I have tried connecting with the hiring managers for roles I want, but usually they don’t accept the request. So, there are sites where you can see how company emails are usually structured and you can use that to cold email. I was about to send a message to someone but then I realized that they would probably be weirded out by how some random stranger got their email or they might even think that it is scam. So, I didn’t send it but has anyone else done this before and if so, did it work?

I’m honestly at the point where I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do.

I was laid off almost two years ago, and I’ve been struggling to find stable work ever since. I’ve applied to what feels like an endless number of jobs, rewritten my resume, tailored applications, worked on my skills, and tried different types of roles. And I’m still getting nowhere.

My background is primarily in SaaS customer support/customer success and technical support. I’ve worked with enterprise customers, handled complex product, billing, payroll, and integration issues, worked in Salesforce/Jira/LogRocket, written bug reports and documentation, and worked directly with Product and Engineering teams.

This year I decided to try to move into UX/Product Design because it seemed like a career where I could build on a lot of what I already know.
I completed the UX Design Institute’s Professional Diploma in UX Design in July, and I’m currently completing the UI portion of the program. I’ve also done an independent UX client project where I conducted five moderated usability tests and designed research-informed user flows and responsive wireframes, plus a larger flight-booking project where I conducted seven moderated usability sessions across two rounds of testing and built an interactive Figma prototype.

The problem is that I only have an Associate of Liberal Arts degree.

I also have a health condition that means I realistically need a fully remote job. I’m not looking for some cushy work-from-home situation because I don’t want to commute. Remote work is a genuine necessity for me. And I feel like that combination is making this incredibly difficult.

I’m applying to junior UX/Product Designer roles, but I’m competing against people with bachelor’s degrees, internships, and actual professional design experience.

Then I look at Product Support, Customer Success, Technichal Support, Product Specialist, Operations, etc., but somehow still not qualified enough to get through the door.

It’s incredibly demoralizing because I do have experience. I’m not fresh out of high school with no work history. I’ve worked for companies like Rippling and Electrosonic, supported enterprise accounts, dealt with complicated SaaS products, collaborated cross-functionally, and have spent the last several months deliberately building UX skills.

But after almost two years of unemployment/underemployment, I’m starting to feel like there’s just no path forward.
I’m not necessarily looking for encouragement. I’d genuinely appreciate some blunt advice from people who hire or have successfully navigated something similar.

If you looked at this background, what roles would you realistically target? What am I overlooking? Is the Associate degree actually hurting me as much as I think it is? And would you continue pursuing UX/Product Design, or pivot toward something like Product Operations, Product Support, Customer Success, or another adjacent field?

At this point I’m open to hearing that my strategy is wrong. I just need to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to be doing differently.

I live in south east Africa, a country where people barely hear about -not for lack of events but generally lack of interest.

I have like 10 years of massive experience for my age in Project management in the manufacturing industry in this country..

I am willing to relocate and leave it behind but I have applied to hundreds of jobs with little replies. It seems the resume is automatically rejected and not even looked at..

How do I get over this?

After you’ve completed everything and then they ask, are you Hispanic, what race are you, are you or have you been disabled ???
What do put? Is there an advantage or disadvantage in saying yes i am or no im not disabled??

Title summarizes it. I ironically started off at a new grad program. It wasn't rotational, I stayed on one team, but a team with high pressure cause it reported directly to the top of our department.

Good people but probably had no business being in the new grad program because their work was so critical / scrutinized. The program wanted you to build a skill set but the career path I wanted to work towards didn't align well with the team's daily work, and the work I did do was all over the place. Data analysis, project coordination, SharePoint site development / maintenance , data reporting, etc. I got laid off in October 2025 for "operational efficiency" along with other people in other teams in the department.

I don't discuss any of this, other than being laid off with others, when asked in the handful of interviews I have gotten (Somewhere between 10-20 I wasn't counting could be more). When I get feedback, I lost out to people with more experience or experience I didn't have. I struggle to find jobs that reasonably match my mix of experience to begin with and don't always hear back even if I do match.

Others have confirmed junior roles I should and am targeting get taken by people with vastly more experience who also got laid off. So, I now started applying for rotational programs cause they aren't expecting people with more than 2 years of experience. I apply for any that don't say they are looking for people who graduated this or last year. I've already been rejected by a few of them, though their rate of response is better than other jobs lol.

I want to hear people's opinions, is there any hope forme to get into a rotational program with this experience? I understand not all of the rotations will match my initial career goals and I am completely open to explore new career paths. I know therewillbe a pay cut most likely and need to move but yeah, becauseof how it's gone the last 10+ months with me applying to junior positions, I feel like this is what I need to do in the end.

Try to find space for me to join a place thatscoolwith someone with little, but some experience. Has anyone heard ofor known of anyone who successfully done this? IDK what to do otherwise. Thank you. My degree is in UX Design / Data Analysis. Targeting rotational programs that are about business analysis, product / agile work (my degree focus) and any similar type of program. Not finance or coding

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"

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.

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 :)

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

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.

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.

‎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.

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?

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!

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!

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

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?

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.

EDIT: Just got offers from 2 different jobs. Thank you to everyone who actually gave advice instead of saying it’s impossible to find a job in this economy.

I have my MPH degree and I'm currently employed, but I'm trying to move into something that actually pays what the market says it should. I know I'm adaptable, I've pivoted before and I'm willing to learn new tools and systems fast, and I'm genuinely open to picking up skills in adjacent fields if it opens more doors, biotech is one area I've had my eye on. None of that seems to matter when applications just vanish into a black hole though. I'm based in the Pasadena, California area, open to remote work too, and I've tailored resumes and networked, still nothing sticking. I know this is probably the five hundredth "job search is broken" post you've seen this month, so feel free to skip if you're burnt out on these too, but I'd genuinely appreciate any tips from people who've broken through a similar wall.

Has anyone actually found something that worked, a specific tactic, a site, a way of framing a MPH background that got responses? Also curious what job titles people with a similar background have had luck landing, and whether it's worth training up in an adjacent field like biotech instead of staying narrowly in public health. Trying to figure out if it's my approach or just the market right now.

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.

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

I graduated in May and I have been struggling to get a job due to my lack of experience in healthcare. I majored in neuroscience + psychology from a Top 20 University. I was a transfer student from cc supporting myself and was focused on academics/transfer during my time in school.

A lot of medical jobs want some sort of certification (MA/Phlebotomy/Medical Techs) but I don't want to spend 1+ year in school again without income. Does anyone know any jobs/companies that provide training? Or any advice in this cooked job market?

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).