Why You Keep Applying For The Wrong Jobs

There's a mismatch in the skills employers need and what's currently available, but a recent study is shedding some light on the age-old job search question, "Why didn't I hear back?"

According to TheLadders research, job seekers spend an average of 49.7 seconds before deciding that a job isn't right for them, and an average of 76.7 seconds if they feel the posting matches their interest and skills.

In the short amount of time that the study's participants spent on job postings, they were only able to identify good fits at a rate of 38%.

The researchers used a scientific technique called “eye tracking,” which is developed to "record and analyze where and how long someone focuses when digesting a piece of information or completing a task." Participants in the study — all currently employed — were allowed to spend as much time as they wanted with each posting and had to identify whether the position was a good fit for them or not at the end.

The study showed that job seekers primarily paid attention to the job title and company information, but didn't spend much — or any — time on the majority of the posting's information, such as job requirements. Spending little time looking over the actual job requirements is a contributing factor to why recruiters can't find candidates with the right skills for the job.