You have a better chance of getting accepted at Harvard than finding a job these days.
That’s the brutal reality of the current labor market. The no-hiring-no-firing environment, dubbed the Great Freeze, is driving job seekers up a wall. And the numbers paint an even darker picture, writes BI’s Aki Ito.
The average job opening last quarter received 242 applications, according to exclusive data from hiring-software provider Greenhouse. That means you have a 0.4% chance of getting the average job you apply for. Meanwhile, the acceptance rate for that school near Boston: 3.6%.
(If it makes you feel better, it could be worse. NASA took only 10 people for its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class from more than 8,000 applicants, giving it a 0.125% acceptance rate.)
On paper, that might seem like a dream scenario for employers. Instead, they’re feeling just as overwhelmed as they need to sort through the influx of résumés.
As Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait put it to Aki: “Nobody’s happy with the current situation.”
So what’s to blame?
Everyone’s favorite scapegoat, artificial intelligence, is high on the list. The tech has supercharged job seekers’ ability to blast themselves out to any job opportunity, essentially muddying the process for everyone.
The job market has led some workers to feel that staying put is their only option.
“Job hugging” has become the phrase of the day, as people fear joining the beleaguered job seekers fighting for scraps. (Oh, how far we’ve come from The Great Resignation.)
What if you just can’t see yourself sticking things out, though?
Business Insider has a five-part series of personal essays from people who have quit their jobs and have no regrets.
First up is Jenny Wood, who quit her job as a Google executive after she felt her life was no longer sustainable.
I understand a Big Tech exec is probably in a lot better position financially and professionally to walk away from their gig compared to the average American. But Wood offers real, actionable advice for people regardless of income level or seniority.
It doesn’t always go well initially. In the coming days, we’ll have a story from a former Apple worker who quit only to find themselves homeless. (They are in better shape now, and have no regrets.)
Got a story of your own? Reach out to my colleague Jane Zhang.