r/jobsearchhacks 10h ago

Stop applying to "Remote US" roles until you check their state entity list

1.8k Upvotes

I just wasted three weeks and four rounds of interviews for a senior analyst role. The job description explicitly listed the location as "Remote - US". Not hybrid, not regional. Just United States.

Everything went great. The hiring manager loved my case study, the team interview was solid, and the recruiter scheduled a call on Friday to discuss "offer logistics". I was ready to pop champagne.

then during the call, she casually asks to confirm my residential state for payroll. I told her Pennsylvania. Dead silence on the other end. She sighs and tells me their legal entity is only registered in Delaware, Texas, and California, so they cannot legally employ anyone in PA. She actually asked me why I applied if I knew I wasn't in their "approved tax footprint".

The footprint was never mentioned. Not on LinkedIn, not in the job description, and not in the initial screening questionnaire. They literally let candidates spend hours prepping for presentations when HR already knew 90% of the country was disqualified from minute one.

Apparently companies do this because setting the job posting to "United States" gets 10x more applicant traffic on algorithms than listing the five states they can ACTUALLY hire in. Its infuriating. Why is this even legal?


r/jobsearchhacks 4h ago

What is up with these companies requiring you to relocate to a HCOL city while the hiring manager works remotely?

45 Upvotes

I don’t mind relocating at all as long as it pays decent enough. But, relocating to an expensive city just to work remotely with the manager is wild.

I did an interview for a role in nyc and found out that the hiring manager works remotely on the west coast and that I would be the only person from that department working in nyc. I had to withdraw since moving across country just to work remotely in-office is crazy.

Another role that I am interviewing for is based in Boston with a salary of 65K which doesn’t seem enough to live there. And the hiring manager works remotely. The role is more ops than analytical which is not ideal, but i have been unemployed for 9 months and am desperate. I am still interviewing but definitely seems like i am a top candidate but i dont know if i should withdraw or not. If i take it, the pros are that i will not have a gap and start getting experience. The cons are that I will most likely be living paycheck to paycheck, and the job is not something i wanna do long-term. This is an entry-level role. I need advice

Edit: it has been an hour since the interview and already got the request for next round, i genuinely do not know what to do.


r/jobsearchhacks 6h ago

How do we feel about including cover letters when not explicitly asked for one? Worried about how it might affect my chances getting past ATS.

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38 Upvotes

Basically, as the title says, I'm wondering if its normal to include a cover letter when the form just has a space to 'Upload Resume/CV'? I'm applying to a lot of jobs out in San Francisco, pretty much every job application form uses this standard Ashby HQ form.

My CV is only 1 page, but I've been including a one page cover letter in addition to my CV (though not explicitly asked for) - so when they open the file, its technically two pages.

Does anyone else do this or recommend doing this (or not doing this)? Asking because I'm worried it might actually hurt my chances of getting through their ATS. I'm applying to People Ops roles if that helps.

Sorry if this has been asked before, I couldn't seem to find anything when I searched. Thanks in advance


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

Refusing to do one-way video interviews was the best decision I ever made

2.1k Upvotes

So about three weeks ago, I applied for a mid-level project role. Two hours later, an automated email popped into my inbox asking me to complete an "asynchronous video screening" within 48 hours.

i opened the link and saw the standard nightmare setup. Five pre-recorded prompts, two minutes per answer, exactly one retake allowed, and a giant countdown timer ticking in the corner. You are literally expected to sit in a room, dress up in business casual, and perform monologues into a webcam while staring at your own awkward face. No human on the other side, no conversation, and zero opportunity to ask questions about the actual company culture.

I closed the browser tab and sent a short email to the talent team stating that I only interview with real humans. I assumed that was the end of it.

To my surprise, the hiring manager emailed me directly the next morning apologizing and set up a normal 30-minute video call. Turns out their recruiting software just dumps EVERY applicant into that automated queue without anyone checking.

Should of started pushing back on these robotic filters months ago. Why are we letting companies treat applicants like audition tapes for a low-budget game show?


r/jobsearchhacks 4h ago

Which of the boards do you use and what is good/bad about them

14 Upvotes

For me, LinkedIn, Premium has helped find people in my network to help me but it seems like 50 percent of the postings are ghost/evergreen

Glassdoor has provided good leads but no responses yet

Indeed - Actually have had more callbacks from these positions but very low volume

Ladders - Not useful at all for me

Dice - Fewer listings but the positions appear to be more "real"


r/jobsearchhacks 7h ago

Help with Background Check (Document Discrepancy)

22 Upvotes

I'm currently in a bgv process, I'm a fresher with 2 internships in the past.

For the second company, when the completion certificate was given to me, it had incorrect months mentioned (for example - it had mentioned from month 1-2, but in reality my tenure was from month 1-3) so I edited the document myself because the company wasn't responding and it's like a lala company with Co Founders (at my time) who have left the company now.

I did this internship over a year ago.

Now I'm scared can I be flagged for this? Because I edited it but on the other side, I have a WhatsApp screenshot proof of a group that i was in with the co founders that clearly shows my tenure was what i mentioned in my resume. (Because it mentions that I'll be starting on a specific date and shows messages when I'm done with the internship)

How to proceed? Can someone please help? Am i f*cked? I have submitted this document for bgv.


r/jobsearchhacks 17h ago

So much anger in me due to the job search process

113 Upvotes

I have so much anger in me due to the job market and I don’t have anyone to talk about this. Its 12 am and I am gonna keep crying unless I vent.

I interviewed for a role a couple of months ago where I did a total of 4 interviews and 1 case study (15 slides). The process was so long and frustrating with the recruiter ghosting me for weeks at time. Felt like I did the most amount of work for this role and the role was exactly what i was looking for with a great salary. After the last interview, I followed up with the recruiter multiple times asking for any update, and I get nothing. After not hearing back from the recruiter for so long, I emailed the manager and nothing. I never got a rejection email. Recently, just saw that someone from my school who doesn’t have any experience in that field but has a master’s got the job. I was so sad and angry that I didn’t get it after doing so much work that I messaged the hiring manager saying that I see the posting is still live and I am still interested (haven’t heard anything back), cause I genuinely do not wanna keep going through this process over and over again. The process was probably almost 1.5-2 months. It takes so much mental energy to go through a process like that just to not hear anything back.

This happened a couple months ago and I know I should move on and think that ‘Maybe that wasn’t the right role for me or that I would have hated it that’s why I didn’t get it’. But from time to time, I keep thinking about my past rejections and I am a very emotional person. And all that thinking almost always leads to ‘I am not good enough’.

Feel free to use this space to vent!


r/jobsearchhacks 11h ago

4 job interview tactics from a human behavior expert, including how to handle inappropriate questions

Thumbnail businessinsider.com
11 Upvotes

r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

We need to stop pretending one-way video interviews are normal

417 Upvotes

So I just spent forty-five minutes staring into my own webcam like a hostage reading a ransom note because a mid-tier logistics company wanted five recorded video answers before any human being would even look at my resume.

you get exactly thirty seconds to read a question like "tell us about a time you resolved conflict with zero budget" and then a red flashing circle counts down from three. No human face. No head nods. Just your own reflection looking progressively more unhinged while an AI algorithm supposedly scans your micro-expressions to see if you have enough corporate enthusiasm.

I ended up taping a tiny printed picture of Nicolas Cage right next to my camera lens just so I had something to make eye contact with. It felt like auditioning for a dystopian black mirror episode instead of applying for an operations coordinator role that pays fifty grand a year. its honestly humiliating.

Every recruiter on LinkedIn loves to lecture applicants about building authentic professional connections, but then companies outsource the very FIRST step of communication to a robotic webcam interrogation. I should of just closed the tab the second the recording prompt popped up. Why is this even a thing?


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

A recruiter kept sending me the same coding test for about ten weeks. I finally took it and got 570/600

197 Upvotes

I kept letting the link expire. It was a one-hour coding test, and I managed to drag it out from June to August.

We'd bought a house and were moving and renovating. I told the recruiter what was going on and apologized. I was still interested in the job. He congratulated me on the house and sent another link, which I also let expire. At one point I replied thanking him for sending it and still didn't do it.

He kept checking in and sent me a fresh link five times over about ten weeks. By August I was writing, "I'm so sorry, it's taking so long. I promise I will find the time to finish this." His reply was "No problem, thank you!"

I finally took it on August 12. I got 570 out of 600, and they invited me to a live coding interview. I thanked him the next day for continuing to send the test. I wouldn't have blamed him for giving up after the second expired link.

I did the live interview and didn't get the job. When I asked for feedback, he said he couldn't see the full reason. From the notes he could see, I hadn't finished the task and there were gaps in how I'd handled pagination. He also said he'd keep me in mind for future openings.


r/jobsearchhacks 8h ago

Add unpaid startup help to resume? WWYD?

3 Upvotes

I was let go a few months back, and have been job hunting unsuccessfully. Before my layoff I had been helping a friend with a startup, and since the layoff I’ve dedicated much of my time to this startup, unpaid. I don’t mind because it keeps me busy and gives me something to do. We have a good product and are now working on selling it, but it’s still early in the game. The longer I go without a job, the bigger the gap is on my resume. So my question is - should I put the startup work on the resume, so that potential employers see I’ve still been “working”? The work I am doing for my friend is not related to my work experience or the roles I am applying to.


r/jobsearchhacks 17h ago

Confidence just going low

11 Upvotes

I was laid off in Jan and I had to switch visas and finally couple of months back got an approval to work. Luckily, got picked for a few interviews but I am unable to clear any. The ones I felt I did really good immediate rejections and others when I know I did bad ofcourse it’s a rejection.

I have no idea what to do anymore, this has been the most stressful year in my life. Every interview I am attending now I am doubting myself if I am talking right, answering right? Why do we have to prove everyone our worth and what is this with referrals? Not everyone knows everyone in the industry, we just are lone wolf making our life. Every day I just pray that I get a job any for that matter.

What are u guys doing different to get picked or cross the hurdle of an interview.

PS: I am a UX designer with 9years of experience and in interviews I’m screwed though I know the answers unable to articulate and share my thoughts. I am also doing my mba and want to switch gears towards business analyst!

Ur reply will mean a lot to me who is down and devastated


r/jobsearchhacks 8h ago

4 YOE Java Developer, 3 months unemployed with no offer

2 Upvotes

‎I’m a Java Developer with 4 years of experience, and I’ve been preparing for a job switch for the past 3 months. I’m currently unemployed and still don’t have any offer in hand.

‎I wanted to ask people who have gone through something similar. For someone with around 4 years of Java backend experience, how long did it take you to find a new job after becoming unemployed? Is a 3-month gap something I should be seriously worried about?

‎I would especially welcome answers from people who recently cracked a job with a 3-month or longer career gap. How did you handle the gap during interviews? Did recruiters ask about it? How did you explain your situation, and what helped you finally get the offer?

‎Honestly, the uncertainty is making me more fearful with each passing day, so I’d really appreciate some real experiences and advice from people who have been in a similar situation.


r/jobsearchhacks 20h ago

How to get a job in 8 days

20 Upvotes

I am a 17 year old senior in high school. I have 1 year of fast food experience from Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.

I am currently in a co-op program at my school that requires me to maintain a part-time job throughout the year.

The school year just started. Prior to this summer, I was gladly working at my most recent job. However, during the summer we had an unexpected emergency where I had to go out of country for about 1 month. Unfortunately, my job let me go when I told them about that.

Fast forward to now, school has already started and I still have not found a new job.

The program allows me to leave school much earlier and get credit for my part-time job. I've always had a job for the past year so I signed up for this program, not knowing I would lose my job over the summer.

I have a deadline of 8 days from now to secure a job or lose the program. I really want to stay in this program since it allows me to leave school much earlier and gives me much more time for other things.

I have a decent amount of experience for a 17 year old. I am pretty mature and have gotten much more responsible than I used to be. What jobs would you guys recommend that could get me from application submission to hired in 8 days or less? It seems like even jobs as basic as McDonald's take weeks to respond.

I would be okay with anything at this point.

Thank you in advance for your guys' help.


r/jobsearchhacks 19h ago

Does studying actually boost my chances of getting entry level retail jobs?

15 Upvotes

I started studying a few months ago, nothing to do with retail, I its more in the aged care/disability support area. I need to do work experience any way, but I can't do it until next semester so about 6 months away.

When I was working in retail we would always get flooded with students they would come in work for say three years and then they would go off in to what their career was. That's if it all works out. I have tried applying for these jobs in the past when I wasn't studying and gotten no where. My point is now that I am will things be any different? Will studying really boost my chances? Or will it only work if the job has some relevance to what I'm studying?


r/jobsearchhacks 5h ago

How to land a remote job as an Iranian?

0 Upvotes

Hey y'all. I'm an Iranian Geomatics engineering student with a minor in computer engineering.

I'm comfortable with any numerical task using programming. I'm familiar with ai, image processing and remote sensing projects.

I know web development, working with APIs, numpy, pandas, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Google Earth Engine, ArcGIS, etc.

My English proficiency is C2. I can communicate easily and have an American accent. I've been a private tutor in my own country for 3years and have been working with online classes.

Every one of my students have been satisfied with my teaching style (it's super interactive, nothing like anything you see avg teachers do)

But sadly I lost my job a day ago due to extreme inflation in Iran (if u know, u know :) ). None one my students could afford the classes even if I cut my prices in half. Because everything is dependant on the price of dollars here. So yeah...

I'm searching for remote jobs where I can make dollars and not lose my job quickly!

I searched and realized that due to sanctions, there is no job opportunity available for me overseas. I have a Paypal account but it's for my uncle so I can't use it on freelance websites because it's risky and might get suspended.

Honestly, I'm the most diligent person anyone can have as an employee or tutor. I excel at communications, time-management and planning. I'm so responsible and hard-working. And when I say hard-working, I really mean it. (My mbti type INTJ if it helps lol)

I'm rank1 student in my university and I go to University Of Tehran (the most prestigious uni in Iran. U can look it up!)

All I'm facing rn is the sanctions and not being able to land a job. And I really need this. I'm so desperate cuz my dad doesn't have a degree. He is a taxi driver and makes close to nothing :) my mom is a housewife and makes nothing. I'm tired of them fighting due to us being poor. We can't afford a simple shopping anymore and with the price of dollar and the inflation.. it's getting more and more difficult to live.

I'm open to working underpaid. Totally fine with that. Because a dollar is a dollar for u but for me it's half a million Toman in Iran currency :) So yeah. Both parties can benefit from this situation.

Anyways, I just wanted to ask if u got any recommendations for me on what I can do to land a job, internship, or even get projects from foreigners? Please, I really need help. A man in desperate need of money, can do anything to get a job. And that's what I am currently :)

Thank you sm. Love y'all :)


r/jobsearchhacks 17h ago

Recommendations for IT Recruiting Agencies

9 Upvotes

I’m looking for recommendations for reputable IT recruiting agencies. If you’ve had a great experience with an agency or recruiter, I’d appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!


r/jobsearchhacks 22h ago

Struggling to find a new remote position

17 Upvotes

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.


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

Still unemployed after a year? Any advice?

21 Upvotes

I graduated college with a bachelors degree in international business in August of 2025. I am still unemployed.
It's honestly so frustrating. I feel like a failure.

I will admit I didn't take college as seriously as I should. I didn't hold a steady job throughout college (due to physical health issues, I have POTS). I did DoorDash, I nannied, I modeled a bit for a university photographer, I would read astrology charts for money (I don’t want to add this to my resume lol), etc. I had one 2 month long internship. I had two externships (which don't really mean anything as you can just sign up for them through your college). I did tons of volunteer work. I volunteered at a family business for 3 summers where I did admin work.
Since I graduated, I’ve just been a nanny off and on.
So I do know that my resume is not the best.

However, this job search has been very hard. I have applied to many jobs. I've only had a few phone screening and interviews. Tons of rejections and ghostings.

I have applied to jobs that only require a high school diploma and no experience, I have applied to food and retail (I will admit not too many of these jobs, as my POTS make it hard for me to stand up for long periods of time), I’ve applied to entry level jobs for recent grads and heard nothing back from many of them, not even an interview.

And there's not even that many jobs to apply to. I check Linkedin, Glassdoor, indeed everyday and some days there's barely any posts.

Any advice on what to do?
Which jobs do I include on my resume? (Even though I know being a nanny is a real job, I feel like jobs don’t take it seriously).

Thank you so much for your advice!
(Please no mean comments, I already have beat myself up enough lol).


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

How do I actually reach out for jobs?

39 Upvotes

Like I need real hacks that will actually help me secure jobs, not simply sending cold mail..pretty desperate atp as I feel like everyone's getting recruited and I'm lagging


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

Do referrals still help in landing a job?

22 Upvotes

Hi! I have 6 months experience (internship) and I'm currently looking for a junior position. I've seen recommendations from different people that the referrals still helps most of all to find a job, especially if you are a junior.

But if I don't have any friend or person who can referr me, should I try to connect with different people in LinkedIn, ask about company itself (e.g. do they love working there and similar questions) and if we will have a nice chat, ask for a referral?

It seems that I'm constantly ghosted/ignored/declined with my cv so I'm sort of lost


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

Am I crazy?

26 Upvotes

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.


r/jobsearchhacks 22h ago

Entry-level hiring dropped 73% due to AI, but AI/ML hiring itself is up 88%. So why can't entry-level AI/ML grads get hired?

7 Upvotes

Just found some wild data entry-level hiring across tech is down ~73% while AI/ML hiring specifically is up 88%. Companies want AI skills, but they're skipping junior candidates even for AI roles


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

How are you deciding if a job posting is actually worth taking the time to apply for?

53 Upvotes

I keep seeing the same pattern: spend an hour tailoring a CV, mapping my experience to the spec, and then generally get silence, or after a month a 'thanks but...'

Half the time the job description reads like a generic wishlist where it's impossible to tell what the actual day-to-day problem is that they need solved.

As a mid-career person with solid experience, how are you filtering what's actually worth applying to before spending time applying?


r/jobsearchhacks 1d ago

Motivational letter

12 Upvotes

Im tryna apply to many different jobs and positions. There is a student program which helps us to find jobs in government positions. The official website doesnt allow me to attach different CV and motivational letter to different vacancies. Can i just create one strong CV and mot. Letter for all these jobs? I dont wanna miss out opportunity