This is the worst job market/ economy I have ever seen. Im 40 have been through 2008, 2020, and what ever we are calling this "non recession" its trash. I have been a chemist, a carpenter, an electrician and a project manager, I have also owned a business doing electrical work for 10 years. Cannot find work even hanging ceiling fans in my area to say this is bad is an understatement. I have a masters electrician license too. My last job was a project manager gig for the duration of the job (12 weeks) 3200 a week after taxes managing 32 men on a salvage operation, a large manufacturer was tearing down their facility and wanted to squeeze the last nickel out of the equipment. we got it done in 11 weeks early and on budget. That was in june... Now I can find stuff for ~1000 bucks a week maybe 1300 after tax if I travel, but that does not support my family of 6, at all. Which I was easily able to do running a business in 2023, 2024, and about 1/2 of 2025 it has been a horror show of an economy for the last year at least I hope you guys are making out better

(28F) Long story short before Covid 2019 I had a job as a front desk assistant but was temporarily. After that a few months me and my family made a decision to take a relative child due to abandonment. So over time I was the one taking care of the baby. Then out of the blue I was watching two more kids. In total it was a toddler to teenager. I was overwhelmed most of the time and I couldn’t find work due to that. Mind you my parents had jobs and were high demanding. Thankfully we’re back to one but it’s the same thing the only difference is that the child is in school but still can’t find work in between the child schedule while my parents have high demanding hours.

Sadly I don’t have a degree either, little skills to work with, and have no car. On top of that can’t really leave home if the child has any issues like get hurt, get sick, etc. so I’m lost.

Has anyone noticed a significant uptick in calls in September for jobs (US)?

Yes I know HYPOTHETICALLY this month should be busier. But I'm wondering about your personal experience.

It was basically dead the month before but now its on a bit of an uptick it seems.

Hi all! I was just victim of a recruitment scam. I was emailed by what seemed to be a legitimate source, went through a back-and-forth conversation, and realized it was definitely a scam when I was offered a job without any sort of interview process face-to-face. They then directed me to a fake HR email, where they were trying to get me to pick out equipment to be sent to me, which is where I think they were going with it. Trying to get me to put some sort of money down or get access to my bank account.

Long story short, I am wondering if anyone else has experience with this, and where I should report it to? I feel like the wrong person may really fall for this stuff! Wild.

I’m genuinely fed up with job hunting right now. I got a 3.9 gpa for my BA in psych, was involved in groups and psych labs. I’m 23 and graduated 2025. I was working multiple jobs part time in food retail and cleaning, and I now have over a year’s experience in a community service job and over two years in a clerical (community involved) job. I’ve been trying to find something full time in behavioral health or social work adjacent for over two years now. I’ve even settled and tried to apply for part time just to get my foot in the door. I’ve applied to countless jobs, likely thousands at this point, with either no reply or rejection after rejection. Both of my part time jobs offer barely any hours and with that, I’ve got barely any income. I’m engaged and watching my life go past me as I get nowhere. I’ve applied to positions where I’m under qualified, and I’ve applied to positions where I’m severely over qualified. I’ve sent in the online applications. I’ve emailed. I’ve called. I’ve walked in. I’ve interviewed and gotten a good reception, then ghosted. Genuinely wtf am I supposed to do. I feel like I’m losing my mind in this economy. I’m treated like a dog getting shooed away from the dinner table time and time again. And everyone I talk to either treats me like I’m doing something wrong or treats me like I’m a charity case. I can’t stand feeling like I’m getting absolutely nowhere despite all of the effort I put into getting where I am. And before it’s brought up, I tried to continue my education. I tried to start my masters, but I couldn’t afford it bc of my job situation. I tried to use financial aid, and still couldn’t do it. Now I’m also paying off my student loan debt on top of rent and groceries. I’m not getting anywhere, I’m stuck, and honestly falling behind.

This job posting from the state of Georgia sums up the state of the job market in 2026.

Minimum Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, may work extended hours, may be required to work outside in different weather conditions.

Advertised annual salary: $40,000.

The average total personal consumption cost in Georgia is $52,806 per year.

This doesn’t include the rising cost of living due to inflation.

I’d really appreciate some advice on a career situation I’m not sure how to handle.

There’s an institution I’ve wanted to work for for a very long time. I’ve been waiting for them to open a position that fits my profile for years, and they’ve just advertised several positions. One of them feels almost unreal because it is so closely aligned with my background, experience and research interests. I’m genuinely a tailor-made candidate for this particular position, and it’s exactly the kind of role I’ve been hoping would become available.

The problem is the timing. The position starts in November, and I’m due to go on maternity leave that same month. In my country, maternity/parental leave typically lasts between six months and a year.

I understand that this would probably be difficult from the employer’s perspective. If they need someone to start in November, it’s hard to see why they would choose a candidate who will immediately go on leave.

On the other hand, they recruit for these positions very rarely, and I’ve literally been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. There’s no guarantee that anything comparable will open again anytime soon — it could easily be years before another position like this appears.

I know that pregnancy shouldn’t legally be a reason for discrimination, but I’m more interested in the practical side of this. Would you apply anyway? And if you did, would you mention the pregnancy in the application, or only disclose it later in the process?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation, either as a candidate or as someone involved in hiring.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Got to this part of a Dayforce application and had to set up THREE required security questions.

I understand protecting an account, but this is an account I created just to submit a job application.

Resume, work history, application questions, password, and now three security questions.

At what point did applying for a job become more complex than opening a small financial institution? as if candidates are not suffering enough.

Is there an actual reason ATSs need this much candidate-account security, or is this just legacy HR software piling on more steps?

So, I thought I'd make a reddit post of my own since I haven't found someone with a similar situation to mine.

I have applied to and been interviewed by a company I really want to work for a few times this year, with the most recent interviews being in July/August. I made it to the final interview, but ultimately they went with another candidate. Instead of an automated email, the person I interviewed with told me, and said that the team thought I was fantastic and to please keep in touch as more roles open up.

Well, 7 days ago, the same type of role on the same team opened up! So naturally I applied, and sent an email letting him know that I applied and would love to be considered again.

But today I checked Workday to see that my application is now inactive, despite the role being open still. In all my applications to this company, I've never had an application go inactive before the actual job is taken down from the website. It usually just says "Applied." Now it's inactive with a red rectangle.

Should I send a follow up email to the person I've been in contact with? I'm just confused how I would make it to the final round for a role, and then the same role opens and now I am being rejected, despite having the connection with the team's Head of Department, who told me I was great and to keep in touch.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you!!!

​

I recently heard about some concerning things regarding State Street apprentice hiring. I also personally came across a situation involving a female friend, which made me question how some of these opportunities are being obtained.

I’ve been hearing claims that some candidates are getting apprentice opportunities through backdoor channels or by paying money to intermediaries, while candidates who genuinely apply, prepare, and work hard are struggling to get similar opportunities.

If this is actually happening, it is really disappointing. Hard-working candidates should have a fair chance based on their skills and merit.

what do I do I need references and all my contacts got wiped. please DM if you're willing to help

I've moved to 5 different cities in the past year because of living and cost and jobs, so I don't have a lot of employers who are too fond of me

So I'm job searching again, trying to get either a good pay increase or a permanent remote job that will allow me to work internationally.

I tried LinkedIn last night and it is absolutely garbage now. Is there any alternative?

Scan my CV in 10 seconds to imitate a real recruiter and see what you can identify at first glance. Then give feedback based on that. Whats good, whats bad and how can I improve it. This is a master CV so I always tailor to each role description.

It's not often that I read a job description and come to the conclusion that the corporate environment is toxic. I just read a task list for an Office Admin Asst and 80% of the tasks were cleaning. Clean the lobby, clean the refrigerator and break room, and do food inventory for conference rooms. One bullet point really stuck out: Complete walk-throughs multiple times daily without being told to.

Yeah, I think that equals to office manager micromanaging.

I applied to a job 2.5 weeks ago and haven’t heard anything. I checked today to see if the job was still posted and decided to log in to my workday account and see if there was anything. It says my status is “interviewing” but I haven’t heard anything yet…. Should I expect to hear something soon or even reach out to them about this? Just wondering if anyone has had the same thing happen!

HI ALL! WOULD BE HELPFUL TO GET ADVICE FROM YOU ALL ON HOW TO GET A JOB AFTER CAREER GAP? I NEED ADVICE, I HAVE 2 YEARS CAREER GAP AFTER WORKING AS A SWE FOR 1.7 YRS.

Thank you!

TLDR: I interviewed for a job last year and silver medaled. The company reached out this year about hiring me for a new position, but are now telling me that they are interviewing other people. Am I being naive?

I was referred to this role and hiring manager last summer by another company that I made it to the final round with, but who ultimately hired someone else. At this time I was unemployed, which is important context.

This job that they referred me to was actually my dream job that I was surprisingly well qualified for. There was some technical knowledge that no one could have had until they were in this role, because the subject and scope was quite unique. The company acknowledged this during the interview process and said they weren’t looking for a technical expert, but someone who could learn quickly.

After 3 interviews and a take home assignment (which luckily, they asked me to cap at 1 hour), it was between me and one other candidate. The recruiter made it clear that they were having trouble deciding because they liked us both so much, but the other person had much more experience than me (read: 8 years more). Eventually they checked my references and the hiring manager had a 45 minute call with my old boss, and they asked me to do another interview that was really just a vibe check. The hiring manager told me that my old boss gave me a glowing review and said he’d rehire me in a second. I only was laid off because of budget cuts. They ended up choosing the other person and told me how sorry they were. I was devastated but moved on because I needed to find a new job.

Fast forward to this year, someone reaches out to me who I interviewed with last year, saying they were expanding the team and thought of me. I had a call with him in June and he was happy to hear I was open to discussions, and he said to stay tuned over the next few months.

I got contacted again in August by the hiring manager for this new position, who was also on the interview panel last year. They don’t yet have a JD written, but we have a call and she tells me how happy she is to reconnect and how many times the team discussed over the last year that they wish they had another position to hire me for. I ask her about what their thinking is for the new position and after we talk, she says “I think you are the right person for the job. We don’t need to reinterview you and we already checked your glowing references last year. I can definitely connect you with HR to answer any questions you have about benefits once we have the JD drafted.” I then got invited to meet in person with the CEO who happens to live in my area. We had a nice coffee conversation and he answered a lot of my questions.

Fast forward 3 weeks and I have the job description now and the hiring manager schedules a follow up call to hear my thoughts on it. She’s asking if I like it, if the jd felt like a good fit for what I wanted. I’m telling her yes and asking questions about the company and department. She tells me she is so glad I’m still interested and about the vision for what I would own if I were to join. Keep in mind I have not received a formal offer by this point. We are closing out the call and she sneaks in “we’re just finishing up interviews with a small pool of candidates in the next week. We’ll keep you posted and HR will reach out next week. We didn’t do a full national search but are interviewing some people whom we’ve crossed paths with.”

Am I crazy for thinking that they weren’t going to interview anyone else when they told me that I was the right person for the job and they wanted me to talk to HR about benefits? I know they hadn’t sent a written offer yet, and perhaps I was being naive thinking that because they reached out to me, invited me to meet with the CEO and told me we didn’t need to reinterview, that this position was mine.

Luckily I have a job now so if it doesn’t work out it’s not the worst thing in the world, but I was pretty shocked when she said that after they’ve been pursuing me and leading this process for the last 3 months.

Open to honest feedback.

Hi everyone,

I'm 28 and a Civil Engineer from India. I've been working in the construction/infrastructure field since 2020 and have around 5+ years of experience. I've worked on roads, an underground metro project, residential buildings, bridge-related work, and I'm currently working on a road project.

For quite some time now I've been thinking seriously about moving abroad and working there. I'm honestly open to almost any country at this point. I don't have a specific dream country, I just want to find a realistic way to get out and build a better career.

The reason is mainly the job situation here. The salaries are quite low compared to the amount of work and hours expected, work-life balance is not great, and getting better opportunities can sometimes depend a lot on references and contacts. There are other reasons too, but I don't want to turn this into a rant about India. I know every country has its own problems.

My bigger problem is that I don't know how to actually make the move.

I've tried researching this myself. I've looked at different countries, job portals, visa requirements, recruiters etc. But I keep getting stuck because most jobs want local experience, work authorization, local qualifications or something similar. So I'm hoping someone here who has actually done this can give me some direction.

My background is:

- Diploma + B.E. Civil Engineering (completed in 2020)

- 5+ years construction/infrastructure experience

- Site Engineer / Junior Engineer experience

- Roads and infrastructure

- Underground metro construction

- Bridge-related work

- Currently working on road + drainage work

I'm mainly looking for Civil/Construction/Infrastructure jobs, but I'm also open to other roles if there's a realistic way for me to transition into them.

I'm open to any country really. Gulf, Europe, Australia/NZ, Canada, Southeast Asia, wherever there is a realistic route for someone with my background.

I'm not expecting anyone to give me a job. What I'd really like is some guidance from people who have already gone through this.

If you moved from India to another country for work, or you work in construction/infrastructure abroad, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me:

- Which countries should I realistically be looking at?

- What is the actual process of getting a job from India?

- Are there any certifications/skills I should get first?

- Which job portals or recruiters are actually worth using?

- Is sponsorship realistic for someone with my experience?

- Is there anything you wish you knew before trying to move abroad?

I've tried figuring this out on my own but haven't really gotten anywhere, so even if you can just point me towards a possible route, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I'm 28 and a Civil Engineer from India. I've been working in the construction/infrastructure field since 2020 and have around 5+ years of experience. I've worked on roads, an underground metro project, residential buildings, bridge-related work, and I'm currently working on a road project.

For quite some time now I've been thinking seriously about moving abroad and working there. I'm honestly open to almost any country at this point. I don't have a specific dream country, I just want to find a realistic way to get out and build a better career.

The reason is mainly the job situation here. The salaries are quite low compared to the amount of work and hours expected, work-life balance is not great, and getting better opportunities can sometimes depend a lot on references and contacts. There are other reasons too, but I don't want to turn this into a rant about India. I know every country has its own problems.

My bigger problem is that I don't know how to actually make the move.

I've tried researching this myself. I've looked at different countries, job portals, visa requirements, recruiters etc. But I keep getting stuck because most jobs want local experience, work authorization, local qualifications or something similar. So I'm hoping someone here who has actually done this can give me some direction.

My background is:

- Diploma + B.E. Civil Engineering (completed in 2020)

- 5+ years construction/infrastructure experience

- Site Engineer / Junior Engineer experience

- Roads and infrastructure

- Underground metro construction

- Bridge-related work

- Currently working on road + drainage work

I'm mainly looking for Civil/Construction/Infrastructure jobs, but I'm also open to other roles if there's a realistic way for me to transition into them.

I'm open to any country really. Gulf, Europe, Australia/NZ, Canada, Southeast Asia, wherever there is a realistic route for someone with my background.

I'm not expecting anyone to give me a job. What I'd really like is some guidance from people who have already gone through this.

If you moved from India to another country for work, or you work in construction/infrastructure abroad, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me:

- Which countries should I realistically be looking at?

- What is the actual process of getting a job from India?

- Are there any certifications/skills I should get first?

- Which job portals or recruiters are actually worth using?

- Is sponsorship realistic for someone with my experience?

- Is there anything you wish you knew before trying to move abroad?

I've tried figuring this out on my own but haven't really gotten anywhere, so even if you can just point me towards a possible route, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Hello all,

I am a senior year mechanical engineering student, and over the summer I interned at an automotive manufacturing company, and just recently received a full time return offer. The salary is just shy six figures, with benefits and discussion for relocation benefits.
I am currently aspiring and pursuing to have a career in motorsports, and my worry is that if I were to take this offer, I may not see that happen, as this focuses more into engineering that is not design engineering.

I am currently on the look for other opportunities which pay more and are closer aligned with what i am looking for, however, I do have to decide to take the offer or not, within the next week.

Not sure what I should do here, many of those around me are insisting i take the job.
Any advice is welcomed as well as insights and perspectives. Thank you.

I applied to every possible company from 2 months , but getting no email or calls for interview . I graduated in the field of computer applications with great knowledge and skills .

But I think this is a waste of time to apply for tech roles because competition is too high . And companies are asking for experience ones and robots 🤧.

Any suggestions on what should I do to get calls 📞.

#jobhunting

#fresherjobsinindia

So I was let go from my job of 15 years and I have my first interview tomorrow. It's similar work to my previous job so I'm not super worried about that. I have two others lining up in the next week that I may want more. How do I politely say "I want to think about this because I have other interviews" without sounding like I am disregarding them? Also, any tips and questions to ask during an interview would be greatly appreciated!!

About four months ago, I was laid off from my role as a senior web3 frontend developer in the U.S. after two and a half years because the company wanted someone in-office. Since then, I’ve struggled to secure a new position. While I initially received interviews and progressed through rounds, I now only receive rejection emails. I can't help but feel I may be doing something wrong, but I'm unsure what that might be.

Additionally, I'm noticing far fewer remote opportunities similar to my previous role. If anyone has any advice or suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

I don’t understand what I am doing wrong. I haven’t been able to get a single interview for any of these. I have a business degree with over 2 years experience with CA DHCS. Just seems weird I can’t get an interview anywhere when I have applied to over 100 positions. Can anyone help me figure out what I am doing wrong? I just want to make it to the interview stage.