The job application got faster. The job search got worse.

Job hunting in 2026 can mean chatting with a robot, getting rejected by AI, encountering ghost jobs and competing with a flood of applicants. Why it matters: This isn't just candidates venting on LinkedIn or TikTok. The hiring process is increasingly taking longer and application apathy could be eroding trust in America's job market. What they're saying: "I think burnout is absolutely happening," Gorick Ng, a Harvard career advisor and UC Berkeley faculty member, tells Axios. "We've moved past t