I'm a career consultant, and I'm now telling clients to expect to apply to 100 jobs before getting an offer

• Maddie Macho was a recruiter at Microsoft, Meta, and LinkedIn before starting a career consulting service. 
• She calls what she does "reverse recruiting," after gaining a following on TikTok.
• Macho said that last year, it took an average of 60 to 80 applications to get her clients a job offer, but now it takes 100. 

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maddie Macho, a 33-year-old career consultant and former tech recruiter. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

I'm a former tech recruiter who worked at Microsoft, Meta, and LinkedIn who has my own career consulting business. I tell my clients that in this slowing job market, it can take about 100 job applications to get an offer.