How Tech Can Make It Excruciatingly Hard to Apply for a Job While Homeless

It’s hard to calculate the number of homeless people in the US. At the end of 2022, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development placed the number around 600,000, with 60 percent living in emergency shelters, safe havens, or transitional housing. HUD counted the remaining 40 percent as unsheltered—living outside or in other places considered unfit for habitation, such as in abandoned buildings or underground. Tech permeates every step of the job-search process. And for hundreds of thousands of other Americans who are experiencing homelessness, this reliance on tech can close off crucial parts of that process—from searching for open positions to filling out applications and conducting interviews. According to a 2015 study by Pew Research, nearly 80 percent of job seekers used online resources in their most recent job search. Online interviews are on a similar upward trend. A 2020 survey showed 86 percent of professional organizations offered online interviews to job candidates, and a 2021 study showed 60 percent of recruiters planned to continue using video technology to interview candidates even after COVID restrictions were lifted. Virtual hiring practices that may increase accessibility for housed job seekers may, in fact, be an unscalable wall for homeless applicants with limited internet access and no private space for a video call. But luckily, there are solutions: Tech innovations in the private sector, at shelters, and by the government could lower barriers for people experiencing homelessness to gain a foothold in the workforce. Most homeless shelter clients do have a smartphone, but many don’t have access to the tools that actually make that phone “smart,” like unlimited minutes and data plans. Even in situations with secure and reliable Wi-Fi, emergency homeless shelters frequently lack the private spaces needed to research and apply for work or conduct job interviews. For shelter clients who do have a smartphone and internet access, digital literacy challenges may still pose a barrier.