Hires-per-posting ratio has halved since 2019. Coach says the psychological damage of a broken application process is outlasting the job search itself
BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, October 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — A product manager submits applications to sixty positions over the course of five months. Two-thirds of those submissions never get any reply at all. By the sixth month, the conclusion they draw is clear — and completely off base.
Research featured in the Columbia Law Review indicates that the rate of actual hires relative to job postings has dropped by half since 2019, moving from roughly eight hires for every ten postings down to four. Within the information and technology sector specifically, the analysis estimated that approximately 48% of postings were effectively never filled.
This isn’t an isolated phenomenon, according to separate industry surveys. A LiveCareer poll of 918 HR professionals showed that 93% acknowledged their employer advertises roles without any immediate intention to fill them, with 45% calling it a routine occurrence.
Shobhit Chugh, a former Google product manager who now coaches PMs through career pivots, says the statistics matter less than the conclusions candidates draw from them.
"Nobody in this position blames the market," Chugh said. "They apply to sixty things, hear nothing, and decide the problem is them. That conclusion does more damage than the unemployment does."
Job seekers are submitting an average of 62.6 applications and investing roughly 44 minutes in each one, according to survey data released this year. That adds up to more than a full workweek spent purely on applications. Greenhouse’s candidate research found that 72% of job seekers say the process takes a toll on their mental health.
Chugh pointed out that the harm builds quietly because it isn’t visible from the outside.
"A senior PM who has shipped serious products starts second-guessing whether they can do the job at all," he said. "Then they walk into an interview carrying that, and the interviewer feels it without being able to name it."
He noted that the practical strategy has shifted away from mass applying.
"The application is the least effective thing you can do and it feels like the most productive," Chugh said. "It has a button. It gives you a number that goes up. Meanwhile the roles that get filled are filled through people."
The tech sector isn’t devoid of openings. Layoffs have eased from their 2023 peak, and product manager postings worldwide were reported up 12% in early 2026 — the strongest level in three years. Still, overall tech hiring remains below pre-pandemic numbers, and displaced workers are now competing against one another for a smaller pool of genuine opportunities.
Chugh emphasized that the pressure of time varies widely from one candidate to the next.
"An average search is running around six months. Some people can absorb that. Somebody whose visa status depends on employment cannot," he said. "The advice you give those two people should not be the same, and usually it is."
His first question to a client rarely concerns their resume.
"I ask what they’ve stopped doing," Chugh said. "Almost always the answer is talking to people, because talking to people while you feel like a failure is unbearable. That’s the thing that actually needed to keep happening."
Chugh spent his career in product roles at Google, Lattice Engines and Tamr before founding Intentional Product Manager, and hosts a podcast interviewing product leaders.
Shobhit Chugh
Intentional Product Manager
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Why it matters: The disconnect between advertised roles and actual hiring isn’t just a data point — it’s reshaping how skilled professionals perceive their own worth in a market that may not be as competitive as it seems. Until the application process becomes more transparent, the emotional toll on candidates will likely outpace any recovery in hiring numbers.
