Job Hunting Becomes Increasingly Difficult as Single Vacancies Attract Thousands of Applicants
Jakarta — The recruitment process in Indonesia is becoming increasingly challenging as the number of applicants for a single job opening can reach hundreds of people. According to data from the job search platform JobStreet by SEEK, an average job advert receives approximately 500 to 600 applications from jobseekers. The competition can be considerably fiercer for general positions at large companies. In some cases, the number of applicants can reach thousands.
Ethika Santi, Acting Sales Director Indonesia for JobStreet by SEEK, stated that this situation makes the recruitment process increasingly complex for HR teams at companies.
“Imagine if one HR department is not only opening one position. Many companies can post up to dozens of vacancies in a single year. This means they need to process thousands of CVs,” said Ethika during a media gathering for JobStreet by SEEK in Jakarta on Wednesday (11 June 2026).
She explained that this situation makes the process of manually screening candidates increasingly time-consuming. Furthermore, recruitment costs can increase as companies must filter candidates who truly match the job requirements.
Jobseekers turning to dating applications
Amid the intense job market competition, some jobseekers have begun seeking unconventional methods. Dating applications such as Tinder, Bumble and Hinge are now being used to search for employment.
A jobseeker on TikTok claimed to have used Hinge to search for work because of the difficult job market. Rather than uploading their best photos, they instead posted a screenshot of their CV on their profile.
In the “life goals” section, they wrote that they wanted to work in the creative industry. The video has been viewed nearly 250,000 times since being uploaded in December. However, in a recent update, they revealed that their account had been deleted for violating platform policies.
They were not alone. Other users claimed to have successfully obtained employment with a six-figure US dollar salary from a match on Bumble. There were also those who openly admitted to matching profiles with people in the same career field, then directly asking whether their companies were hiring.