Why You're Noticing ATS Rejections More in January

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

• This week's hot & vetted remote job picks

• Why January feels brutal for job seekers

• The volume problem nobody talks about

• What's actually different (and what's not)

Hi Freedom Seeker,

Happy New Year. Hope you had a good break.

If you've been applying like crazy this month and hearing nothing back, you're probably blaming ATS systems.

"They must have stricter filters in January." "The robots are rejecting everyone." "It's impossible to get through now."

Here's the truth: ATS hasn't changed. It's the same system companies use year-round.

What changed is you're applying way more, and so is everyone else. More applications = more rejections = feels worse.

🚀 Weekly Vetted Remote Job Picks

WHY JANUARY FEELS DIFFERENT

YOU'RE APPLYING TO MORE JOBS

December: You applied to maybe 10-15 jobs, casually. January: New year energy. You're hitting 30-40+ applications.

More applications = more rejections in absolute numbers. It feels worse even though your success rate might be the same.

EVERYONE ELSE IS ALSO APPLYING

Every job you apply to in January has 2-3x more applicants than usual. Not because ATS got stricter - because everyone started their job search at the same time.

Your resume isn't getting worse treatment. It's just competing against way more people.

YOU'RE NOTICING THE SILENCE MORE

When you're casually browsing jobs, rejection doesn't sting as much.

When you're actively job searching with urgency, every silence feels personal. You're checking your email constantly. Refreshing application portals. Every day without response feels like failure.

Same rejection rate. Different emotional impact.

WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING WITH ATS

ATS HASN'T CHANGED

Companies don't adjust their ATS settings for January. They set filters once and leave them. The requirements are the same in January as they were in November.

YOUR RESUME ISSUES WERE ALWAYS THERE

If your resume isn't getting through ATS now, it wasn't getting through before either. You just weren't applying to enough jobs to notice the pattern.

January didn't break your resume. It just exposed what was already broken.

THE VOLUME MAKES IT OBVIOUS

When you apply to 5 jobs and hear nothing, you think "maybe those weren't the right fit."

When you apply to 40 jobs and hear nothing, you realize "something's actually wrong with my approach."

January gives you enough data to see the real problem.

WHAT TO ACTUALLY FIX

STOP BLAMING JANUARY

The month isn't the problem. More competition, yes. But if your resume can't get through ATS, that's a year-round issue you're just now noticing.

FIX THE REAL ATS PROBLEMS

Your resume probably has issues like:

• Missing keywords from job descriptions

• Creative formatting ATS can't read

• Generic language instead of exact phrase matches

• Wrong section headers ATS doesn't recognize

These problems existed in October. They exist now. Fix them regardless of the month.

ACCEPT THE VOLUME REALITY

You're going to get rejected a lot. Not because January is harder - because job searching always involves a lot of rejection.

Most people apply to 50-100+ jobs before landing one. In January, you're just seeing that reality faster because you're applying more.

QUALITY STILL BEATS QUANTITY

Applying to 50 jobs with a broken resume = 50 rejections. Applying to 20 jobs with a good resume = better odds.

Fix your materials first. Then apply. Rushing applications in January doesn't help if your resume doesn't work.

THE HONEST REALITY

January sucks for job seekers. Not because ATS changed, but because:

• You're competing against more people

• You're applying more, so you're getting rejected more

• Your resume issues are now impossible to ignore

• The emotional weight of job searching feels heavier

But the system itself? Same as it always was.

If you weren't getting through ATS in December, you won't in January either. If your resume worked before, it still works now - you just need to be more patient with the increased competition.

READY TO FIX WHAT'S ACTUALLY BROKEN?

The 1:1 Job Search Partnership isn't about gaming January or waiting for the "right time" to apply.

It's about fixing the real problems in your resume and approach - the ones that have been there all along but are now obvious because of application volume.

Here's what we do:
✅ Honest audit of what's actually not working
✅ Fix ATS issues that exist year-round
✅ Improve your targeting so you're not wasting applications
✅ Build realistic expectations so January doesn't break you
✅ Ongoing support through the volume and rejections

Most people feel better within a week just from understanding what's actually wrong and having a real plan to fix it.

January isn't the enemy. Your broken approach is. Let's fix it.

Reply with "FIX THE REAL PROBLEM" and let's stop blaming the calendar.

Until next week,
Sami

P.S. If your resume wasn't good enough in November, it's not good enough now. January didn't create new problems - it just made your existing problems impossible to ignore. That's actually good news. Now you know what to fix.

Interested in getting your product/ remote job offering in front of highly engaged remote workers?

Advertise With Us