The Surprising Harsh Truth About Job Hunting on LinkedIn and Indeed
Dee@MissFitCoaching.com is an extraordinary career coach. She gets you where you're going, faster.
You know the drill.
You spend hours perfecting your resume, tweaking your cover letter, and submitting applications. You track every submission, refreshing your inbox for a response.
But nothing.
Weeks go by, and you start to wonder: Is anyone even seeing my application?
Unfortunately, job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn aren’t really about connecting job seekers with employers. They’re about making money. And their biggest customers? You. And the companies paying to advertise their jobs.
Job Boards Are Ad Platforms Disguised as Hiring Tools
Think of it this way: When a company posts a job, it’s not just listing an open role. It’s running an advertisement. It’s an illusion of opportunity.
On Indeed, employers bid for visibility, paying per click.
On LinkedIn, job posts work like auction items; the more a company spends, the more they show up in your feed.
That means job boards don’t prioritize matching you with the best job. They prioritize showing you the jobs from the highest bidders. Not job quality, not employer legitimacy.
Indeed and LinkedIn are for-profit advertising companies. Ever see an advertising brochure for a vacation in the Bahamas? That.
Why So Many Job Listings Are Smoke and Mirrors
Ever notice how some companies seem to be always hiring? That’s because job postings aren’t just about filling roles. They are not simply listing postings.They’re about:
Branding: Posting jobs makes companies look like they’re growing, even if they aren’t.
Data Collection: Many listings exist just to build a talent pool for “future opportunities.”
Market Research: Competitors spy on job listings to gauge salaries and hiring trends.
Some postings stay live indefinitely, meaning you could be applying for a job that isn’t even open.
So why do job seekers keep using them? Because they look like they’re working. You submit applications, track progress, and get that dopamine hit of productivity. But in reality, you’re stuck in a system designed to keep you engaged, not to get you hired.
Employers Are Getting Played, Too
It’s not just job seekers who lose out. Companies pour money into job ads, assuming more applicants = better hiring. But:
Most companies measure success by the number of applicants, not quality of hires.
Many still rely on referrals, career sites, and internal hires, proving job boards aren’t their only hiring pipeline.
The result is a cycle where companies spend more and job seekers apply more, while job boards keep cashing in.
How to Beat the System
If you’re job hunting, don’t let job boards be your primary strategy. Instead:
Focus on Networking: Referrals, direct outreach, and industry events will get you further than only applying through job boards.
Go Direct: If you see a job you love, apply through the company’s site and find someone inside to vouch for you.
Use Job Boards Strategically: Treat them as a research tool to identify companies hiring, then go around them.
And if you’re an employer? Stop paying for volume. Track which hiring sources bring in great candidates and invest there.
The truth is that job boards aren’t broken. They’re working exactly as intended, for themselves. The sooner you recognize that, the faster you can take control of your job search.
Warmly,
Dee@MissFitCoaching.com Book some time
You speak the truth, Dee!
I’ve applied to many jobs on LinkedIn, never to receive a response.
As I observed the statistics, I realized they also often say things like, “you’re in the top 10% of 135 candidates.” This sounds good — (top 10%: I’m elite!) — until you do the math and conclude there are 13 candidates in that elite group. Worse, if there are already over 100 candidates, that job posting may be weeks old, and the company is long past urgency in screening additional applicants.
I frequently see message boards where people say things like, “I’ve submitted 900 applications and still no interviews.”
As you’ve described it above — correctly, I believe — it reminds me of the joke “how do you keep a fool busy for hours?”