After Kaylie Noll graduated from a master’s program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in May 2021, she had landed a job by June.

Four years later, Noll has had a much different experience. Her job was eliminated in December, so she submitted over 100 applications and went through more rounds of interviews than ever before, she said. She finally secured a job with the Arkansas Department of Transportation in early May, just as she was getting “burnt out” with the job market while working part time as an athletics coach to pay the bills.

And she isn’t alone. Noll’s story reflects a broader trend of a changing job search over the past 20 years, one that has seen a rise in technology like artificial intelligence and longer interview periods. As the job search changes, local colleges are working to adjust their curriculums.

“It’s just been really, really slow,” she said. “Recruiters say its a lot easier for them. Well, I don’t know if it’s a lot easier for us.”

Glenda Caton, a human resources professional and the owner of the Caton Consulting agency in Little Rock, said there have been many changes to the job search over the past twenty years, but none more important than the adoption of applicant tracking systems.

ATS are software — much of which is now powered by AI — used by employers to track job applicants, primarily by filtering resumes. They first appeared about a decade ago, Caton said, and they’ve made the hiring process less “arduous” for human resource managers. They’ve also helped to drive the shift toward skills-based hiring. Increasingly, Caton said, hiring managers are trying to “figure out” the role that AI will play in the hiring process.

But these new systems have downsides. They scan resumes for keywords and reject applicants whose resumes don’t align with the job posting. According to a 2021 Harvard Business School study, the AI designed to “maximize the efficiency of the process” ultimately leads the systems to “exclude viable candidates from consideration whose resumes did not match the criteria but who could perform at a high level with training.”

Caton echoed the study’s results.

“I don’t know that I would have been hired for my first HR job, because I would have been screened out,” she said. “So it’s good and it’s bad.”

Recent years have also seen a shift away from the pandemic-era job market. For much of 2022, the number of unemployed persons per job opening was 0.5. In February 2025, it was 0.9. This change means applicants have to be more “diligent” in their applications and use keywords from the job postings in their applications, said Caton. Applicants should tailor their cover letters and resumes to each job.

Noll said she used AI engines, like ChatGPT, to add keywords to her resume when she was job seeking. She said it didn’t change much, however.

“If you don’t have X amount of keywords, it’s a no. That’s kind of a shame, because I don’t really think you get to know people until you really have a conversation with them,” Noll said.

Caton also said hiring managers have also shifted to more of a “skills-based” hiring model with less emphasis on earned degrees. Employers are increasingly looking for those who have “soft skills,” like the ability to work on a team and communicate.

This shift, according to Caton, is the result of the covid-19 pandemic, which saw an increased reliance on digital competency. Those applicants that can combine soft skills with digital proficiency will be successful, Caton said.

Although the changes may make it easier for employers, it might be harder on applicants, according to Noll. She said that she has had to go through more interviews than ever over a longer period of time. She has been required to create mock presentations for employers, she said.

“It’s a lot of work on our end too. Applying feels like a full time job,” she said. “It’s just a longer process.”

Caton said from her observations, this is more common with larger companies that need to sift through applications. In 2021, small businesses employed around 47% of the workforce. Walmart Inc., Arkansas’ largest employer, employs 55,650 Arkansans, around 4% of Arkansas’ nonfarm payroll jobs.

Colleges in Arkansas are shifting their curriculums to adapt to these changes.

Jeffrey Connelly, UALR’s associate dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, said the school is adjusting its curriculum to meet the changing job search process. One of these changes involves an increased emphasis on AI in non-tech disciplines, like the chemistry catalogue.

“AI is obviously the big thing these days. These students, they don’t need to be writing algorithms or things like that, but they certainly have to know how to use AI efficiently and effectively. For example, how to write prompts and get the information they are looking for,” he said.

“We’ve probably had more curriculum divisions over the past couple years than in the last decade, just because all these changes are happening. It’s very, very challenging to keep your curriculum up to date,” he said.

UALR’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics has also created a new cybersecurity program as well as digital certificate programs. Connelly also said the college is stressing the development of soft skills in addition to this AI work.

Noll said she was “excited” that she was able to secure a job and get out of the changing job market.

Lucas Dufalla is a Report for America Corps member. Financial support for this coverage came from the Community Journalism Project.

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