After years of fruitless searching, young people in Alexandra say they have lost faith in online job application systems that consistently yield no responses.
“I used to submit CVs. For the past two years I did not get any reply,” one of many frustrated job seekers, Lihle Nqothe, said.

Nqothe is among many young people battered by the hidden costs of job searching, the money and time spent printing CVs and travelling between companies, only to be met with silence. For many, the lack of any feedback leaves them demoralised and in the dark.

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Phila Bodoza, who is now in his third year of job hunting, expressed similar frustration. “Companies do not get back to us when we do the online applications.” He noted that emails, online job portals, and digital submissions have all failed to produce results for him.

This collective disappointment has pushed many towards a single remaining option, mobilising together to demand recognition and visibility. Now, as they mobilise and go door-to-door as a group, they are hoping employers will notice the faces behind hundreds of applications that are never responded to. “When you are alone,” said Nqothe, “sometimes you meet a security guard who says he will hand over your CV to the right person, but they do not.”

Mush Raletjena, chairperson of the SA Job Seekers Movement, confirmed that these struggles are widespread. He said an earlier survey conducted by the movement identified the online job application system as one of the most pressing challenges facing young people. “It fails them. A person would apply for multiple posts and wouldn’t get any response about their application.”

He said applicants rarely receive invitations for interviews, or even basic acknowledgement that their applications have been received.

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Some young people acknowledged the practical reality, noting that companies often receive hundreds, sometimes thousands, of applications for a single position and cannot realistically respond to every candidate. Yet Raletjena maintained that this systemic silence remains deeply discouraging, and it erodes confidence and demotivates job seekers.

The challenges extend beyond post-application feedback. Internet accessibility poses a significant barrier, particularly in underprivileged communities like Alexandra, according to Raletjena. “What about those who do not have internet access due to lack of data?

“Most young people are using social data and WhatsApp data. They cannot apply with that.”
He said, because of these challenges, they are returning to traditional, labour-intensive methods.

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