The absurdity of a robot telling her what she\u2019s good at while standing in the way of her putting those skills to work isn\u2019t lost on Atkins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve treated job hunting like a fulltime job, applying for one new role every single business day. As of today, that\u2019s 331 job applications. I started tracking the data closely in July this year to see where my system may have broken \u2013 the reality is deflating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karina Atkins says a lifetime of hard work “counts for zero in the modern algorithm\u201d as she both embraces and battles AI in her search for a job. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
Atkins\u2019 tracking showed 68% of employers she applied to \u201cdon\u2019t even bother to send an automated \u2018no\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n
And of the few who respond, 72% sent an immediate rejection, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am adapting my CV variants, using AI to structure my cover letters and applying within hours of ads going live. Getting an interview is virtually impossible … it\u2019s a struggle to get past the gatekeeper.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are everyday Kiwis expected to survive this loop when a lifetime of hard work counts for zero in the modern algorithm?\u201d<\/p>\n
Atkins, who had previously worked continuously since the age of 17 in a variety of roles including retail, banking and running a painting business with her former partner, most recently spent nine years in procurement and customer services for a road-marking manufacturer.<\/p>\n
She cut her hours from fulltime to 25 hours a week to study her dream job, floristry, which she now saw as her \u201cdownfall\u201d after the road-marking company laid her off a year later.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I\u2019m a qualified florist, but people aren\u2019t spending money on flowers … unless it\u2019s sympathy or birthdays, and the florists are doing the work themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was offered a couple of minimum-wage jobs soon after being laid off but turned them down, Atkins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look back now I think, \u2018How foolish was I?\u2019 But at my age, I\u2019m worth more than that. And not just because of my age, but because of my experience, my life skills, my diligence, reliability and professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s had around 20 job interviews, and done a few short-term temping roles.<\/p>\n
Atkins also spent a week working for a \u201cbrilliant company\u201d and a boss she respected but soon realised she couldn\u2019t work for.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Working there you\u2019re] part of a system where you were told what to eat and go health-conscious and all that, and I didn\u2019t want to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karina Atkins, who’s 53, began working at 17 and hadn’t been without a job for more than a week until she was made redundant last year. She has struggled to find work since. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
Since leaving the role Atkins has widened her skillset, getting her forklift licence so she can apply for warehousing jobs and doing courses for Ministry of Primary Industries roles.<\/p>\n
Long gone are the days where she could print out her CV and knock on a few doors, never going more than a week without work.<\/p>\n