Job Searching in the Age of Filters

Getting Past the Filters by Artemis Ellis

Modern job searching is strange.

You upload a résumé, answer questions already contained in the résumé, manually retype the résumé into boxes that resent formatting, click submit, and then…silence. Existential silence. The kind that makes qualified people wonder whether they somehow became unemployable overnight.

Getting Past the Filters: How to Job Search When Algorithms Read First by Artemis Ellis is a refreshingly realistic guide to what actually changed in hiring — and why old advice often no longer works. Instead of blaming job seekers, Ellis explains the system: applicant tracking systems, recruiter overload, AI-assisted screening, résumé legibility, networking, visibility, and why being qualified is not always the same thing as being easy to recognize.

What makes this book stand out is its tone. It is practical without feeling cold, empathetic without becoming cliché, and funny in exactly the way workplace truth sometimes is. Ellis has a talent for explaining frustrating realities without making readers feel defeated.  

This is not a book full of “beat the algorithm” gimmicks or hustle-culture nonsense. It is a thoughtful, grounded reminder that modern hiring is often workflow-first — and that strategy matters more than panic applying.  

The Mochi Verdict:
For anyone navigating layoffs, career pivots, recruiter silence, or résumé fatigue, Getting Past the Filters feels timely, useful, and unexpectedly reassuring.