81% of job seekers hear nothing back. At MerciIT, you will.

You spend an evening tailoring your résumé, answer the screening questions, press submit and then nothing. No rejection, no update, no "thank you for applying". If that sounds familiar, you are in the majority.

The numbers behind the silence

Fast Company reports on a recent survey by the hiring platform Greenhouse, and the findings are hard to ignore:

• 81% of job seekers say that at least once in the past year they applied and never heard back from the company, from a person or a machine.
• 31% say it happens often or almost always. Among Gen Z applicants, it is 38%.
• 45% say they were ghosted after an interview: they met the team, then heard nothing at all.

Greenhouse's chief people officer, Sharawn Tipton, summed it up: for the first time she can remember, neither side thinks hiring is working.

How hiring got stuck in a loop

The article describes what it calls an AI "doom loop". Employers use automated systems to screen applications. Candidates respond by using AI to beat those systems: more than half use AI to work out what a screening tool is looking for, and 40% admit adding skills or keywords that don't really describe them. Employers then receive a flood of polished, near-identical applications, and are too overwhelmed to reply to anyone.

The result: candidates send applications into a black hole, and employers struggle to find the people they actually need. Add "ghost jobs" (postings for roles that may not really be open) and it is no surprise that trust is low on both sides.

What actually helps

The experts quoted in the article point to the same thing: people, not keywords.

• For employers: look at how candidates think and learn, not only at their keywords, and when you use an early or automated interview, tell candidates how they will be evaluated and make sure a real person reviews their answers.
• For candidates: lead with real examples of your work that match the role, lean on referrals and your network, and resist stuffing your résumé with keywords that don't describe you. It may get you past a filter, but it will not get you through an interview.

Our promise: at MerciIT, you will hear from us

We have been on both sides of the table, and we think silence is the worst answer a candidate can get. So here is how we work:

1. A person reads your application. Our recruiters review every application. Software helps us organise, but it does not decide who gets a call.
2. You get an answer. Yes, not now, or not for this role: whatever the outcome, we tell you.
3. If we interview you, we follow up. You will hear back from a person after every interview, with feedback where we can give it.
4. Our openings are real. We post roles we are actively filling for our clients, and we tell you when a role is filled or put on hold.
5. We keep you in mind. With your permission, we keep your profile and reach out when a role that fits you comes up.

Hiring works better when both sides are honest and both sides are heard. That is the standard we hold ourselves to.

Looking for your next IT role? See our open positions and apply at merciit.com. You will hear from us.