75% of applications never reach a human. Here’s what the ones that do have in common.

Most job applications in 2026 are rejected by a machine before a human ever reads them. Application volume is up 93%. The offer rate sits at 0.5%.

Hey reader, welcome back.

This week I want to talk about the job market in the AI era. Specifically: why most people’s current strategy is actively making things worse, and what the ones actually landing roles are doing instead.

TLDR

• 75% of CVs never reach a human recruiter, per Fortune’s March 2026 investigation

• Application volume surged 93% in twelve mont…