via Linkedin

“I saw an opportunity, took it and then it blew up way bigger than I thought,” said the Dallas resident, who previously had relatively few LinkedIn connections. “I have over 1,600 followers now.”

Dye said his post explaining the banner got about a half-million views, connections and a lot of discussion. But he didn’t hear from hiring managers. He later changed his banner to “Dying,” playing off his name and the widespread desperation in the market. Dye, who for now isn’t using either banner, estimated he’s applied to 4,500 jobs since June 2023.

Another job seeker, Rita Williams, initially used the banner in solidarity with the “desperate” movement. But the 38-year-old, who’s seeking a job as a technical analyst for a social justice reform organization, still displays it after two months, eight interviews and 500 applications.

“It seems like it became an indicator of, ‘Wow this person has been through it,’” she said about the banner. “It generates interest, and people are kinder.”

She said she’s also in the process of creating a nonprofit. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” she said.

LinkedIn said people who use the Open to Work banner on average are 40 percent more likely to receive messages from recruiters and 20 percent more likely to receive messages from other members. To avoid scams, LinkedIn said job seekers should look for verification badges on job postings and profiles.

Given LinkedIn’s easy-apply button, and generative AI, which can quickly tailor a résumé for a specific job, employers and recruiters are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of candidates. But two recruiters were mixed on whether social media posts are a reliable way to stand out in the candidate pool.

“Some of them are entertaining, but I don’t know if I’d hire based off that,” said Mindy Totaro, a senior creative recruiter at staffing agency Aquent. “Do you understand the skills or is it about just trying to get someone to respond?”

Instead, Totaro says job seekers should focus on building relationships with recruiters and hiring managers, even if they don’t pay off right away, and ensure that their résumé skills match the job. It’s also best to be among the first applicants because recruiters sometimes have just 24 hours to present top candidates. To see job postings faster, follow recruiters and employers on social media, she said.

But Thomas Vick, a technology employment trends expert and regional president with recruiting firm Robert Half, said creative posts — when done right — may give job seekers a leg up.

“Anything that differentiates you in a positive, productive manner, especially if you can highlight how it can be beneficial to the business … it certainly can help,” he said, adding that candidates should try to stand out.

Some job seekers exhausted by the void of silence and repeated rejections are becoming brutally honest. Feeling invisible after hundreds of applications, Chuck Williams let his LinkedIn network know that he’s on the verge of losing his house. Williams, a 36-year-old husband and father of two in Richland, Washington, said he was laid off just two months after purchasing the house. Six months later, he made his vulnerable LinkedIn plea for leads.

Washington Post illustration; Chuck Williams via Linkedin

“I genuinely needed to be honest about where I’m at and what I feel,” he said.

Since the post, he’s received at least 3,000 comments and messages, mostly from people facing similar struggles. The post hasn’t led to a job, but it did land him two interviews with hiring managers. The outpouring of support that came from that post taught Williams a lesson:

“There isn’t a silver bullet here. But what I think resonates with people is honesty.”

Southern Methodist University, BA in Journalism and Spanish

Danielle Abril covers technology and its impact on workers across industries for The Washington Post.

Danielle Abril

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