J.T. O’Donnell, recruiting expert, “Applying online has to be one of the most degrading and depressing things people do”

The pace of job growth in the United States has been slowing over the past year and the prospects for 2026 are looking bleak according to J.T. O’Donnell. In a recent post on her social media channels, she said that “in 2026, the job market is fried. It is the worst we have seen in decades upon decades.”

It’s not all doom and gloom though as the recruiting expert with over 20 years of experience in her field adds, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a job.” However, she explains that people need understand that they “are fishing in the wrong pond.”

Speaking with CNBC Make It, she told the outlet that “if I was looking for a job in 2026, I would honestly stop applying online.” She laid out what jobseekers should be doing to land a new position this year with their dream company.

Jobseekers need to get companies to come to them

“Applying online, if I’m being really honest, has to be one of the most degrading and depressing things people do,” O’Donnell shared with CNBC Make It. There are several reasons for this including ghost job postings, or when a position is real, having to go up against hundreds of other applicants who are using AI-powered online tools to chase down job openings as soon as they appear.

Instead of applying to positions online, O’Donnell says that jobseekers need to get the companies to come to them. Getting recruited into a position is becoming more and more common, with Make It highlighting that the proportion of recruiter-sourced candidates was almost one in seven in 2025 according to Glassdoor data.

So how do you get yourself on a company’s radar so that they’ll come to you? First and foremost, make a list of 20 to 40 companies that you want to work for. Then start following them on social media channels like Glassdoor and LinkedIn advises the recruiting expert.

Next you should watch what topics those companies are posting online and “thoughtfully” comment about them. “The way you’re going to show up in the recruiting results is by engaging with their company’s content,” O’Donnell explains.

Additionally, engage with people at the companies on your dream list and their posts in a thoughtful way. Another recommendation she has is to create your own content on platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn to catch the eye of recruiters.

“What’s working right now on social is having dialogs about your work, the industry, the skill sets and that’s building a connection that then can lead to you messaging them and saying, ‘I’ve really liked what you’re saying on social. We seem to have similar views. Can we connect?’” the recruiting expert explains.

“You are literally creating a space where recruiters can find you and contact you, and that’s how you start getting interviews in this market. This will be the new way you get jobs,” O’Donnell observes.

Specific actions jobseekers should take to get recruiters’ attention

In the case of LinkedIn, she shared with Make It that there are five types of content that particularly work well. There are as follows:

• Convey observations on what is in the news relevant to your field.
• Give your “hot takes” and contrarian views on what’s happening in your industry.
• Share how your work has changed with time to give a “then vs. now” perspective.
• Express through “listicles” a breakdown, in a few key takeaways on a subject, of your thoughts, process, or what you’ve learned.
• Use “storytelling” to talk about how you’ve handled situations that are often asked during job interviews to get an idea of a person’s demeanor.

O’Donnell says that she’s seen this “documentation streak,” as she calls it, work when applied with persistence. One of her clients checked LinkedIn every day to see if he could post something based on his own experience, knowledge and skillsets. When he could, he then would write a post on his profile and tag the company as well as reaching out to company employees when appropriate to connect.

“On the 17th day, a recruiter from one of the companies on his bucket list called him with a job that was not publicly posted,” O’Donnell shared.

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