Landing a full-time job as a graphic designer in 2025 feels like an endless cycle of sending applications into the void. Job listings attract thousands of applicants within hours. Companies keep posting the same roles repeatedly, but somehow, no one actually gets hired. And if you do get a response, there is a good chance they will ghost you after the interview or ask you to do unpaid work to prove your skills.

If you have been wondering why getting hired as a designer feels impossible right now, you are not imagining things. The job market is a mess, and here is why.

Job Postings Fill Up With Thousands of Applicants in Hours

Scrolling through job listings on LinkedIn, you see a great design role. You click on it, and suddenly there are already over 1,500 applicants. It is discouraging, but it is the reality of today’s market.

Companies receive so many applications that they rely on AI filters to weed people out before a human even looks at them. If your resume does not have the perfect mix of keywords, you are eliminated before you get a chance. Even if you do make it past the initial cut, you are still competing against hundreds, if not thousands, of talented designers.

The Same Jobs Keep Getting Posted but No One Gets Hired

If you have noticed that certain companies keep posting the same design jobs every few months, you are not alone. It is not because they are expanding. More often than not, these roles are never actually filled.

Some companies use job postings to collect resumes for future positions that may or may not exist. Others are constantly on the lookout for cheaper labor, hiring designers on short-term contracts, then letting them go and repeating the process.

Some businesses are not even hiring but post jobs anyway just to gauge the talent pool. If you have ever applied for a role, gone through multiple rounds of interviews, and then never heard back, there is a good chance the position was never real to begin with.

The Unethical Free Work Test That Wastes Your Time

One of the biggest red flags in the hiring process is when companies ask designers to complete a test project as part of the interview. At first, it might seem fair since they want to see your skills in action. Too often, these tests turn into full-blown design projects that companies use without paying for.

Some hiring managers assign the same project to multiple candidates, get free design work from all of them, and then ghost everyone without hiring anyone. It is unethical, and unfortunately, it is becoming more common.

If a company asks you to do a test project, ask if it is paid. If they say no, that is a major red flag. Your portfolio should be enough to showcase your skills.

The Ghosting Problem Is Worse Than Ever

It used to be that if you did not get a job, you would at least get a polite rejection email. Now, it is silence.

Ghosting has become the norm in the hiring process. You spend hours crafting your application, maybe even go through multiple rounds of interviews, only to never hear from the company again. No feedback, no rejection email, just radio silence.

This is not just frustrating, it is unprofessional. But with so many applicants in the mix, many companies feel like they do not need to give candidates closure. They just move on to the next batch of hopefuls.

Graphic Designers Are Speaking Out on Social Media

Graphic designers on Instagram and Threads are sharing the same frustrations—hundreds of applications with no response, ghosting after multiple interviews, and companies exploiting unpaid test projects. Many have called out businesses that recycle the same job listings without hiring or mysteriously use rejected applicants' designs in their marketing. Viral posts on Threads have turned into warning signs, exposing unethical hiring practices and helping designers avoid exploitative companies. While the job market is tough, social media has become a space for creatives to support each other and demand better treatment.

Choosing a Different Path After Two Years of Job Hunting

After nearly two years of applying for graphic design jobs, I had to face a difficult reality, it just wasn’t working. The process was exhausting, discouraging, and, at times, completely demoralizing. No matter how many applications I sent, how much I refined my portfolio, or how many interviews I landed, the cycle kept repeating itself. The competition was overwhelming, the ghosting was constant, and the endless unpaid design tests made it clear that companies were taking advantage of creatives.

At some point, I had to ask myself: Is this worth it?

I’m lucky to still have an ongoing client and my shop, which gives me some creative fulfillment and income. But I also knew I needed more stability, both financially and mentally. So I decided to pivot. I chose a Plan B, something that would give me a new sense of purpose while allowing me to step away from the draining job hunt.

Now, I’m studying for a Master’s in Psychology while going back to a part-time job for financial security. It’s a big shift, but one that feels right. While I’ll always love design, I realised that forcing myself to keep chasing full-time roles in a market that doesn’t value creatives the way it should wasn’t sustainable.

Letting go of that pressure has been freeing. Maybe one day the industry will change, or maybe I’ll find a way back into it on my own terms. But for now, I’m choosing stability, growth, and a new path that makes me feel hopeful again.