I’ll be walking across the stage at Koch Arena and ending my career as a college student on May 16.

Naturally, I’ve been looking for jobs within my field (journalism or media) and applying like crazy. 

I started the process of applying for jobs in February of this year, as recommended by a couple of my professors, and on April 17, I hit 100 total applications. That number has since continued to rise. 

I have gotten 14 rejections, one scheduled interview and still have 95 open applications I have heard nothing from. 

That one interview turned out to be for a scam company, which is disheartening to think that one of the “companies” that wanted to hear more from me wasn’t even real. 

I’ve sent follow-up emails with no answer, and of the 14 rejections, only two gave reasoning as to why I wasn’t selected. 

Labor statistics show that the job market has improved since November, when it seemed that 2026 graduates would experience the worst job market in years. But it sure doesn’t feel like it when I’ve applied for over a hundred jobs and have only heard back from 14 of them. 

Not to toot my own horn, but I have a solid resume. It’s been edited by career professionals, and I write a mean cover letter. So it’s pretty disheartening to hear all these great things about the job market when I can’t even get a call back. 

Another issue that’s become more popular is companies ghosting applicants even after the position is filled. There were two positions I applied for and heard nothing back from — either with rejection or to schedule an interview — and when I went back to the positions’ web pages, they were filled. 

That makes me feel like an unwanted situationship. Give me the decency of a rejection email or something, don’t leave me wondering and keep hoping that I might have a chance. I hate how commonplace it’s become in recent history, especially in the liberal arts and sciences fields. 

I know that in some other spaces, like factory work, it’s also incredibly common.

The constant swiping on job board websites is reminiscent of mindlessly scrolling on Tinder. In any moment of free time, I find myself browsing LinkedIn, hoping for a new opportunity for me to apply to. I swipe right, and the companies keep swiping left.

To employers: if you don’t want me to work for you, send me an email and let me know. I would much rather hear a rejection than nothing. 

This isn’t Tinder or another dating app; it’s the start of my future career.

Here’s to graduating into a mediocre job market; I’m rooting for all of us to find something.