In a struggling job market where the few job opportunities posted are utilized questionable AI tools to screen applicants, networking is probably just done LIVE way to work

Some desperate job seekers who aren’t given a built-in network of key industry contacts are now using dating apps to help find jobs. According to a recent survey According to ResumeBuilder.com, one in three users use a dating app to find a job, with nearly one in ten saying this is their main purpose for being on the app. Sixty-six percent of survey respondents said they look for users who work at companies they want to be a part of, and 75% said they intentionally match people who work in specific roles they hope to fill.

“Networking is the only way people can rise above the daunting prospect that is today’s job search,” ResumeBuilder.com’s chief career advisor, Stacie Haller, said. Bloomberg on Monday.

Among those who use apps to find work, 88% say they have successfully connected with someone for professional reasons. For many, that means getting mentorship or career advice, landing an interview, receiving a job lead, or getting a referral. Thirty-seven percent said they had even received a job offer from it.

Some have the best of both worlds, with 38% of respondents saying they had a physical relationship with the person they connected with in order to find a job.

Although networking has been a key buzzword in career development for some time now, the increased reliance on AI to automate the initial steps of application review has made the practice even more important. AI systems can save companies a lot of time by scanning applicants’ resumes and cover letters in seconds, but the process is often plagued by inherent biases baked into the algorithm.

At the end of the day, AI is not the best tool for selecting the most qualified candidates but companies continue to rely on technology because they have not found a cheaper way to deal with the high amount of applications they receive for a posting, which comes from increase in the unemployment rate and more ease ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​of sending job applications thanks to platforms like LinkedIn, and once again, AI.

Therefore, no matter how qualified you are for a job, there is a real possibility that a computer algorithm will directly reject you in the first or second stages of the job search, before your application is seen by human eyes. This is where networking comes in, as referrals are increasingly becoming the only sure way to get your resume reviewed by a real person.

But networking is easier said than done. A job market that relies heavily on networking is one that is sure to have a lot of inequality, because job seekers from privileged backgrounds get an undeniable advantage in the networking process, thanks to an existing network.

That partially AI-driven rise in inequality is a trend we’re already starting to see play out, according to Cornell professor John McCarthywhich may be why job seekers are becoming increasingly desperate to help bridge this gap. According to the survey, 42% of respondents said they were networking on dating apps because of a tough job market, 29% said it was because they were desperate to find a job or advance their careers, and 22% said they simply lacked networking opportunities elsewhere.

Although the survey says that Tinder and Bumble, two apps that do not promote professional use, are the most used for this purpose, there are many dating applications that lead in providing this experience.

Best of all, there’s Raya, an exclusive, referral-only, and membership-based dating app that bills itself as a private “community for people around the world to connect and collaborate.” Although it is mostly known as a dating app, users can connect with others by searching for specific industries, roles, or companies.

The LGBTQ dating app Grindr also includes similar uses. Grindr chief product officer AJ Balance told Bloomberg that nearly a quarter of its 15 million monthly average users use the app for networking.