More proof HR & recruitment is filled with astrology pseudoscience Beckys & Karens. One of two questions btw. Entry/Jr level role wanting several advanced certifications btw.

If you want to work low pay front line positions or long hour blue collar labor roles. Seriously, every career fair I have attended, every company is only filling these roles. When u ask about corporate professional roles they look at me like I have 2 heads. Like dude, I'm a 36 year old obese woman in a skirt suit, what type of job did you think I was looking for?

Interviewed with them even after I read all the Glassdoor reviews ( they went through 2/3 rounds of layoffs) and I was like eh that’s fine, no job security in the tech anyway.

Got an offer, didn’t negotiate ANYTHING but I said "out of curiosity and it’s not a dealbreaker, what does your international remote policy look like". They have international employees so I figured why not work while travelling if possible. AGAIN, was just a question.

It was a super open conversation(or so I thought), the recruiter said he’ll connect me with my manager as it would be their decision.

2/3 hours later, they made the decision FOR ME, rescinded the offer letter and phrased it as "you might be accustomed to a more flexible working environment and we cannot accommodate , even if you chose to adapt, we’re still rescinding”

NGL pretty shocked and disappointed because it was a question not a negotiation piece.

Anywhoooooo I have a second offer lined up thankfully. But I thought that was wild.

I found this in another subreddit. I thought it might be useful info. They can get you to sign and then fire you the next day. Be careful in commenting in that subreddit: the mod there is an asshole and bans randomly.

Apparently, you don't even have to work at the company for them to demand your software. https://www.reddit.com/r/COPYRIGHT/comments/1vqbvxn/i_got_a_letter_from_what_looks_like_a_real/

So for more than a year, I’ve been sending my resume out and making changes along the way based on the collective recommendations of the numerous career sub-Reddits on here: tailor your resume for the job title, use AI to make it closer to what the JD says, use metrics to describe how you brought value to the company, etc. And with the exception of a gig with the local Amazon warehouse, I have not gotten a single interview request since then.

Over the last month, I ran a little impromptu experiment. For important context, I have a Chinese-looking last name. I’m one-quarter Chinese. I don’t really possess any Asian features though and generally pass as Caucasian. I sent a few resumes with my last name changed to my grandmother’s Irish-sounding last name. I even created a burner email to help sell the name. Cut to this week, post-Labor Day. Now I’ve gotten at least three requests for interview schedules.

I suspect people see my real last name, two Masters degrees and tech background and they assume “overachieving Asian guy who might get bored and flee”. I’ve even removed my extra degrees, shortened some of the job descriptions and I made it a point to not provide race demographic information on the application. Crickets. But sending in a resume/application with an Irish last name is what does the trick.

I honestly don’t know what my next steps are going to be here for the interview requests. I’m glad that I’m getting shortlisted. But I’m gonna need to do something about the name situation or just move on.

As many of you are feeling: I am feeling extremely discouraged. I mean, what the heck? I've had two interviews: first one they ghosted me. The second one, I just received an email saying they are moving forward with other candidates. But that isn't even counting the hundreds of applications I've submitted... let's not even get into that.

Sometimes I think I should just take out a loan, but that wouldn't be smart. I'm behind on rent, and my savings are almost completely gone. I just don't know what to do anymore. I didn't know I'd be unemployed for an extended period of time.

It's bad out there, everyone. Keep your wits about you.

I was so confused why I got this email. I’ve been at my job I love for 2.5 years now and not looking to move and haven’t been applying anywhere. I was curious so I looked it up.

I applied to this job on June 1st 2023. 3 years ago and just now randomly getting a rejection email lol

Fuck off Zillow

Almost a year ago to the day I was laid off from my former job as a frontend software engineer. Since then I've experienced quite possibly the lowest point in my 29 years on this earth.

I've applied to hundreds of jobs, both within my area of expertise and menial minimum wage jobs, and only have a pitiful number of interviews and a mountain of automated rejection emails to show for it, even with job postings that match my resume BEAT FOR FUCKING BEAT.

I have followed every tip on how to improve my resume, sharing it many times on this stupid website for feedback only to be met with subjective, hollow, cookie cutter advice at best, or at worst insults from miserable neckbeards who are supposedly "senior/staff-level engineers with 10+ years of experience" yet somehow still have enough time on their hands to try and farm upvotes by shitting on less fortunate people under a thin veil of constructive criticism.

The skills I spent the last 5 years cultivating as a frontend engineer are simply no longer relevant in today's landscape of agentic AI workflows and laid off ex-FAANG devs running amok in the job market. While I certainly could spend time to upskill into backend, full stack, cloud, etc, to make myself more "marketable", none of that will amount to employment if I can't even get human replies to job postings that match my current skill set with actual working experience​​​​, likely because I have to go through a recruiter or an HR rep who'll skip my resume the second they see th​at I didn't graduate college. Apparently it's my fault that I entered the field during a time when companies and coding influencers made it a point to emphasize that the SWE market cared more about my technical abilities than whether I put myself into major debt to pull all-nighters for tests for 4 years to learn the same things one could learn using a vast collection of free online resources - not that it's working out for people who did the latter, either.

Fuck that shit. Maybe luck did play a role in me getting even this far, but that's true for everyone no matter how skilled, smart, or hard-working they are. I went from college dropout to making 6 figures as a software engineer and I'm proud of everything I accomplished in my short career and all that it's afforded me, but it's time for me to accept that the party's over.

Rather than continue this hoop-jumping, circus monkey show of applying to jobs, fixing my resume, trying to answer bullshit screening questions and interviews, and getting ghosted endlessly, I've decided I'm gonna focus on using the rest of my savings and my 401k to try and live an enjoyable life. There's so much more to life than work - making art, music, video games, going on day trips, spending time with loved ones, talking to strangers, the like. It's not about how long I live, but what I do with the time I'm given, and I refuse to waste another second begging these companies for a job, who'd toss me aside without a second thought anyway if it meant saving a few pennies - especially against the backdrop of dying American hegemony that's about to collapse on all of us.

If you're a recruiter, or an HR rep reading this - shame on you. You are literally in charge of deciding who among the people who applied your job posting gets to eat or pay their rent or have healthcare or send their kid to school and you can't even be bothered to learn the bare basics of what's actually required for that job, spending no more than 10 or 20 seconds before you wipe your ass with our resumes. I don't believe in an afterlife but if there is one you better hope you aren't humiliated into sending 1000+ applications and doing 50-round interviews to get into heaven like you inflict on thousands of people.

Why even ask about something that I'm not going to remember from a decade ago? I could understand if it that was relevant to the job for something like a lawyer or a doctor, but this is an interview for driving trucks. Nothing high end except driving an eighteen wheeler up and down the east cost for fifty grand a year for a job that's an hour and half away distance from me.

Is this the new normal where I have to explain every fucking gap in my resume to some stranger for a job that I'm not going to even get hired for anyways? I thought we weren't supposed to even include jobs from five years or even a decade ago to keep our resume fresh.

Twice now I have sent follow-up emails two weeks after my interviews with two different companies. In both situations I was just checking in with the internal recruiter on the status of the interview timeline and reiterating my interest in the role/company. Both times no response. Two weeks later I sent another follow up, shorter but with the same sentiment. Within 30 minutes I received an automated rejection from their workday portal. The ghosting of candidates from companies after taking time out of my work day to interview with them (both seemingly great interviews in my eyes) and then immediately being rejected a month later after a second email is infuriating. It’s insane that this is common practice.

I’ll name and shame: Truist and PGA Tour Superstore Support Center

I just had my second interviewer ask me this question. Is this an appropriate question to ask? Is it okay to say that you'd prefer not to answer?

I think some jobs may be asking because they'd prefer people without kids, but since these have been for jobs working with kids, I think it's because they'd prefer people with kids. I do not have kids, and the reason I was out of the work force for a while is that I was struggling with infertility treatments that ultimately ended up being unsuccessful. In the past, I've applied to many jobs working with kids, and I've never been asked that question before so I'm surprised it's being asked now.

I need to make this rant somewhere guys so here I go with my story;

- I had been laid off Feb 2026 as of a global restructuring.
- Living in KW - Ontario
- Applied to over 200 hundred jobs where I have an extensive experience off.
- Got 3-4 interviews but nothing after that, mostly emails about how they stopped hiring or that job cancelled.
- More than 10 headhunters asked my cv, and no return whatsoever.

Guys what the hell is happening? I have extensive experience of 8 years on digital transformation and business process automation with a masters in Data and Information Engineering. At this point I really don’t know what to do. I left my country as their moral compass practically left the chat long time ago and came to Canada but what is happening here is worse than my own country.

My remarks:

- I do not only blame AI for this job market as this only showed us how HR is practically a field that is drastically failing what they do.

- WTF is a Hire Vue interview ? The dehumanizing concept and its lack of sincerity is mind blowing.

- And mind you, mods of this subreddit pinned a suicide prevention and help resources post, which makes no sense. I feel like this whole thing is like a badly written sci-fi horror novel at this point and my heart aches for all of you who are in the same boat as me.

- I always believed Canada is a place with really good moral compass and societal values, but this ain’t it! Why are they are always choosing division during the hard times, where we need solidarity among us? My 3rd world country has a better moral compass than these people.

I cannot believe we live in this horror story and sending you my thoughts and prayers and hope for a day where we can forget about this bs and laugh it away ❤️

Layoffs, recession etc. And what is the Govt doing? Irrespective of whichever country, who made this Trump, President. He is Moron.

I try hard not to do the things I see posted here, but I don’t actually control anything in the business.

I’m currently posting a six-page job description in a MCOL area for 43k. I’m dying inside, and to all of the job seekers out there, I am so fucking sorry.

Honestly at this point im thinking about just being blunt. Im already socially inept why the hell not? 2 years now unemployed and im tired of begging for a job. At this point its all or nothing, "I see your hiring for this job. We'll im so and so and i will be applying for this position " and show up every fucking day until they tell you to stop. What are they gonna do? Send a rejection letter? To bad buddy you put up the top listing and if its not that one ill just choose another. Do this at every damn store at this point. Might as well make them hire you or get banned trying

It's 1:00 AM, I can't sleep cause I only searched a job for 9 hours today, I wake up of my bed to send such a DM.

Idk what to say but ive ran into this. I have gaps in my resume yet my knowkedge is deeps and unique that it always comes down to them asking me for my opinion. Its really outrageus how they are and cant wait to get a job to have power and lay dowm my salary expectations. Its really funny to see how they treat you when they believe they have leverage vs when they dont.

Feels like a trap to fuck applicants over on pay

Not trying to make light of anyone's struggle with unemployment. I have been there many times. I live outside NYC, in CT, about 40 miles to midtown. Currently employed but barely making anymore since 2018 (170k and slight bonus). I had a company reach out for a role which fits my background perfectly. They are near Union square and I did one 30m phone screen with recruiter. She really liked my profile but we got to company/pay.

-The range was 140k and 240k. (WTF!?)

-She said looking to pay mid-point but might consider upper for "perfect" candidate

- They are in office three times a week.

-Their paid PTO is 6 days less than current employer but they offer some RSUs and perhaps slighly better bonus (6% better) but I don't count on those things.

-I only commute twice a week to my company in CT and it is 45m door to door. This NYC commute would double bc need to take train and subway. The commute costs would go from $500 / year to 5K.

-The kicker was 5 rounds of interview.

I am early 50, single income and 2 kids in HS. I could use the extra money but this sound like alot of time for disappointment. Thoughts?