"Karishma Mandal wanted to land an AI role at a big-name company, so she designed a job search strategy she hoped would help her stand out. Throughout her search, she'd grown confident in the merits of twotactics: being among the first to apply for roles and submitting applications directly through company websites, not job boards. "You have to be early, you have to go through the direct website, and you have to get a referral if you can," said the 29-year-old."
"In a competitive hiring landscape, applicants are willing to try just about anything. While layoffs across the US economy remain low by historical standards, companies are now hiring at one of the slowest rates since 2013, largely due to tariff uncertainty and the early effects of AI adoption. In this environment, job seekers are throwing strategies at the wall and hoping they stick."
Job seekers increasingly combine traditional techniques—strong résumés, referrals—and emergent hacks like early direct applications to stand out for AI roles at large companies. Many candidates believe being among the first to apply and using company websites rather than job boards improves visibility, and some secure referrals to boost chances. Hiring has slowed to one of the weakest rates since 2013, driven by tariff uncertainty and early AI adoption, even as layoffs remain low historically. Applicants experiment widely because outcomes are opaque, making it difficult to validate what strategies actually influence interview invitations or job offers.
Read at Business Insider
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