When the Job Market Gets So Bad, Candidates Turn to Spells!

The Job Market Feels Cursed

Yes, you read that right: candidates are now hiring witches on Etsy to cast spells for jobs. It sounds absurd until you realize just how fractured the hiring system is.

• Job openings in the U.S. recently climbed to a six-month high (~7.77 million), but companies are dragging their feet on hiring.

• Meanwhile, nearly three in four job seekers say the hiring process (not just the role) influences whether they accept an offer.

When you apply to dozens of roles and hear nothing back, magical thinking starts to sound more like a survival tactic than fantasy.

The Reality Behind the Magic

This isn’t really about curses or spells. It’s about desperation.

• In 2024, 60% of companies reported their time-to-hire increased compared to previous years.

• The average time to fill high-demand roles has stretched to around 44 days across many sectors.

• In many U.S. roles, the median time to hire lands near 35 days (some roles take longer, depending on seniority and industry).

That means candidates are stuck in limbo (waiting, applying, hoping) sometimes for weeks or months with no feedback. In that vacuum, buying a “job spell” doesn’t seem totally nuts to someone who feels invisible.

Exploitation in Disguise

Here’s the darker flip side: when people are pushed to the edge, predators emerge.

• The ghosting problem is rampant: 61% of U.S. job seekers report being ghosted after an interview. 

• Even worse: up to 18-22% of job postings could be “ghost jobs” — roles listed without any real intention to hire.

When legit pathways fail or vanish, the demand for “alternative” options skyrockets.

What It Shouldn’t Take

Let’s be brutally honest: the demands we’re listing here are just the baseline.

✨ It shouldn’t take witchcraft to get a recruiter to call you back.
✨ It shouldn’t feel like magic to get paid fairly.
✨ And it sure as hell shouldn’t require a spell to be treated like a human in the hiring process.

Minimum respect. Human communication. Transparency. These aren’t mystical asks, just basic decency.

How We Got Here

The hiring machinery has been deteriorating for years.

• Companies pile on layers: multiple interview rounds, algorithmic filters (ATS), redundant assessments.

• Recruiters say their workloads have spiked — some report a 26% increase in workload from the flood of AI-driven applications.

• For each hire, teams are interviewing more candidates than ever. In 2024, recruiters interviewed ~40% more candidates per hire than in 2021.

The result? Slower processes, less human contact, and a communication vacuum.

The Real Magic Candidates Need

The true “spell” isn’t sold on Etsy. It’s baked into how hiring should work.

• Transparency: Publish salary ranges, outline the process, tell candidates what’s expected.

• Timely feedback: Even a one-line rejection email prevents the silence spiral.

• Efficiency: Collapse unnecessary steps, skip redundant interviews.

• Accountability: Treat candidates like people, not fodder.

This is not sorcery — this is leadership.

TL;DR: Desperation Is the Real Curse

When candidates feel the system has abandoned them, they will try anything, even spells.

That shift is a symptom, not the disease. The disease is broken hiring systems, disrespectful practices, and processes that drain hope.

Data tells us the truth: hundreds of thousands of people ghosted, months spent waiting, jobs posted that will never be filled. The rise in “career magic” is merely a creative reaction to a cruel reality.

For research purposes only, I’ll maybe peek at what kinds of spells they’re selling for ex-coworkers I don’t like. If any start mutating into frogs, I’ll send the receipts. 😂

Until we fix the foundation — the systems, the respect, the process — people will keep chasing hope, even in jars labeled “career spell kit.”