For many job applicants, the job search these days has them asking: Why am I being ghosted so much?

And in the age of AI and forever layoffs, applicants are also fighting more existential doubts, like if they picked the wrong major, or if they’re in the right field at all.

After years of being told that a four-year degree could help launch college graduates’ careers, many grads—39% of those responding to a ResumeBuilder.com survey—say they wouldn’t choose the same major again. Some 22% said they would leave their field or skip the four-year path entirely if they could start over. 

One Reddit user summed up that frustration bluntly: “I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, but I honestly feel it isn’t worth that much in the ‘real’ world. At least judging by the meager job offers I’ve gotten in the past 6 months.” 

Before putting your life decisions on trial, it’s important to first take a closer look at your job search.

Maybe it’s your job search strategy

A basic reminder: College majors or years of experience don’t matter if they’re irrelevant to the position. Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at ResumeBuilder.com, has a rule of thumb: Make sure you have about 80% of the qualifications a job requires before applying.

“If you’re not qualified for a job, you’re going to get ghosted. Period. End of story,” Haller says.

Timing can matter, too. Haller says applying to a job weeks after it was posted can make it harder for a candidate to get noticed, particularly when employers are already dealing with large applicant pools. 

“If you’re applying for a job that’s already been posted for even two weeks, you’re going to get ghosted,” she says. “They’re not even going to get to you.”

The goal isn’t necessarily to apply to more jobs. It’s to apply more strategically—targeting roles where your skills and experience line up with what the employer is looking for, regardless of what your major or background may be. 

“Now, if they’re ghosted after an interview, that’s just unforgivable,” Haller says. “That is all on the organization. There is absolutely no excuse for that.”

Or maybe it’s the companies themselves

Jillian Phelan, a 25-year HR veteran and chief people officer at Criteria, a talent signal platform, says candidates can sometimes get caught in delays as employers move other candidates through the hiring process. 

“Oftentimes we go through a process before making candidates aware that they weren’t selected,” Phelan says. 

But for applicants, especially younger ones desperate to break into their industry of choice, “many companies are no longer articulating or reaching out to say you did not get the job,” Phelan says. And it’s happening quite frequently. 

After going through several rounds of interviews, one worker, Bill (who’s going by his first name to avoid harming his job search), says he followed up with the company but never heard back. It took six weeks for someone to finally tell him the position had been filled. 

“When an interview process has gone that far, ghosting really diminishes everything about the process,” he says. “Ghosting is the sort of thing that happens in junior high school group chats. It shouldn’t be happening in a professional context.” 

Though companies may be facing an overwhelming number of applicants, Haller says employers have even fewer excuses for failing to communicate with candidates as artificial intelligence makes it easier to automate parts of the recruiting process. 

“AI is helping companies get responses out when they need to,” she says. “There’s no excuse anymore.”

If you’re still not getting through, try a new strategy

Whether you’re being ghosted or not, if you’re repeatedly bumping up against a wall with job applications, consider other types of roles or even entirely different industries where your background could be useful.

“Focus more on how you can translate the skills to another industry or a job,” Haller explains. “Let’s look at what types of positions require those skills.”

For one worker, Russ, such a feeling built over time. (His last name is also being withheld to protect his future job prospects). After studying journalism in college and working in the field for 25 years, he was laid off. He spent 18 months trying to make ends meet before moving into banking, taking an entry-level job in a more stable industry.  

Ghosting played a role in his finally leaving media, he says. But he says broader factors mattered, too.

“I don’t think my reputation or the quality of my work is why I was ghosted, but the business realities of an industry in distress,” he says. Still, he has “no regrets, not for a moment” about his original field: “I got to do the job I dreamed of as a kid.” 

The goal for applicants, Phelan says, is not to let a difficult job search convince them that their education, background, or passion have no value. Ghosting can make it all feel even more demoralizing. 

But Haller recommends staying open and willing to pivot, and not limiting yourself to your current field.

“Don’t anchor yourself there,” she says. Your skills “will unequivocally translate” somewhere else.

It’s a tough market. But a difficult job search doesn’t necessarily mean the four years spent earning a degree were a mistake.