Sherri Skok wants to work full time. But she is having trouble finding a company that wants her.
The 61-year-old Easton resident has a resume with plenty of experience as a personal assistant/chief of staff in corporate offices, including two decades at Barnes & Noble. Apparently, it’s not enough — or it may be too much — for a long list of Lehigh Valley businesses that have advertised openings.
Skok has kept a list of them; places where she’s interviewed and was subsequently rejected. Some of them couldn’t be bothered even to send a reply after they talked, which is referred to as “ghosting.” Many others simply didn’t reply to the application, which these days are mostly filled out online.
Skok, who has found part-time employment since talking to The Morning Call in early November, said she probably filled out more than a thousand applications, including about 50 since moving to the Lehigh Valley this year. She says she’s received at least one interview for about a quarter of them.
“I apply for jobs, and maybe I’m not 100% qualified for or even interested in, just to see where it might lead,” said Skok, who grew up in Macungie and graduated from Emmaus High School and Penn State. “I’ve been aggressive about it. I sometimes spend eight hours a day doing it. I think there has to be an angle [on a job] I’m not considering or maybe I should go about it this way, or let me reach out. There are many, many ways. But it didn’t yield anything.”
Her story isn’t unique. Social media has plenty of anecdotes from hard-luck job candidates who have applied to hundreds of them without a bite. Some economists have referred to it as a “jobless boom,” a period of economic growth and high corporate profits that coincides with weak job creation and even layoffs.
Michael Rivera, assistant professor of business information systems at Lehigh University, confirmed that Skok has plenty of company.
“I think it’s somewhat universal,” he said.
Uncertainty about the economy and politics have made some employers reluctant to add workers.
“I have spoken to many companies that have funds [to hire, but] that are just hesitant,” Rivera said. “They’re not quite sure where things are going to net out, and it has impacted where they’re looking to make investments.”
Additional headwinds for people on the job search are a wave of recent layoffs nationwide with 150,000 workers losing their jobs in October, according to the Associated Press. The cuts are coming from business giants such as Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Target and UPS that are not only dealing with uncertainty over tariffs, but are also looking at ways to implement artificial intelligence in their operations.
“We’re reading about strong layoffs proposed for companies that are happening,” Rivera said. “Most recently, I read an article on Walmart’s CEO that says get ready, every single job is going to change and it’s going to have AI in it. Walmart’s plan is for more revenue without increasing its workforce.”
The federal government didn’t release labor statistics during the shutdown, but payroll processor ADP reported private sector companies shed 32,000 jobs in November.
According to Workforce Board Lehigh Valley, the region’s unemployment rate was at 4.9%, as of September — the most recent statistics available — with job postings up over the year by 18.9% at 15,700.
Nationally, the Labor Department reported that the hiring rate fell to 3.2% in October, matching the lowest figure since March 2013, not counting the pandemic.
Sherri Skok sits in her apartment Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Easton. Skok lost her longtime job before COVID and has been struggling to find permanent work since then despite applying for thousands for jobs. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)
On the ground
After several years at Barnes & Noble — where Skok said she earned “six figures” — she was terminated in 2019 after the company was sold.
“At the end of the day, loyalty doesn’t mean anything because when the company got sold, they eliminated my department just like that,” Skok said.
Skok had a complicated job search process that wasn’t helped by the COVID pandemic, which put some promising roles on hold. She did find a chief of staff position with a fitness influencer, but left after questions of financial problems. After that was a year with a small equity firm, but she was let go after a major investor dropped out.
To keep her finances on track, Skok sold her home in northern New Jersey “to put money in the bank” and took up residence in Easton to continue the job search.
Skok said she’s applied to a “who’s who” of local companies and nonprofits since she moved back to the Lehigh Valley.
“Some were flat-out rejections,” she said. “At some point, I got an interview and it seemed to go well, and then I’m either ghosted or If I inquire, I’ll find out that the position is no longer available.”
One that stood out for Skok was an interview for a manager’s position at a local bookstore that paid between $11 and $19 an hour. Two months later, the position still was not filled, highlighting her frustration with even finding a lower-wage position.
Cathy Rychalsky, who recently took over as executive director at Workforce Board Lehigh Valley, said there is a lot of frustration among job seekers, many of whom never hear back about their applications.
She also said some employers are overwhelmed by the number of applications because many are people who apply to jobs not within their skillset to satisfy unemployment requirements. They simply don’t have the staff to review every application and are forced to use things as AI for screening purposes.
Another factor is changes in the labor market since the pandemic as employers can be pickier with the applicant pool.
“The pendulum has shifted post-pandemic,” Rychalski said. “During the pandemic, people were able to write their job description and how much they wanted to get paid. Today it doesn’t look like that, and it shifted fairly quickly. It has shifted back where the employer is really driving the car.”
What to do?
Rivera said that even during the search, job seekers should take command of their growth and development.
“That is something that is within their span of control. They can guide that,” he said. “They need to be taking an active approach. If they’re taking a passive one, they really run the risk of having other employees outgrow them.”
Rivera said earning another college degree isn’t necessary, but he recommended such things as reading, watching videos and attending seminars to improve skills. Writing a resume for the future, which includes skills and competencies you want to have in three to five years, can be a guide.
Old strategies, such as networking and making human connections, are still very effective.
It’s OK to use AI in the job search to tailor resumes and cover letters to align them with the job description’s keywords, he said. With companies adopting AI, it’s important to show how job seekers are integrating those tools into their skillsets.
“I’ve found that the No. 1 thing that companies are looking for today is adaptability,” Rivera said. “At the moment an employee is hired, they need to be growing with market and industry trends, with their corporate culture, always looking to kind of extend their abilities further and further with new tools and new approaches.”
Rychalsky suggested using services such as Pennsylvania CareerLink. She said it’s helpful to talk to someone about the ups and downs of the job hunt.
“Having someone who’s on the lookout for you, who is connected to the business community, who can maybe even reach out on your behalf and ask if this person did apply, could they reconsider them?” Rychalsky said. “If we don’t have a connection with that business, we might be able to make that connection. That’s what CareerLink is here to do. It’s here to help the job seekers, and is here to help the business community.”
Meanwhile, Skok will continue her search for a full-time position that includes benefits.
“It’s not like a one-person flight. There are many, many people in the United States who are facing this right now,” she said. “And they’re good qualified candidates. I just don’t understand how the job market became so overly competitive. I asked myself, do these jobs even exist? Is it a way to take your information? Who knows?”
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.