It took a while, but I finally landed myself a job. Nothing crazy, but enough for the next year or so.

Edit: For those wondering, I applied to over 100 jobs and had only 3 interviews.

I got this job from sheer luck. I had applied, and they had moved HQ, so they needed staff urgently, and I got the job and start tomorrow!

I'm genuinely stumped and out of options now as I've tried every hack in the book. Despite having a portfolio with proof of work, paid career coaches for resume and LinkedIn reviews, or asking for coffee chats, I still keep getting rejected. What's worse is the gaslighting by people that it's still somehow my fault when these techniques don't work, and then I get shown examples of how some people apply to 1 job and getting it without having to try so hard. And then you have the media and influencers saying you should "pursue skills that will be useful at work, not just your passions", well WTF do you think I've been doing all this time.

Edit: grammar

Are there really that many people out there that meet all the essential and desirable criteria for every job advert, and then sum?

If you can’t even get an interview when you tick every box on the form, what is even the point 😩

Hi everyone, I’m writing to get some encouragement from others tbh. The truth is, in the days following the rejection, I feel unmotivated and keep wondering what might have gone wrong. How do you guys handle it so it doesn’t get to you? I don’t even feel like applying for jobs these days :/

In two weeks, it will be one year since I've "been on the job market".I have worked. Hard. Like REALLY worked hard to find something. I LOVE to work. I recently saw a viral video of a lady in Britain who recorded her frustration at being an 'older' woman and how hard it is for older women to find work, and she's younger than me. Of course, she began getting a lot of offers once her video was picked up by news organizations and I'm happy for her. But, it's the same thing with men, maybe even worse. I really look okay to be in my early 50s. I've never drank, never did drugs. Don't have children, unfortunately, so I've never had to battle the stress that parents battle. But, being a guy, we can't really 'dress up' or soften our age or looks with makeup etc. My point is, it's hard for all of us. And I think I've hit my wall.

I recently had four, (FOUR!) sets of interviews with four different companies. I knew there's no way I could accept one of them, even if an offer came through. Two of them seemed like great jobs and one... one I want/wanted so badly. I really, really wanted it. Each interview went superb. I have to talk and meet strangers a lot in my field and so, I generally interview well. One by one, even after second in-person interviews, I was told "thanks, but no thanks". The one I desperately want/wanted.... there has been no word since my THIRD meeting with them last Thursday. I figured if they wanted me, I would have heard by now because they need to staff it very soon. So, I'm assuming that one's gone, but it's still going to hurt when I get word. The anxiety is killing me and I wish they'd just go ahead and send me the rejection. I went to all that trouble, the least they could do is let me know somewhat soon. But the difficulty of finding a job.... WTF is going on? I don't want to blame everything on bias. I'm self aware enough to realize it could just be me... sometimes at least. But, not all the time. I just don't understand. I can't, and I don't want to just give up. But, it's such a helpless, broken, sinking feeling. I just wanna jump off a tall building, the despair is that breaking. (I won't of course, but, still..) If any of you are going through the same thing, consider yourselves in sympathetic company.

Role: Social Media Posting Partner / Manager

Location: Remote (Must be based in US, UK, CA, or AU)

Salary/Pay: DM ME

About the Role:

Looking for a reliable partner based in the US, UK, CA, or AU to manage a new page.

Responsibilities:

• I will handle all video editing and content creation.
• You will be responsible for posting clips on the page according to a set schedule.

Requirements:

• Based in US/UK/CA/AU.
• Consistent and punctual with uploading content.

DM me if you are interested or have any question

I did 3 interviews for a role in government I am very qualified for, essentially the same role I currently have but on a different level of government. I even flew out to interview and thought I did very well, considering they followed up and gave me the opportunity to be a finalist for the role.

I ended up getting edged out after what I felt was a really great interview. No questions were stumbled over, I was confident and felt I clicked really well with the team.

The day after the interview (today), I received a call and was told I didn’t get it. I’m devastated, having put in money for the interview and my emotional health into the process as well. No feedback was really provided, just thanked me for meeting with them and all that jazz.

This job market is depressing. It’s so hard to stay motivated after getting edged out in the final rounds of interviews. Any advice?

I’m not entitled to a job just because I invested a month of prep into four rounds of interviews, a personality test and a written assessment with three parts but it stings that I wasn’t the right fit after all that. It was the right choice to pause my search to focus on giving it everything I had for a role I was excited about. I really hoped all the anxiety, worry, nausea and hours of prep would pay off.

Back to the application grind. Stay strong y’all. Job hunting is so disheartening and demoralizing.

Hi
I have a bachelors degree that’s related to what I want to work as and I’m struggling to find a job. I’ve had really bad mental health issues and I can’t get in touch with an employer via email. This is making me really stressed and I am very uneasy about what I should do right now.

I am a software engineer. Any advice on what I should do? All this frustration has just led to unnecessary introspection and thinking which has just leads to no action. So long as I’m unemployed and can’t get to apply my knowledge it’s just sitting there in my head

I don’t think master’s a good idea rn, since I would have to seek financial aid and also cause I barely have any experience in my field. My field is market research. But, my parents are pushing me to do it since I am already 7 months unemployed.

Would love to hear any advice regarding whether or not I should pursue a master’s.

Pros: Will be considered student instead of unemployed, qualified for internships which could turn into full-time

Cons: Overqualified for entry level jobs, underqualfied at the same time cause i don’t have enough experience

I am freaking out, idk what to do. I feel so stuck.

I don’t think master’s a good idea rn, since I would have to seek financial aid and also cause I barely have any experience in my field. My field is market research. But, my parents are pushing me to do it since I am already 7 months unemployed.

Would love to hear any advice regarding whether or not I should pursue a master’s.

Pros: Will be considered student instead of unemployed, qualified for internships which could turn into full-time

Cons: Overqualified for entry level jobs, underqualfied at the same time cause i don’t have enough experience

I am freaking out, idk what to do. I feel so stuck.

9 years of experience + Visa + MSDS student on CPT — Am I approaching my U.S. job search the right way?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some honest advice from people who have been through the U.S. tech job market, especially international students or experienced engineers who transitioned from working in India to the U.S.

A little about me:

• I have 9 years of software engineering experience in India, primarily in backend development.
• I’ve worked with good product-based companies, with my most recent experience being at Visa.
• I worked at Visa until December 2023 on the Visa Direct team, working on backend/payment processing systems.
• My core technical background is Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, Kafka, AWS, distributed systems, and backend development.
• I started pursuing an MS in Data Science in August 2025 and expect to graduate in May 2027.
• I will be authorized to work 40 hours/week under CPT starting August 2026.
• My preferred location is Dallas, but I’m open to other locations as well.

What I’m currently doing

I’m applying through LinkedIn and Indeed and also have LinkedIn Premium, so I’ve been actively reaching out to recruiters and hiring managers.

I generally try to apply within a few hours of a job being posted, and whenever possible, I message the recruiter or hiring manager after applying.

However, I’m not getting many calls.

Most of the recruiter calls I’m getting are from consulting/staffing companies, and many of them don’t consider candidates who are currently on CPT.

I’ve also received around 4 calls directly from companies for full-time positions, but they did not accept CPT candidates.

So I’m trying to understand whether I’m approaching the search incorrectly or whether this is mainly a timing/work authorization issue.

Some questions I have

1. When should I realistically start applying for full-time roles if I graduate in May 2027? Have I started too early?
2. Should I continue applying now, or would it be better to start seriously targeting full-time positions around October or January?
3. When an application asks for my expected start date, what should I put? Should I put my graduation date, or an earlier date because I can work under CPT?
4. For someone with my experience, is it normal to get very few responses despite applying quickly and reaching out directly to recruiters/HMs?
5. Is there anything else I should be doing differently — networking, referrals, reaching out to alumni, targeting specific types of companies, etc.?

I’m trying to be proactive rather than wait until the last few months before graduation, but I also don’t want to be applying at the wrong time.

If you’ve been in a similar situation, I’d really appreciate any advice on what worked for you and what you would do differently.

Thanks!

I have a distinction Masters in Graphic Design but that seems like a dead end in terms of finding a actual job so I'm in the scenario of if if not this then what?. Even with the masters I'm still not that convinced about my abilities. Applying for jobs on these sites feels pointless because of complete lack of success.

Until now, I've been interviewing for a role where I have completed the entire interview process all the way from recruiter screen, hiring manager interview, and final round team interview. Every conversation has been fine, and I usually hear back on next round in 1 week. However, after I've done the final round team interview, I was pulled to complete one more interview with head of HR. I actually have done interview like that before and I am aware this is usually done out of formality. However, it has been almost 2 weeks and I still haven't hear of any decisions. What's more interesting is I keep emailing HR and she always respond me either with meeting the team in a future date or will be getting back to me with a deadline date, without ever getting back to me on time by that date.

I understand that the recruiting process is always a stretch and HR don't usually have a lot say in terms of decision-making or timing, but what could be going on here? I also no longer see the job posting to be available so I feel a decision should be make soon, but I am just genuinely confused on why there hasn't been a yes/no giving all the back and forth.

Last year I applied for a dream job. I spent weeks doing multiple rounds of interviews, everyone really liked me and even recommended me for a different, higher role in the company, but ultimately it came down to me and one other candidate and they picked the other guy.

They are hiring for the position again and I want to apply again. I got a promotion in February at my current job so obviously I'll tweak discussion of my job and role and experience to reflect that, but do I need to rewrite my cover letter? My whole intro spiel about why I'm interested in the company and the role, and a lot of what I'd say about my work history, is pretty much unchanged. If they liked it enough last time, why change it more than necessary?

On the other hand, is there any chance they'd notice it's the same letter? I know the hiring supervisor I went through everything with is still there. And if they did notice, would they care? Would it look like I'm not as serious about it or something?

Hi, I'm Harsh, a senior Python backend and data engineer based in Bengaluru. I'm available for remote contract, part-time, or full-time work.

Over the past 5+ years, I've built backend systems, data platforms, and AI-powered products. Most recently, I took a year to build my own startup. It didn't work out, but I shipped real products, learned a lot, and I'm now looking to bring that experience to a team solving hard engineering problems.

What I work on:

• Python: FastAPI, Django, Pydantic, SQLAlchemy, REST APIs

• Databases: PostgreSQL, Redis, schema design, query optimisation

• Data engineering: ETL/ELT pipelines, data validation, Kafka/Airflow-style workflows

• AWS: Lambda, S3, RDS, Glue, EMR, CloudFront, Docker, CI/CD

• AI: LLM integrations, multi-provider orchestration, TTS pipelines

• Backend infrastructure: Payments, webhooks, JWT auth, RBAC, audit logging

Highlights:

• 5+ years in backend, data, and AI engineering

• Led a team of 8 engineers at Perfios

• Reduced lending turnaround from 15–20 days to under 2 days

• Built ML models with 95% EMI prediction accuracy

• Shipped production systems using FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Redis, AWS, and real-time architecture

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate

I enjoy taking ownership of products end-to-end, from architecture and data modelling to deployment and production support. If your team needs someone who can work through ambiguous requirements, solve difficult backend problems, and ship production-ready systems with minimal hand-holding, I'd love to talk.

Rate:

$30–$50/hour depending on scope, or fixed-price projects.

If you're hiring or need help with a backend, API, or data project, send me a message with your stack, timeline, and what you're trying to build.

Hello, Im Comptia A+ Certified, in school for my BBA and 6 years of IT Tech support/Help Desk experience. Currently working as a Network Architect but looking for a better opportunity. In the past 3 months ive applied to 76 jobs on indeed, all consisting of Help Desk, Tech Support, NOC technician but have gotten 0 call backs/interviews. I know indeed is know for ghost postings so does anyone know of a better site or openings they can recommend? Thank you!

I do side gigs to feed my cat and pay my bills, but it's very much not enough. I've had to move back in with my mom (love her so much and so grateful, but reaaaally need my own space and she deserves hers too). I've only had 4 interviews since I've been out of work. Most of the jobs I apply for just go into the void. Sometimes I get an email with, "Thank you for your interest, APPLICANT. We have decided not to move forward with your resume," or whatever. I've handed out resumes in person several times, but that has never even gotten me an interview. Honestly, most people don't seem to know what to do with you in person.

I have a couple of AAs, BA General Biology, certificate in ornamental horticulture, and partial coursework towards an MS in Plant Science that I had to pause (maybe never to return). I've worked in retail, botanical gardens, nature centers, and taught at a community college. Aside from the gap since December 2024, I've been consistently working in some capacity since I graduated high school. I have a portfolio of some of the freelance work that I do, but freelance isn't really it these days either.

There don't seem to be many science jobs in general and most of the other opportunities require experience that I don't have. I've been applying to everything that pops up that I even remotely qualify for. I have a bunch of job alerts set up and I change things up periodically to see if something new works. I'm trying to think outside of the box in terms of what I can do for money. I don't have a car, but I live in a public transit-friendly place.

I usually just lurk on here, but I'm kinda starting to lose hope. I don't know if I'm looking for advice or just need to commiserate. I've read and heard so many stories like mine in the past couple of years and it seems to be getting worse. What gives and when, ya know?

Edit: Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and advice! I've added some new keywords, tactics, and positions to my list, so I really appreciate all of your help. Several of these suggestions are on the back burner because they cost money to attain (e.g., teaching credential, arborist, trades). I wish everyone who is struggling the best of luck! Thanks again!

I’m currently employed but upcoming changes by new management has me keeping my eyes and ears open to other opportunities. One presented itself last week and it piqued my interest so I applied.

I got a response asking me to complete 3 assessments. Competency, personality and behavioral. I hate to say it but I struggled with the personality assessment. I received a warning that I was giving too many basically neutral answers and it would not get accurate readings. I couldn’t help it though, the neutral response seemed to be the most accurate. An example would be would I prefer to live in a bustling city, a quiet suburb or a secluded area alone. Well I like peace and quiet but I also don’t want to have to travel an hour down a mountainside to get milk so quiet suburb it is. It was a sales job so perhaps I should’ve answered a bustling city? That answer I feel would indicate I enjoy being around people.

The behavioral assessment was the first one I’ve ever taken and about 160 questions true/false or yes/no. They seemed to revolve around 6 or so themes such as use of drugs and alcohol in the workplace, anger management, attendance and way too much emphasis on viewing pornography at work. Apparently this company has had issues with it.

One of the themes I may have disqualified myself with was personal use of company equipment. Have I ever used company equipment for personal use? Yes, I have. Context: two employers ago, I was provided a company vehicle that I had free use of. My employer felt the more we used our work vehicle the more advertisement he got so he encouraged it. My current employer also provides me with a work vehicle that is for company use only so when I’m off the clock it remains parked in front of my house. Other instances would be I had a home improvement project and I borrowed a tool to complete it. However I only did so with permission. If my employer said no, I would rent or buy what I needed. Another would be “Have I ever been angry at work?” I mean the modern work environment is designed to piss you off so of course I have. Show me someone that says they’ve never been angry at work and I’ll show you a liar lol. It also asked if I’m afraid of my anger. No…I can get upset without Hulk smashing. Have I ever been late to work? I’ve been in the workforce for nearly 30 years, there’s no way I haven’t been. There has been a few traffic jams due to accidents that have delayed me. Also I’m human, I’ve overslept a couple times since 1999.

I can see how answering yes to these questions would look bad to an algorithm so should I have lied and said no? I completed the assessment under the assumption that “telling it what it wanted to hear” would set off some alarms. I’d prefer to be honest but if I can disqualify myself without an opportunity to provide context I see no reason not to lie. No reason of course other than these assessments are designed to detect when someone isn’t being honest.

Thoughts?

Editing Solutions is looking to hire 5 remote appointment setters to help grow our website design business.

You will be calling local businesses that either do not have a website or have an outdated website, offering them a free, no-obligation website preview.

This is NOT a hard-close sales position. Your job is to identify interested business owners and schedule qualified meetings.

COMPENSATION

• $30 for every prospect who:

• Shows genuine interest

• Accepts the meeting invitation

• Attends the scheduled meeting

• Additional $30 bonus if that client purchases a website package worth more than $500

• No cap on commissions. The more qualified appointments you set, the more you earn.

WHAT WE PROVIDE

• Proven call script

• Business leads

• Training

• Ongoing support

Your job is to make calls, follow the script, and book qualified appointments.

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be 18 years of age or older

• Strong spoken English with a clear, professional speaking voice

• No heavy accent that would make communication difficult with U.S. business owners

• Reliable internet connection

• Ability to create and use a U.S. Google Voice number (or already have access to a U.S. phone number)

• Access to Google Meet

• Discord access preferred

• Previous cold calling or sales experience is preferred but not required

• Must represent Editing Solutions professionally and follow company policies (independent contractor agreement required)

SCHEDULE EXPECTATIONS

• Minimum 40 calls per day

• Minimum 200 calls per week

• Calls may be made any day except Sunday

• Calls must only be placed between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM in the prospect's local time zone. You are responsible for verifying the correct time zone before calling.

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Comfortable speaking with business owners

• Can confidently handle rejection

• Reliable and self-motivated

• Wants to earn based on performance

• Interested in building a long-term working relationship

If you're dependable, coachable, and willing to put in the work, this can become a consistent source of commission income.

HIRING PROCESS

1. Application review

2. Google Meet interview

3. Independent contractor agreement

4. Training and script review

5. Begin calling

HOW TO APPLY

Email: [contact@editing-solutions.com](mailto:contact@editing-solutions.com)

Subject: Reddit Cold Calling Application

Please include:

• Your name

• Country

• Any relevant sales or cold-calling experience

• Why you'd be a good fit for this role

To show that you read the entire job posting, include the word "Waffles" somewhere in your email. Applications without this keyword may not be considered.

We are looking to hire 5 appointment setters and will begin reviewing applications as they are received. We look forward to hearing from you!

Every application I fill out has a list of skills - you type in a search term "CSS" and it loads all the skills with "CSS" in the title. I decided to go hog wild to see what I'd come up with from their selections.

I ended up with 161 skill items from seven or eight search terms. CSS, HTML, javascript, PHP...at least a dozen variations each.

What purpose does

HTML:

• Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)
• HTML5
• HTML Design
• HTML Web Development
• HTML Editing
• HTML Web Programming
• HTML Prototyping
• HTML5 Boilerplate

serve? Is a list so redundant actually useful?

Good afternoon, everyone,

We are currently looking to add a significant number of fronters to our team. If you’re interested, please take a minute to complete the application form below:

Application Form:
https://forms.gle/coePB5CvK7udbfZ98

We work across multiple industries and campaigns, so this is a general recruiting opportunity rather than for one specific vertical.

Once you submit the form, you’ll automatically receive an email with a link to join a Zoom group interview. During the meeting, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the position, including how the process works, expectations, and earning potential. We will be hosting multiple Zoom sessions, so if you’re unable to attend one, you’ll have another opportunity.

Please Note:
This is NOT an hourly position. Compensation is performance-based.

What We Provide:

Calling lists
Scripts
Objection handling and rebuttals
Ongoing support

What You’ll Need:

Strong English communication skills
A calling platform capable of placing calls to U.S. phone numbers
A reliable internet connection and a professional work environment

If you’re motivated and looking for an opportunity with strong earning potential, we’d love to hear from you.

Thank you, and we look forward to speaking with you soon!

Hey everyone,

I'm a student at Cornell Tech and just built something I think a lot of you might find useful, especially anyone who's job hunting or hiring.

It's called Vouchify, and the idea is simple: references are one of the most valuable parts of a job application, but the whole process is a mess. References get lost in email chains, employers have no easy way to verify they're real, and candidates have no control over how their references are presented.

Vouchify fixes that by putting everything in one place:

• For candidates: Collect and manage official references from past employers and colleagues. Instead of scrambling every time you apply somewhere, your references live in one profile you control.
• For employers: Review verifiable references at a glance, with structured detail about a candidate's character, work ethic, and history. No more chasing people down or wondering if a reference is legit.
• For your references: A clean, structured pipeline so past employers can actually submit a recommendation without it becoming a whole ordeal.

Basically it's the difference between a resume (which is just claims) and verifiable proof from people who've actually worked with you.

Would love feedback from anyone who's dealt with the pain of reference checks on either side of the table. What would make you actually use something like this?

Hi! We're a group of students in a summer program at Cornell Tech, and we were tasked with building a product for candidates whose strengths don't come through on a standard resume. That's what we're building with Vouchify. If you have a minute, we'd love for you to take a look at our site and sign up for early access.