Day: September 17, 2025

• Lauren Young used LinkedIn’s “under-10-applicants” filter to secure a new job.
• Young was stressed and unsuccessful in her job search until she used LinkedIn filters.
• The filter helped her find roles with fewer applicants, leading to a quick job offer.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lauren Young, a 28-year-old continuing education specialist, based in Indiana. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

In March, I was becoming increasingly unhappy and stressed out at work, so I started applying to multiple jobs a day.

Even within the short time that I was back in the job market, from March to June, it was getting worse, and I started to panic. I was having no luck landing a new role.

I was primarily applying for roles on LinkedIn, and as I scrolled, I saw jobs posted with a hundred or even thousands of applicants. It wasn’t until I paid closer attention to how I searched for jobs that I found the “under 10 applicants” filter on LinkedIn, which helped me land my next role within about a month of using it.

I reentered the job market to find a better career

I studied education in college and taught elementary school for several years before I started working for a local retail company, where I oversaw employee training. It wasn’t what I saw myself doing long-term, but it was a job I knew would help build my skillset, and then I would hopefully be able to find a good career to settle down in.

About a year and a half into the role, I decided to start looking elsewhere. I was so stressed out all the time, and I didn’t think I could stay much longer. I had luckily worked on impressive projects, built up a lot of technical skills, and had things in my portfolio that I was really excited to use in my applications.

When I started using the correct LinkedIn filters, my job prospects got better

Once I had been back in the job market and saw how bad it was, I started playing around with LinkedIn filters, trying to be more strategic about how I spent my time looking for work.

I looked for jobs with fewer applicants or jobs that were just posted that day, and that’s when I found the “under 10 applicants” filter. It’s one of the last options under the function that says “all filters,” pretty close to the bottom.

Once I started using it, I saw roles at small businesses that didn’t have a huge following on LinkedIn. There were roles that were also the same or very similar to ones I had been applying for, but they had weird titles that I wouldn’t have paid attention to, or ones that wouldn’t have come up under my keyword searches alone.

I used this tool during my last month of searching for jobs.

After 2 weeks of interviews, I got my new job offer

I don’t remember which exact keyword I used to find my current role. I’d usually search for keywords like “learning,” “training,” and sometimes “education” while using the filter.

My role now is helping medical professionals who are seeking different educational opportunities or want to get further licensing. I didn’t think I would be a top applicant since I’d never worked in the medical industry, but it had very few applicants and had just been posted.

The post included the HR email and asked that I email my résumé as part of the application. By the next day, I had already received an email back from HR, and they were looking to fill the role quickly.

It was a pretty fast interview process. I landed my first interview at the end of May and received my offer letter in mid-June. I was so relieved.

The ‘under 10 applicants’ filter is better than the other job search filters I’ve used on LinkedIn, but I wish it had more options

I tried using other LinkedIn filters, too. I would use the filter for “jobs posted within the last day,” which was still helpful, but I feel like everyone uses that.

I live outside Chicago, and some of the jobs that would come up would be at huge Fortune 500 corporations that people really wanted to work at. Even if the role was posted within the last day or the last hour, there were still hundreds of applicants immediately.

I had to do a lot of sifting with that filter, and since I was on a time crunch, switching to the under-10-applicants one helped me be more efficient.

I do wish there were filters for applicants under 50 or 100 because 10 is a really small number. Ideally, LinkedIn would have multiple filters for the number of applicants, which would be a lot more helpful to people trying to find roles.

I love my new job and have helped friends use the filter in their job search

One of my coworkers was looking for a new job at the same time as me, and she was having a hard time. She applied to a few jobs and wasn’t getting anything back. I shared my filter hack with her, and it was how she got her first interview after reentering the job market.

I believe the job she has now had more than 10 applicants when she applied, but it helped to build her confidence in getting that first interview out of the way.

My new role has been completely life-changing. I’m able to work primarily remotely, and I only go into the office about once a month. The company has great benefits, a really generous PTO policy, and a great work-life balance.

Do you have a job search story to share? Contact this reporter at aapplegate@businessinsider.com.

• Michele Wilke struggled to find work for eight months before landing a job offer in September.
• She said she relied on GoFundMe donations and loans from friends to stay afloat financially.
• Wilke is among the Americans who are struggling to find work amid a white-collar hiring slowdown.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michele Wilke, a 63-year-old job seeker in Chicago. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Over the past eight months, I applied to dozens of jobs and landed some interviews, but I struggled to find work. To stay afloat, I relied on loans from well-off friends and launched a GoFundMe to help me pay my rent.

I have less than $2,000 in my bank account, I’ve been struggling to pay the roughly $1,000 rent for my studio apartment, and I’ve worried about being evicted.

I recently received a job offer for a catering sales manager role that I’m hoping doesn’t fall through. But even with a job, it’ll take a lot to climb out of my financial hole.

I applied for everything — and still couldn’t get hired

Since 2020, I’ve been either unemployed or underemployed, which has taken a toll on my finances. My most recent role ended in December 2024. When I began my job search, I applied to jobs in four areas I knew well — HR, restaurant management, event and catering sales, and admin work.

Since 2020, I’ve been either unemployed or underemployed, which has taken a toll on my finances. When I began my job search, I applied to jobs in four areas I knew well — HR, restaurant management, event and catering sales, and admin work.

But as the months dragged on, I expanded my search to include dog walking, house cleaning, florist shops, house manager roles, and delivery driving. I even went door-to-door in my neighborhood, handing out résumés at cafés and restaurants.

I’ve also applied to more junior-level jobs, but interviewers often expressed concern that I was overqualified or that I’d get bored — even though I was willing to do the work. I just needed a steady paycheck.

To try to stand out, I began refining my résumé format over time. I included a brief reason for leaving each job and listed the revenue of my past employers to give a sense of scale — details recruiters have said they appreciate.

I also shifted my strategy from sending a few tailored applications to applying more widely. While my approach landed me interviews, it didn’t seem to do much to help me secure employment.

I launched a GoFundMe and borrowed money from friends

I’ve been fortunate to receive some financial support to help keep me afloat. In July, I launched a GoFundMe titled “Help Michele stay housed after job loss” that raised nearly $3,000. One of my friends told me that a GoFundMe had helped him pay rent, so he created the campaign for me.

Several generous friends have also loaned me money in recent years and told me I can pay them back whenever I can. Another friend and I arranged a work trade; in exchange for several thousand dollars’ worth of financial help, I cat-sit for him when he travels, cook for him once a week, and clean his home twice a month.

Over the past few years, the money from my friends has gone toward expenses related to food, rent, gas, a dentist appointment, a car oil change, and public transportation. Altogether, I owe more than $20,000 in personal debt, in addition to over $20,000 in credit card and bank loan debt.

I stretch every dollar to try to conserve money. I shop at Aldi, cook all my meals at home, and don’t buy anything non-essential. I rarely use my car, have cut back significantly on air conditioning, and don’t travel. I live a few blocks from Lake Michigan, and going there is the closest thing I have to a vacation these days.

The financial support I’ve received so far has helped, but I don’t expect any more.

I want to pay off my debt and have a fresh start

The longer unemployment went on, the harder it got. I was doing everything I could to stay afloat.

I applied for the catering sales manager role through Indeed, and after several interviews, I got the offer. I’m not sure why this one worked out when so many others didn’t, but it aligns well with my past experience, so I feel ready for it.

My goal is to make some money and pay off my debt. I want a fresh start.