The New York Times: Gen Z job seekers say the process is full of AI screening and makes it hard to talk to a real person
The New York Times recently published an article describing the experiences of several Gen Z job seekers. A 22-year-old biology graduate who has submitted 511 applications is still looking for a job; after recently applying for a Whole Foods position, she was “interviewed” by a chatbot named Sage and rejected.
A 23-year-old young man in Texas, when applying for an administrative position, was repeatedly asked to record video responses to qualification questions alone in his apartment. Another 23-year-old young man in Kansas, after failing to land a paralegal position, turned to fast-food and movie-theater jobs; when he answered an interview call, he found the other side was an AI agent.
The article quotes job seekers describing the process as lonely, opaque and lacking in humanity, making it hard to tell whether a rejection came from a hiring manager or an AI screening system. They said the biggest problem is that throughout the entire process, they may never get to speak with a real person.
Original sources:
Title: Searching for Jobs, Gen Z Feels Like It’s Staring Into ‘the Void’ Publisher: The New York Times (Callie Holtermann) Publication date: 2026-10-28 URL: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/10/28/style/gen-z-job-market.html Source type: mainstream media report Verification: cross-checked against the relevant quotes and screenshot content actually read for this article (2026-10-30) Supporting content: job seeker cases, descriptions of AI screening, and overall process feelings
ABAB AI Insight
The core change presented in the report is the position of AI tools in the recruitment process: from résumé screening, chatbot initial contact, to video interviews and phone agents. On the company side, automation reduces the cost and labor input per hire; on the job seeker side, it brings a combination of more applications, fewer feedback channels, and fewer opportunities to interact with a real person.
For job seekers just entering the labor market, the traditional “application—interview—feedback” loop has been compressed. AI screening systems can handle large numbers of applications in the early stage, but at the same time they reduce explainable reasons for rejection and subsequent human follow-up. As a result, job seekers find it difficult to determine whether their application has entered human review.
This phenomenon is compounded by the overall slowdown in hiring in the labor market. AI is currently replacing more of the communication and initial screening links in the recruitment process, rather than having already replaced entry-level jobs on a large scale. For young people lacking existing networks and work experience, the reduction in opportunities for human feedback may further lengthen the job search cycle and reduce the predictability of the process.
ABAB News · Law of cognition
AI has entered the initial screening and communication stages of hiring, reducing job seekers’ opportunities to interact with real people.
Rising application volumes and lower feedback transparency are happening at the same time, making it hard for job seekers to tell who is doing the screening.
Process automation lowers company costs while lengthening the time for some job seekers to get a clear result.