You’ve applied to dozens of jobs. Maybe hundreds. You’ve tailored your resume, followed up, and still heard nothing back. You’re not imagining it. The system is working exactly as designed, and that design may not have been built with you in mind.
Eric Stanley, CEO and founder of M2N, an Indiana-based company focused on workforce equity, says it plainly: “AI is everywhere in HR right now, but much of the automation is laid on top of a flawed foundation and in those cases, it’s making broken hiring faster, not better.”
That’s the uncomfortable truth behind the promises of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring. Employers are increasingly using AI-powered applicant tracking systems to screen resumes before a human being ever sees your name. A recent Stanford University study found that the problem runs even deeper. Candidates are being systematically shut out of hiring pipelines because most employers are using the same two or three technologies. When those tools carry bias, they carry it everywhere, at scale, all at once.
Stanley notes that, “75% of employers still report difficulty finding skilled candidates, even with all these tools,” which tells you something important: the technology isn’t actually surfacing the best talent. It’s surfacing the most familiar talent. That leaves an enormous pool of qualified, capable people invisible to employers.
The talent is there. The system just isn’t looking in the right places yet.
Things you can do right now
1. Name the skills you have developed, from every part of your life
AI systems scan for keywords tied to technical and soft skills. Your job is to give them what they’re looking for, and that means thinking beyond your last job title. Did you manage the budget for your church finance committee? That’s financial planning. Did you organize a community event or coach youth sports? Those experiences reflect project management, teamwork and scheduling. Include these on your resume.
2. Pursue industry-recognized certifications through community-based partners
Gaining the skills needed for in-demand careers broadens your opportunities. The good news is you don’t have to go back to a four-year university to get them. Local organizations like Goodwill of Central Indiana, Fathers & Families Center, Wayne Adult Education Center, Construction Roundtable Foundation, SkilledUS, C1 Truck Driver, and Per Scholas offer pathways to certifications that employers actually recognize.
These partners do more than hand you a certificate. They plug you into a network, provide career support, and elevate your standing with employers who already trust these organizations (often for free).
3. Get paid to build experience and skills with an apprenticeship
One of the most frustrating things about hiring is the entry-level job that requires experience. Apprenticeships break that cycle. Through the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP) there are paid, work-based learning pathways across industries including banking and insurance, technology, advanced manufacturing, health care and construction. You earn while you learn and arrive at your first full-time role with documented, employer-verified experience. For young people and adults, this is one of the most direct routes to a career that pays well and grows.
4. Don’t navigate this alone.
MPower, the workforce platform powered by M2N, exists to connect job seekers, especially those who have been overlooked or underestimated, with the opportunities that the algorithm keeps hiding from them. Stanley is right; the system is broken. But broken systems can be worked around when you have the right community behind you.
The algorithm doesn’t know your story. MPower does. Let’s make sure employers do too.
Contact M2N President Kristi Amendola at kamendola@m2n.us. For additional information visit, www.m2n.us
