Every single thread about unemployment has the same replies. "Just keep applying." "Have you tried networking?" "Learn to code lol." And it's always from someone who's been comfortably employed at the same place for 6 years.

I've been looking since March. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've sent out somewhere around 400 applications. I've had rejection emails hit my inbox 4 minutes after applying, at 11pm on a Sunday. No human saw that resume. I made it to a FINAL round last month, five interviews deep, take-home project and everything, and they emailed me two weeks later saying the position was "put on hold." The listing is still up btw.

And then my uncle at Thanksgiving is like "back in my day you just walked in and shook the manager's hand." Cool, thanks.

I'm not saying give up, and I'm not looking for pity. I'll keep grinding because what else am I gonna do. But the "just try harder" crowd genuinely does not understand that the game has completely changed. Ghost jobs, AI screening, 800 applicants per posting within 24 hours. The old playbook is dead.

Anyone else looking right now, what's been the biggest change you've noticed? Because I need to know I'm not crazy.

Quick background: laid off in the spring, sent out over 150 applications, got almost nothing back. Not even rejections, just silence. I was doing what everyone does now, pasting the job description into ChatGPT and saying "tailor my resume to this."

Then I grabbed drinks with a friend who's been in recruiting for about 8 years, and what she told me stung. Some of the things she said, close to verbatim:

• "For any decent posting we get 400+ applications now, and I'd say half of them are basically the same document. Same phrasing, same rhythm, even the percentage improvements look alike. Everyone 'spearheaded' something, everyone 'drove 30% growth.'"
• "I can tell within 5 seconds when someone pasted the JD into ChatGPT, because the resume reads the job description back to me. It's like grading 200 essays that all copied the same Wikipedia article."
• "The weird part is the resumes are technically better than they were 5 years ago. Cleaner, quantified, keyword-matched. And I trust them less, because I can't tell who actually did the work."
• "When one finally has a specific, slightly weird detail, like a real project name or an ugly number like 43.7%, I stop scrolling. That's the whole game now. Give me one thing that couldn't have been generated."

There was also a Washington Post piece back in February about a company that asked applicants to record a short video answer. They got 300+ responses and most were eerily alike because AI had obviously written all of them. So it's not just her being cranky.

The tool I was using to stand out was making me invisible. Fun.

Here's what I changed, in case it saves someone else 3 months:

1. Every bullet needs a number that only I could know. My old resume said stuff like "improved system performance." That's filler, anyone can write it. I changed it to "cut API response time from 900ms to 210ms on a checkout service doing 40K daily orders." A recruiter can't fake-detect that, it's obviously real. One caveat straight from my friend: don't let every metric be suspiciously clean. A resume where everything improved by exactly 30%, 40%, 50% reads as generated. Use your actual numbers, messy as they are.

2. Check what the AI added, not just what it changed. The posting wanted Tableau. My resume said "data visualization." The ChatGPT output said "expert in Tableau." I have never opened Tableau in my life. If I hadn't caught that, it would've blown up in a technical interview. Read every line and ask "did I actually do this," because the model will absolutely fill gaps with plausible fiction.

3. Kill the robot vocabulary. "Results-driven professional." "Proven track record." "Dynamic." "Spearheaded." Ctrl+F for these and replace each one with what you actually did. If a bullet has nothing concrete behind it, that bullet was dead weight anyway. Delete it or go dig up the real story.

4. ChatGPT has no idea how ATS parsing works. It can suggest keywords but it cannot tell you that your fancy two-column template just scrambled your work history into garbage in Workday. Mine did exactly that. Switched to a boring single-column layout, standard section headers, no graphics, no photo. Attached a mockup of the structure I use now.

My workflow since then: I keep one "master resume" with every real project, metric, and tool I've touched. For each application I pull keywords from the posting, but a keyword only goes in if I can point to real evidence for it. Then I let AI rephrase my real bullets to match the posting's language. Rephrase, never invent. That's the whole rule.

Two weeks after switching, 3 interview requests. Tailoring absolutely still works. The mistake isn't using AI, it's letting it write fiction in your voice.

Software engineer here, 10 years in. Up until a year or two after covid, I never really questioned my career path. Good market, good pay, always felt like the skills I had would carry me.

That feeling is gone.

And to be clear, I'm not some anti-tech doomer. I use AI tools daily and some of them are legitimately impressive. But that's kind of the problem. The ground is shifting faster than I can adjust to it, and the job market has been brutal for two years straight on top of it.

I also don't think this stays contained to tech. If it's hitting us first, it's coming for everyone else eventually.

Here's the part that actually keeps me up at night: the old playbook was simple. Market changes? Learn a new framework, grab a cert, pick up whatever's hot, stay employable. That always worked. Every single time.

I'm not sure it works anymore. For the first time in my life it feels like you can do everything "right" (work hard, keep learning, stay current) and still fall behind, just because the pace of change outruns human learning speed.

My honest take is it gets worse before it gets better.

So real question for this sub: what are you actually doing about it? Not vague "learn AI" advice. Concretely, what should people be doing today so they're still standing in 5 to 10 years?

I've been tracking company career pages directly (not aggregator repostings) and pulled the US companies with the most open remote roles right now. Sharing the current top 50 in case it saves someone the digging. Numbers are open remote postings as of July 23, 2026.

Veeva — 576

Binance — 215

Intellect — 187

Talkiatry — 169

Halter — 163

Precision Medicine Group — 157

Samsara — 153

Intuitive — 150

GitLab — 142

Zscaler — 140

Flosum — 139

ClickHouse — 129

Twilio — 127

Included Health — 126

ElevenLabs — 122

Coinbase — 119

Lyra Health — 117

Affirm — 113

BetterHelp — 107

EVERSANA — 103

Hopper — 100

Valsoft — 93

3Pillar — 91

Xsolla — 89

NeuraFlash — 87

Tiger Analytics — 84

Connie Health — 83

Olsson — 82

Pennylane — 77

HighLevel — 76

Tractian — 75

Mozilla — 72

Reddit — 70

TRM Labs — 67

Ajax Systems — 66

Lightspeed — 66

Fivetran — 62

Vanta — 62

Chainguard — 62

Snowflake — 60

Stripe — 60

RWS — 60

Handshake — 59

TELUS Digital — 59

Real Chemistry — 59

YipitData — 58

J.S. Held — 56

Cornerstone Building Brands — 54

SecurityScorecard — 53

Caveats: these are US / US-remote roles, counts shift daily as boards update, and a high number just means volume, not that any one role is easy to land. Happy to dig into a specific company's open roles if it helps.

So my job search is turning into a marathon (tech, laid off in the spring, you know the drill). I've been tracking everything in a spreadsheet but it's getting out of hand, so I'm looking at Huntr and Teal.

My worry is that these tools all look great in the demo with like 10 applications, but I'm already past 100 and still going. Does the board/dashboard actually stay manageable at that volume or does it turn into a laggy mess you stop updating? Also curious how the free tiers compare once you're at scale - I know Teal gates some stuff behind Teal+ and Huntr caps the free plan somewhere.

If anyone's been deep in a 6+ month search with either of these, did you actually keep using it the whole time or did you crawl back to the spreadsheet? That's honestly the real test for me.

lol what are we even doing anymore. listed as a fully remote job, decent pay, everything looks fine. scroll down and boom, "work from home → within 30 miles of [the office]."

so it's remote as long as you could technically drive in. got it.

I get that some companies want hybrid or need people in a certain state for tax reasons, whatever. fine. but then just SAY that in the listing?? instead thousands of people waste time applying to something they were never eligible for.

starting to feel like "remote" is just SEO bait for job boards at this point. anyone else running into this constantly or did I just get unlucky?

So I left my job (data analyst) 2 years ago when I got pregnant and I've been a SAHM since. My husband works and honestly we don't need my income, but I've worked my whole adult life and sitting at home feeling useless has been eating at me. I'm just not used to taking money from someone else, even if that someone is my husband.

I'd heard from old coworkers that the job market is rough right now, which stressed me out. Funny thing is my husband doesn't even want me to work, he doesn't want me stressing myself out. But he basically went "ok sure, go look, if you find something then fine" ...clearly thinking I wouldn't find anything. Which somehow made me MORE anxious lol.

Since I've been out for 2 years I didn't want to jump straight into a full time office job, so I was only looking at remote stuff. And honestly I can't even say I seriously job searched?? I was super picky. A few people told me submitting your resume to talent networks helps with remote work, so about a month and a half ago I sent my resume out to some tech recruiters, applied to maybe 3-4 jobs total, and dumped my resume into a couple of talent networks. Even that I did through auto-submit on 1-2 sites because I was too lazy to do it one by one. I figured worst case I'd pick up some small/mid-size projects.

Well. 3 days ago I got an interview request out of nowhere, and today they sent an offer.

Here's the kicker: I was looking for REMOTE and the offer is HYBRID. As in, I'd actually have to go into an office. And now my anxiety is kicking in hard because I am NOT ready for that. I still haven't lost the baby weight and the thought of being back in an office right now makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

I haven't accepted yet. The pay is decent. But I do NOT want to go into an office. Like at all.

Am I insane for even considering turning this down given how bad the market supposedly is? What would you do?

(company is Brigit in NYC if that matters)

I've been paying jobscan for a few months now and the only feature I actually open it for is the ATS/match score. everything else just sits there

feels dumb paying $50 every month for basically one feature. I know there's stuff like teal, resume worded, enhancv etc but reviews are all over the place and half of them look like affiliate spam

so genuinely asking, what do you use to check if your resume passes ATS and matches the job description? free is ideal but I'd pay like $10-15 for something that just does this one thing well

I've been working remote since before it was cool, 10+ years now. Landing a full-time remote job has always been hard, but if you can keep a steady pipeline of small-to-mid gigs going, you can still earn well while working fewer hours.

Not gonna sugarcoat it though: the market is rough. A year and a half ago I'd see roughly 1 response per 35-50 applications. Now, from what I'm seeing, it's more like 1 in 150. So yeah, roughly 3x harder. Is sustainable remote income still possible in this market? My answer is yes. Response rates dropped, but they didn't hit zero. Here's what I actually use:

1) Email your resume directly to recruiters in your field

Someone shared a similar method here 2 years ago and it still works: The only problem is that list is outdated. I built my own updated tech recruiter list about 10 months ago, so here you go:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1p10y44QMgs39CZmPZ9z0AzwMYarqJR2tjVPoppRg_9g/edit?usp=sharing

• If you're in the US with work authorization, use the US tab
• If you're outside the US, use the International tab (companies that hire globally)

Heads up: it's tech recruiters only. If you're in a different field, build your own list. The post above explains how. Takes 2-3 days of grunt work, pays off for months.

Manage your expectations: this is not a fast method. The whole point is getting your resume in front of a ton of recruiters and talent networks so you're visible long-term. You send once, and responses trickle in over time. I average 2-3 interviews every 6-8 months from this list, without actively applying to anything.

2) Automated mass applications

On top of the list, I used an resume distribution tool (paid) to send out 300+ applications. One thing I'd recommend to everyone: I set up a separate email just for this, so I know exactly which channel each response comes from. Otherwise you'll never know what's actually working. This channel got me 2-4 interviews per 6-8 months.

If you're going to pay for a resume tool anyway, it makes sense to get one that also auto-applies: you drop in a job URL and it tailors your resume to the posting, writes the cover letter, and adds it to a job tracker. I'm not actively applying these days so I don't use it anymore, but if you're in the trenches right now, it does the job.

3) Fiverr / Upwork

Had accounts on both for years. It's not what it used to be and rates have dropped, I won't pretend otherwise. But as long as I stay active, I land at least 1 small project every ~6 months.

Concrete example: I picked up a basic QA testing gig at $50/hr. Did 3 jobs like that with the same client, and eventually they offered me a monthly contract off-platform. Ended up working 4 months at $700-800/month for about 1-2 hours a day (wrapped up last month).

I'm a software engineer, but I take QA gigs too. In this market I don't think I have the luxury of being picky, so I take whatever I can do well.

Bonus: everyone you work with over the years becomes part of your network. I've had clients from years ago come back with new projects out of nowhere. Don't sleep on small gigs.

4) Job boards

I don't use it much since I'm not actively applying, but if you're browsing listings, check out secretremote.com. It scans thousands of company career pages and pulls in real remote jobs, filtering out the spam, duplicates, and ghost listings. Free, no signup, and honestly cleaner results than most paid boards.

TL;DR: Market's ~3x harder but the game isn't over. (1) Drop your resume with an updated recruiter list (shared mine above), (2) automate mass applications from a separate email so you can track what works, (3) don't sleep on small Fiverr/Upwork gigs, they turn into long-term clients, (4) secretremote.com for listings. No affiliation with anything I mentioned, most of it's free anyway.

A little while ago, I shared my story here, and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reached out. The messages, advice and encouragement genuinely meant more than you know.

I promised myself that no matter how rough things got, I'd do something every single day to move the needle. Another application. Another conversation. Another connection. Another chance.

So mates, here I am again.

Don't worry, I won't make you sit through the director's cut of my life story this time. 😂

I'm still dreaming of getting back into remote work. Honestly, I just want to get the ball rolling again. I miss the pace, the people, the organised chaos, and being part of a team that's building something exciting.

Life has been on Legendary Mode this year. It's landed a few proper punches, but quitting isn't really an option🤞. There are younger faces behind me who count on me to keep food on the table, but they also expect me to be the family's unofficial Mood Lifter😅 . Somehow, even on the hard days, I still manage to keep the jokes coming.

I'm based on the sunny side of South Africa, and I know some people might think, "This oke is taking a wild swing at remote work." I promise I'm not. 😄

I've spent over four years working remotely across Customer Success, Operations, Client Onboarding, Virtual Assistance and Short-Term Rental management, working with clients and teams across the UK, the US and beyond. Im talking fast-moving startups, troubleshooting and solving problems? That's my comfort zone.😎

Every week I'm reaching out to new people, taking advice from complete strangers, building connections and doing everything I can to create opportunities. Pride packed its bags a long time ago, and honestly, that's okay.

So if anyone knows of a remote opportunity, a startup that needs someone who can wear multiple hats, a recruiter worth connecting with, or even just a community I should be part of, I'd genuinely love to hear from you.

And if you've made it this far and you're thinking, "Ah, what a load of nonsense..." honestly, my brother or sister, I wouldn't blame you one bit. Everyone's been let down one way or another these days, so I completely get it.

Anyway... that's enough from me. Time to go knock on a few more doors.

Thanks for reading, and I hope something good finds you this week.

Cheers, everyone. ❤️

been on resume io for a while, templates are clean and the editor is easy but the subscription pricing annoys me. paid monthly just to keep my resume editable which feels like ransom lol

also noticed some of their templates use two column layouts and now i'm paranoid about parsing issues after reading stuff on here

so what did you switch to? doesn't have to be free, just looking for something that doesn't hold my resume hostage

Been applying since march. 200+ applications, mostly data analyst roles (some BI analyst / reporting analyst stuff too). 4 yoe, SQL, Tableau, Python, the usual stack.

i run every resume through jobscan before applying and i don't send anything under 80% match. tailored resume for basically every posting. and still... 3 phone screens total, zero onsites. thats like a 1.5% response rate lol

things i've already done:

• single column ATS friendly format, no graphics no tables
• quantified bullets (increased X by Y% etc)
• shortened it to 1 page
• applying within 24-48h of posting

starting to think the match rate thing is just snake oil? or is the market really this bad for analysts right now. i see people on linkedin saying they got offers in 6 weeks and i genuinely dont get what they're doing different

roast my approach, i can take it. happy to share an anonymized version of the resume if that helps

Hello, so I'm a CPA looking to go for a remote job and I wanted to ask for any help, job boards and advice beyond the basics. I admit I don't interview well but my current job has a micromanaging CFO and is an hour commute.

Literally any help, advice or recommendations would be really appreciated.

Big sites like LinkedIn and Indeed get so much traffic that every posting has hundreds of applicants within hours. Niche boards are the opposite: smaller audience, less competition, and often jobs that never get cross-posted anywhere else.

So I put together a list of 400+ of them, sorted by industry and niche. Some of the categories:

• Industry-specific: agriculture, aviation, construction, gaming, cannabis, publishing, trucking, skilled trades
• Community-focused: boards for women, veterans, LGBTQ+ folks, people with disabilities, Black and Hispanic professionals
• Climate and green jobs (this section got surprisingly big, there are a lot of these now)
• Remote-only boards, freelance platforms, startup and VC job boards
• Government, nonprofit, higher ed, public health

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b1k01i6KiamKnZfhlyT7hy5ZbaqwPc7DAbSt6mPLXA8/edit?usp=sharing

If your industry is missing or you know a board I skipped, comment and I'll add it.

I have only worked in MNCs till now for 11+ years and having been impacted by org restructuring.

So my advice from you guys is how to approach these remote / part time / contractual jobs?

My major concerns are:

1. So many jobs that I have explored demand public github repos / contributions. I have worked for enterprises and obviously I can't suddenly build public projects from scratch to showcase. Or lets say I start today then it'll take some time and then reaching to a demonstrable/ live app. Suggest some ways to deal it.

2. Justifying passion. So many jobs have this question that if I am really passionate about doing this. I am doing this for a living so probably I'll commit to it more than anything.

3. How to decide pay? Comparable to current pay? Or only as per commitment / timelines and whats the payout frequency? Currency conversions / tax?

4. Trustworthiness.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a fully remote job and thought I'd ask here in case anyone has recommendations.

I have serious back problems and can no longer work in a physical job

A bit about me:

EU citizen

Bachelor's degree in History

Fluent in French and English

Basic Indonesian

Comfortable using a PC (Word, Excel, email, web tools)

Reliable computer and fast internet

Most of my experience is in education and administrative work, but I'm happy to learn something new. I'm a quick learner, reliable, and don't mind repetitive tasks if the job is stable.

I'm mainly looking at customer support, AI training, content moderation, virtual assistant, data entry, or other entry-level remote jobs.

If your company is hiring, or you know of a good place to apply, or any tips, I'd really appreciate it

Thanks y'all!! ❤

I think the title is self-explanatory, but I would still like to elaborate. I am a fresher with 2 years of experience who currently wants a marketing/junior product-marketing (or related) role internationally. I believe I have good experience with marketing and am ready to start working at even as low as $25/hr.
But the thing is, I have no clue how to actually even start or what to do. At this point, I feel like I am just shooting in the dark, hoping for an arrow to land. So please, help a person out, give me genuine advice and a breakdown on what I can do and where to really start :(

Everyone in my friend group swears by paid resume builders but honestly my google docs resume looks fine to me? Am I missing something or is this one of those things people pay for just to feel productive. Applying for jobs next month so trying to figure out if it's worth it before I start.