937 applications. 42 interviews. 80 days. That's what it took one experienced data scientist to land a job in 2025—and he's one of the lucky ones.

In this episode of The Catalyst, we follow two tech professionals through what they call "the worst job market ever." Emily, a software developer with 10 years of experience and a degree from University of Waterloo's prestigious computer science program, gets laid off on a Tuesday and was interviewing the next day. Santiago, a data scientist and former manager at Deloitte, launches what he calls a "denial of service attack" on the job market—bombarding it with nearly a thousand applications while tracking every rejection in a dashboard styled like Super Mario.

Both land jobs. Both consider themselves fortunate. And both say the system is fundamentally broken.

Meanwhile, over 700 tech workers are being laid off every day while companies claim they can't find talent. Something doesn't add up. Through their stories and expert analysis from Bobby Burns, Vice President of R&D at Indeed, we uncover what's really happening: applicant tracking systems filtering out 75% of qualified candidates, AI conducting first-round interviews before humans ever get involved, and a catch-22 nobody can solve—where will senior developers come from in 2030 if we're not hiring junior developers in 2025?

Key Takeaways:

• Why the "talent shortage" exists alongside mass tech layoffs
• How applicant tracking systems reject 75% of resumes due to formatting issues
• The psychological toll of sending hundreds of applications into the void
• What AI tools might (and might not) fix about hiring and fighting bias
• Why even graduates from top programs can't get entry-level roles

Read about Emily's experience on her Medium: https://emilyxiong.medium.com/my-experience-of-finding-a-tech-job-in-2025-6830297c5197

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This episode is brought to you by Softchoice, a World Wide Technology company. We work with mid-market IT leaders on their biggest challenges, including how to build and retain great teams in a market that makes it harder than ever. Visit softchoice.com to learn more.

Listen now at: softchoice.com/podcast

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The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology.