Applicants Are Not the Problem: Why the System Keeps Great People Out

The Unseen Gatekeepers

You send out your CV.
You wait.
You hear nothing.

It is not laziness.
It is not disinterest.
Often, it is a filter.

The frustration for jobseekers is not just rejection. It is silence. Most people never hear why they were not considered. No feedback. No clues. Just the feeling that their efforts have disappeared into a void.

If this has happened to you, it is tempting to blame yourself. Maybe you think you are not good enough. Maybe you tell yourself you should have tried harder.

But here is the truth: applicants are not the problem. The system is.

The Festival Bar Shift

Years ago, I worked a bar shift the day after a local festival. It was summer, and no one expected the festival to be a big deal. It turned out to be wildly popular.

On Monday morning, I was the only one behind the bar. Over the course of my shift, I served around 800 drinks. The average drink sold for £2 to £3, which meant I took in roughly £1,600 in sales on my own.

Every customer wanted fast service. Every order was reasonable. But there was one of me, and a lot of them.

I was not ignoring anyone. I was not being slow on purpose. I was simply overwhelmed. The problem was not the customers, and it was not me. The problem was the setup.

Recruitment works much the same way. Demand and supply are out of balance.

How the Hiring Funnel Really Works

When you apply for a role, you imagine a person reading your CV with care. In reality, your application passes through several layers before it reaches a decision-maker.

Here is a simplified breakdown of the filters most candidates face:

1. The Volume Surge

In South Africa, a single vacancy often attracts 50 to 100 applications. In other markets, especially for popular roles, it can be 200, 300, or more. This is not because all those applicants are perfect fits. Many apply out of hope, habit, or desperation.

For recruiters, that is an inbox filling faster than it can be cleared.

2. The ATS (Applicant Tracking System)

Most medium and large employers use software to scan and rank CVs. These systems look for specific keywords, formats, and patterns. If your CV does not match the programmed criteria, it might never be seen by a human.

ATS software is not inherently bad. It is designed to save time. But it cannot read nuance. It will not infer that “led cross-functional team” means the same as “managed a multi-department project.”

3. Recruiter Screening

If your CV passes the ATS, it reaches a recruiter. Here, time pressure takes over. A recruiter might have 100 CVs for a single role. Even if they spent three minutes on each one, that is five hours of reading before shortlisting begins. In reality, most CVs get a 20–30 second skim.

4. Hiring Manager Review

The recruiter sends their shortlist to the hiring manager. This is where shifting priorities can come into play. Sometimes a role changes after it has been advertised. Sometimes internal candidates appear.

5. Final Narrowing

From dozens or hundreds, the pool narrows to three to five candidates. At this point, being “good enough” is not enough, someone else may have a slightly better fit on paper, or simply better timing.

Why This Matters for Jobseekers

From your side, rejection feels personal. From theirs, it is logistics. The recruiter or employer is not ignoring you because they think you are unworthy. They are processing more than anyone could reasonably manage.

That is why understanding the system is so important. You cannot control the number of applicants, but you can control how you interpret the silence.

The SCAN Framework

To make this easier to see, I use the SCAN framework. This is my own model for explaining how applications are filtered and why strong candidates still get missed.

S – Screen

This is the first gate. Most often, it is software. It looks for keywords, titles, and formats that match the job description. If your CV does not trigger enough matches, it may be rejected automatically.

Example: A marketing professional with “content strategist” in their title may be overlooked for a “digital marketing manager” role, even if their skills match perfectly. The ATS is scanning for exact terms.

C – Context

If you pass the first screen, your experience is read in the context of the role. This is where relevance comes in. Employers are often looking for someone who can “hit the ground running” with minimal training.

Example: In my time hiring for a musical instrument store, we needed sales staff who already understood guitars, drums, and pro audio. We were not dismissing other applicants out of arrogance. We simply could not afford the time to train someone from scratch.

A – Alignment

This is about more than skills. It includes location, salary expectations, work style, and cultural fit. You might be fully capable, but if your expectations do not align with what the company can offer, you will not be shortlisted.

Example: A candidate might have every skill needed for a role, but if they live far from the office and the company requires on-site presence, they may be excluded early.

N – Narrowing

This is the toughest stage. Even if you are a perfect match, there might be ten other perfect matches. Narrowing down often means choosing between equally strong candidates based on small, sometimes arbitrary differences.

The Jobseeker’s Catch-22

This is where the frustration deepens. Do you apply to as many jobs as possible, increasing your odds but reducing the tailoring for each one? Or do you apply selectively, crafting each application carefully, but risk too few chances?

Neither option guarantees success. Even with a perfect application, you may still be one of 100.

This is why so many jobseekers feel stuck. It is not that they are lazy or unqualified. It is that the system is not designed to give feedback or guidance.

The Emotional Impact of Silence

Not hearing back does more than waste your time. It chips away at confidence. It makes you second-guess your abilities. Over time, this can affect how you approach future applications, or whether you apply at all.

Research into job search psychology shows that prolonged silence leads to lower motivation and higher stress. Understanding the process does not remove the disappointment, but it can stop you from internalising the wrong lessons.

The Hidden Constraints Employers Face

Even the best candidates are sometimes passed over for reasons they will never know:

• Budget freezes after a role is advertised

• Internal candidates who were already earmarked

• Shifts in company strategy

• Unexpected delays in decision-making

None of this reflects on your worth. But without transparency, it is easy to take it personally.

Why the System Needs to Change

The current hiring system works for processing volume, not for nurturing talent. Until that changes, good candidates will continue to be lost.

The tool I am building is designed to close the feedback gap. Even if you are not hired, you will know why. You will get actionable steps for improving your chances next time, plus insight into roles you are already well-suited for.

Closing Reflection

The festival bar shift taught me that when demand outstrips supply, no amount of good intention can serve everyone well. The guitar store taught me that sometimes you need specific knowledge from day one, and without it, even a good worker will struggle in the wrong role.

If you are a jobseeker, remember this: your value is not defined by a silent rejection. You may have been screened out for reasons that have nothing to do with your talent. The system may not be able to see you fully.

Until the hiring process changes, the best thing you can do is understand it. Not to blame yourself, not to overwork your CV endlessly, but to keep perspective. The filter is not the person.