Indeed CEO Hisayuki Idekoba says the 2026 hiring market has become a vicious cycle as job openings slow and applicant numbers rise. Qualified workers are sending dozens or hundreds of applications without responses, while employers face AI-generated submissions and scams involving fake candidates, including North Korean IT workers. Applications per job rose 111% from 2022 to 2025 as the number of recruiters fell 56%, according to figures cited in the article. Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait calls the feedback loop an AI doom loop because both employers and applicants are using artificial intelligence to address their own problems, making the broader process more difficult. Chait advises candidates to consider lesser-known companies rather than only prominent firms such as OpenAI. Business professor and entrepreneur Scott Galloway and Netskope CEO Sanjay Beri separately emphasize networking, with Galloway saying internal advocates account for 70% of hires in one example and Beri noting that some desired jobs are never publicly posted.