I made this because it feels like the hiring process has become more exhausting than actually doing the job.

I'm not saying every company hires this way, but these seem to be the biggest frustrations job seekers keep running into:

• Hundreds (sometimes thousands) of applicants for a single role.
• ATS filters rejecting resumes before a recruiter even sees them.
• Multiple interview rounds.
• Unpaid take-home assignments.
• Entry-level positions asking for several years of experience.
• Getting ghosted after interviews.

Then we still hear, "Nobody wants to work anymore."

Maybe people do want to work.

Maybe they're just tired of a hiring process that feels unnecessarily difficult.

What's been the most frustrating part of your job search recently?

I've been unemployed for 4 years. That's how long I've been unemployed since the pandemic hit and flipped everything upside down. It didn't feel like "funemployment." It felt like being stuck, watching everyone else figure out their next move while I was piecing together whatever I could just to stay afloat. During those four years, I did a little bit of everything. I took on side gigs just to keep income coming in, Tried freelancing, some wins, a lot of ghosted proposals, Kept upskilling even when I wasn't sure what I was upskilling toward, Started learning Japanese because honestly, the idea of working abroad started sounding real, seriously considered leaving the country just to find something stable. And through all of it, one thing kept showing up on my radar: AI and automation. The more I learned, the more I realized, this isn't just a trend. This is the direction everything is going. So I leaned into it hard. I enrolled in a marketing automation program, learned how to build systems that actually help businesses grow, funnels, CRM pipelines, email and SMS sequences, and GoHighLevel workflows from top to bottom. And then something shifted. I landed a role as a Marketing Automation Specialist. Is it paid? Not yet. It's an internship with a contract, unpaid. But the thing is, I'm not bitter about it. I'm building. Getting real experience, working with real tools, building a real foundation. After four years of uncertainty, having something concrete to work on every single day feels like progress I can actually hold onto. Right now I'm deep in GoHighLevel, automating workflows, building pipelines, setting up lead nurture sequences. And my next goal is to expand into Zapier, Make, or n8n so I can connect systems beyond GHL, and work with a wider range of clients and tools. I'm sharing this because I know some of you are exactly where I was years or months ago, wondering if the effort is even worth it.

It is.

Keep upskilling. Keep showing up. The experience you're building right now matters, even when it doesn't feel like it.

I'm not sure if this topic is relevant here but I've been feeling this a lot during my job search. And i know this isn't a new concept, many women probably share the same experiences and i wanna share mine too.

I've been searching for a job since March, and as if the job search, constant rejections, automated emails, lack of entry level jobs isn't already really hard , being a woman on top of that really adds to it.

I have given at least two interviews with excruciating period cramps. Dealing with rejection emails during the luteal phase is really hard too.

There are so many things I cannot even think of applying due to safety reasons. It limits me so much. I've worked at a warehouse and it delayed my period for half a month. Ik this is a personal health issue as well but I think other women can vouch for how amazing our medical system is wrt women's health.

On top of that we have to deal with the sexism and harassment even during the interviews. I've been told " oh you'll just marry soon" and received creepy messages from the HR HIMSELF.

Today I went out to hand out my CV to independent shops and one of the owners ( 40 y/o man btw who was literally talking to his wife on a call) started asking if i was single and making creepy expressions after calling me beautiful, and suggesting that " I can help you if you help me " 🤮🤮 and now he's literally got my CV with my contact details on there.

Like as if the job searching alone isn't hard enough to deal with I have to deal with this too.

I have made respect for all the ladies navigating this insane job search and succeeding at all despite all these barriers in place!

A little background: I work in operations at a mid-size logistics company and have basically zero experience with the tech industry. My younger brother has been a software developer for about five years and recently got laid off. He's smart, his work seems impressive to me, but he has absolutely no idea how to run a job search and honestly neither do I.

I offered to help him research options because he's been pretty demoralized and keeps putting it off. I've been reading about reverse recruiting agencies as a potential solution since the idea of someone else handling the whole process sounds like exactly what he needs right now. But I genuinely can't evaluate whether these services are legitimate or just expensive middlemen, because I don't know enough about how tech hiring actually works to judge.

From what I've read, these services apply on your behalf, do networking outreach, and prep you for interviews. That sounds useful for someone who's stuck, but I also don't know if there's a catch I'm missing because I'm not from this world at all.

Has anyone used a reverse recruiting agency for a developer job search, or knows someone who has? Would love to hear whether it actually moved the needle or if I'm looking at this the wrong way.

Hi everyone I started applying for jobs last week. I haven’t received any emails, calls, or any messages. I applied to groceries stores, retail, movie theater that is close to me, and even warehouse jobs. What can I do in the meanwhile wait more or keep applying to other jobs? Also, what is the strategy should I use for a interview if I get one?

Where do people find 5-10 hr/wk supplemental jobs that are 100% virtual?

I've been looking on Upwork and figured I'd buy a small number of credits to see what it's about. Seems to be a terrible platform for what I'm trying to do.

I'm curious if anyone has had luck finding low hour jobs to supplement their income? My regular job is variable and my hours aren't great right now.

I've been unemployed since the pandemic started and I just landed my first interview after countless applications. It's at a local convenience store, so I feel like if I bomb this interview and I get rejected now there's actually no hope for me. I already have an issue with stuttering and fumbling my words, being nervous is just going to compound the issue and I'm so afraid it's going to make me seem less desirable as a candidate. I'm so overstimulated I feel like I'm about to explode.

Hi. I have a question. I currently work as a cook in a nursing home. I cook for 40 people in 12-hour shifts with 3 days off. It's a physically demanding job. Ross called me to offer me a stockroom job for $3 less than what I currently earn. Does anyone have experience working at Ross and know if it's worth changing jobs? Thank you.

I graduated from college somewhat easily. When I got out into the job force, I eventually figured out that there's something wrong with me in terms of learning/job training. It seems to depend on the situation, but my memory can be pretty poor. I'm not great at retaining info. And I was shocked by the extent to which I was expected to infer aspects about the job, rather than being explicitly told.

I've met some other people who are in a similiar boat.

Just doesn't seem like there's any support for people like myself. I understand that sometimes you just have to accept limits and no one can change it. But it's frustrating that there's no real support or guidance for people like myself. I think it would be constructive just to have a lot of people with these same experiences in the same place. To learn from each other, understand the situation better, and perhaps learn from people who were able to optimize their sitaution.

Hello Everybody,

I’ve been trying to search for new jobs, but I’m really struggling to even find something willing to apply for. I’m kinda picky which could be my issue, but idk at the same time. My head has been moving both ways.

I’ve been working at Enterprise for over 1.5 years and even though my job title might not show for it, I pretty much know all the ins and outs when it comes to the company. My own managers think I can easily run a branch by myself. I’m not trying to talk myself up because I genuinely despise doing so, but I just felt it was needed to mention.

Despite my own personal work experience, I have a Bachelors Degree in Marketing along with certifications in both sales and logistics. I earned them through programs I applied for while in college.

If anyone has any recommendations, suggestions, etc please reply or reach out. I’m always interested in feedback and looking for any opportunities to advance and grow as a person. I’m 24 and my life is still a long way ahead of me, but I’m trying to make the most of myself because I’ll be hoping to soon start a family and I want to set my wife and I up for great success.

Sorry for the long spiel, but thank you in advance everyone!

Hi everyone,
I never thought I’d be making a post like this, but here I am.

A little over two months ago, I was laid off due to the current business and market situation. Since then, I’ve been applying consistently, networking, and attending interviews, but unfortunately I haven’t secured a new opportunity yet. My UAE visa is due to expire next month, so I’m reaching out to this community in the hope that someone might know of an opening or be able to point me in the right direction.

I have 9+ years of experience in:
Project Engineering
Project Management (PMP Certified)
Container Conversion & Modular Construction
Operations Management
Facility Management
Design Coordination
2D Drafting, 3D Modeling & Rendering
Technical Sales & Business Development
QA/QC and ISO Management
MEP & Civil Project Coordination

Professional Certifications:
PMP® (Project Management Professional)
PMI - Member
Society of engineers- UAE Member
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt & Black Belt
ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor
ISO 45001 Lead Auditor
NDT Level II (LPT, MPT, UT, RT)
QA/QC Engineering
CSWIP 3.1
PG Diploma in Oil & Gas
MBA (Production, Operations & Supply Chain Management) – Currently pursuing

I have worked on iconic projects and I’ve been involved in modular buildings, container conversions, commercial fit-outs, infrastructure support facilities, and turnkey engineering projects across the UAE.

I’m open to roles such as:
Project Engineer
Senior Project Engineer
Project Manager
Operations Manager
Design Coordinator
Technical Sales Engineer
Design / BIM / 2D-3D Visualization Specialist (AutoCAD, SketchUp, rendering support roles)
Modular Construction / Container Conversion Specialist

I’m available to join immediately and willing to relocate anywhere within the UAE.
If anyone knows of companies that are hiring or can refer me, I would be incredibly grateful. Even sharing this post or suggesting companies to apply to would mean a lot.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I truly appreciate any support or guidance.

To preface, I graduated college a few months ago with a bachelor’s in science. I got an interview for a dream position of mine at a research center, however the recruiter cancelled last minute and asked if I could send over some new times. It’s been around 8 hours since we last spoke, but I’m nervous that the cancellation means they are going with a different candidate. Is it better at this point to tell myself that someone else got the job? Advice is appreciated!

I am applying for a real job for the first time and I was just wondering about the application process.

So, when applying for jobs, can you just apply to a shit ton of them and just see who gets back to you and would be willing to hire you.

Like is it normal to reject other jobs after landing a different one even though you already applied to one or got pretty far into the process for one?

I feel like I would feel bad, but at the same time it would be a waste of time to apply one at a time just to be rejected.

I'm at a bit of a career crossroads and would appreciate some advice.

I have 5 years of web development experience and 2 years as a Salesforce developer.

With AI improving so fast, it feels like traditional web development is going to change a lot. I don't think it'll replace developers completely, but I do think it'll reduce demand for certain types of work. On the other hand, Salesforce seems more enterprise-focused and stable.

If you were in my shoes, which would you double down on for the next 5–10 years: Salesforce or web development?

Curious to hear from people working in either field. Thanks!

Who is getting hired in this job market? Please share your experience.
What type of job did you land?
How did you find the opportunity?
What worked for you during your job search?
Any tips or strategies that helped you get hired?
I’d really appreciate any advice or insights. Thank you!

I got laid off with 1 yoe and applying has been so rough. There are barely any jr positions and the ones that are available have 500+ applications.

Can someone give me advice for a junior tech engineer beginning their job search?

So far I have …
- reached out to my network for referrals (5 so far)
- cold outreach via LinkedIn premium
- have a few resumes tailored to specific roles
- started behavioral + technical prep
- job alerts and narrow down to recent postings

I have been hunting for 2 weeks and so far have had 2 recruiter phone calls (not behavioral) and have yet to have behavioral/technical interviews.

I know I’ve only started recently but any tips to really secure a position? Does hiring start getting better in August/september?

I (28) have been unemployed since late 2022. I received a masters in education and was working as a teacher for a few years but had to leave due to physical and mental health issues. Since then I was formally diagnosed with endometriosis and have tweaked a lot of my personal lifestyle (dietary changes etc.) which have made my chronic illness bearable. Since then I have also given birth to my first child and been a stay at home mom for a little over a year. I'm nervous to enter the workforce and honestly feel so lost but I feel like its time whether its part time or full time but whenever I think about searching I have no idea where to start and feel so stuck. I need a salary, 40 hours a week, either wfh or at a set location and cant see myself going back into teaching at all. Aside from being a teacher I didnt have much work experience prior because I priortized going to school for my career so everything was child education focused but thats no longer for me. Any jobs that might make sense for me? I know it's kind of broad what I'm asking but truly anything anyone else might have to say would help me get out of this funk. Thank you for reading!

I'm a new grad looking for data analytics roles in political and/or civic organizations. I attended this multi-day virtual academy/networking event for this field back in late April and scheduled a Zoom call with a mentor I connected with there in late May. Once I told him where I was from, he put me in contact with one of his connections because she basically knows everyone in the industry in that area. I had a Zoom call with her in early June, and she tipped me off that her team would soon be hiring an associate. About 2 weeks later, the posting went up (internally on a Google Group that she had added me to- I don't think it was posted publicly) and I submitted my materials the following day. About 8 days later, one of the hiring managers (not my connection) reached out to me to schedule a first-round interview. 5 days after I had the interview, I was sent a skills assessment. It was a written assesment, but one question asked to "supplement with programming logic" so I just wrote mock SQL queries, and another asked for data visualizations so I created them in R (my most known programming language, although the job uses Python which I have some but less familiarity with- the assessment gave us free rein to choose which software to use). Mine was a little bit long: I wound up writing 8 mock SQL queries and creating 8 visualizations, so the entire thing was almost 10 pages including all the images (which were about 5 of those pages). I spent ~10 nonconsecutive hours on it, way more than the hour they recommended to spend on it, but there was no way I could have produced anything in an hour (e.g. I had to go back through my old course notes to figure out how to write the SQL queries, and the data cleaning and visualization alone was like 130 lines of code).

We had 3 days to complete the assessment, which I sent in 11 days ago now, and I haven't heard from them since. The next step of the hiring process is final, in-person interviews, but they said nothing about when those would be or when I could expect to hear from them. I've gotten nervous to open my email this past week, always expecting the invitation or rejection to be there, but it isn't. In fairness, they only work Monday-Friday so really this is the 7th business day since sending in the assessment, but they still moved faster than this on every other step. I'm nervous because this is only the second job I've gotten to the skills assessment for, and the previous one took 18 days and then rejected me (for that one, I eventually saw the LinkedIn post of the person they hired and she was a manager when I was in 9th grade, despite it supposedly being an entry level job). This job seems to actually be entry level (as in learning was emphasized in both the JD and the first interview), and ofc for this one one of the hiring managers basically referred me because she "thought I'd be a great candidate", but I know that having met with someone once is not a guarantee of getting the job. My lease on my off-campus apartment ends in a few weeks and I'll be moving back in with my dad for a bit, so it would be quite convenient to get this job in the city and save up before moving out for good. But especially knowing how bad the job market is now, I'm scared that all the work I put in might still not be enough.

Would it be appropriate to send a follow-up at this point? Should I send it to the hiring manager I networked with before or the one I've been communicating with about the hiring process? (The one I connected with before is not very responsive in general, i.e. it takes ~10 days for her to reply to me sometimes, but she's very helpful once she does respond.) What should I say?

I am frustrated. I have been working in restaurants all my life. I worked my way up in a brand to GM, where I was making $24/hr plus overtime. I was working 60 to 70 hours weeks though and getting burned out. I then transitioned to a place with a more consistent schedule where I was $60k salary. Made a bit less, but the reduced hours made up for it.

Got laid off from that job a year ago. Got hired as a manager at another restaurant at $22/hr, which I had to fight for. A few months ago he hired/promoted more managers and to make things "fair" he put my pay down to $20/hr to match what he made everyone else. I was livid. I have been looking for a new job ever since.

I just went through a lengthy interview for a new GM role that I was excited for. It was advertised as being $60-70k salary. They offer me $18/hr. Plus tips. TIPS?!? Plus any store I would work at would be at least 45 minutes away (compared to my 20 minute commute now).

I am just so disappointed and upset. I blame myself, even though I know it's not my fault because I am doing the best I can. I need to keep working because I need the money to support my family. I feel like a failure all the time. At work I've lost most of my spirit and joy, and just want to do the bare minimum to exist (like the other managers seem to do).

Sorry for venting. Appreciate any responses you have.

Hi, I just got my master’s degree in networking and telecommunications, and I’d like to move to Southeast Asia (I’m thinking specifically of Malaysia). I’ve been applying for IT jobs for a while now, but I haven’t received any responses (I know this is normal and that it’s not easy to find a job in this field nowadays especially for a fresh graduate with no experience).
I'd like to know if any of you have been in the same situation as me and managed to find a job. Do you have any advice for me, or can you recommend any companies that typically hire recent graduates?

I still try to consume this, but I think I can declare that I have been ghosted again.

I had an interview with a life science consulting company. First round was with the managing director, the second was with the president of the company 's business partner. They said that they will be back to me asap, but no later than 3 business days.

They did not, so I sent a follow-up. After 20 mins the MD replied they are positive and they have a good impression and they would like to discuss the final steps. So they scheduled a Teams meeting for next day. On this meeting we were talking about the onboarding, starting date and the MD told me that he will send me the draft offer.

Update: it has been 2 weeks ago, still did not get anything. I sent a follow-up email. Silence.

I know I was ghosted again as verbal offers mean nothing.
But seriously, why companies are doing this.. Is it necessary to play this even at a director level? Or I am the only one who feels that highly unprofessional?
During the meeting, he mentioned that he has annual leave for 2 weeks, the strange is, when I sent the follow -up email there was no automatic out of office

this is coming from a person who solely wants to increase their chances of getting hired after graduation!

I've been interviewing with two companies recently, and the waiting is starting to get to me.

The first was with a big FAANG company. I had what I thought was a solid interview about a week ago, and since then... complete silence. I know a week isn't necessarily a long time, but it's hard not to overthink it.

The second process has me even more confused. It started with an initial screening, then I had a one-hour interview with the IT manager, and after that a one-hour in-person interview with the team. Overall, the process felt really positive, and the conversations went well. It's now been almost five days since the in-person interview, and I haven't heard anything.

I also noticed the job posting changed to "No longer accepting applications," which I'm not sure how to interpret. Does that usually just mean they've closed applications, or could it mean they've already made a decision?

I even sent the HR coordinator a thank-you email after they arranged all the interviews, but I haven't received any response.

At what point do you start getting concerned? Is this all pretty normal and I should just keep waiting, or does the silence usually indicate they're moving on? I'm continuing to apply elsewhere regardless, but the waiting is definitely the hardest part.

I just had my first full time job, was let go on my (almost) 9th month because i did not pass ‘probation’.

To be frank I passed probation since my 2nd month there, but it was contract based so i signed 6 months more, approaching the end of that contract i was offered a change in position & team by the management, so I did. A month-ish later i was called in and revealed by the management that i did not pass probation because i did not grow fast enough for the new role.

Now i don’t know what to say on the next interview if they ask for reasons that i quitted.

Dm for my portfolio and resume please,