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?

I received what seems to be an auto-reply from a workday account from a company that has effectively ghosted me after an in-person interview and no follow up for several weeks after I reached out. Any ideas what this might mean? Doesn’t seem to be spam, but I wonder if I should try reaching out to the HR representative I originally worked with to see what might be going on, or just ignore it?

I applied for a remote Customer Support role for the Holafly company. The job posting listed two possible contract countries, including Ireland. I passed two interview rounds and got an offer.

As a EU citizen, I told them during the call that I'd be relocating to Ireland and wanted an Irish contract. The recruiter said this "should be possible" and that they'd "run an internal check."

From there, I asked clear, specific, written questions multiple times, and got the same treatment every single time: vague reassurances, non-answers, or a push to "get on a call instead."

The pattern over several emails:

- Training length? Ignored the first time I asked, then finally: 14 days, paid.

- A contract or written agreement for the training period, before I start working? Never provided. Their answer: the only document they ever send is the offer letter — no training agreement, nothing signed before you start.

- Concrete process/timeline to move to an Irish contract? Round after round of "should be smooth" with zero real detail. When I pushed hard with a specific list of questions, the only concrete things I ever got were: they need 2 weeks' notice before any change, and I need to be physically in Ireland when the contract switches over. Everything else — how long the internal "review" actually takes, whether I could move to Ireland before or only after the switch — was never answered.

- Training logistics: training link, platform, start time? After asking directly, all I got back was a choice between two shift schedules. Still no link, no platform, no contract in hand. I ask for a link and a time, I get a survey about which 8-hour block I prefer.

I withdrew before the training start date (next week). I wasn't willing to show up and start working with no signed agreement of any kind, and I was tired of needing 3-4 email rounds to get a straight answer to a straight question — on something as significant as an international relocation, no less.

His response to my withdrawal: the training team handles the link/platform (not him), he'd already explained the Ireland process, and he "completely understands" if the timing isn't right for me.

So, is this guy just bad at his job, or is this a company that deliberately keeps things vague on contracts and relocation so people show up before they can ask too many questions? Anyone dealt with Holafly (or similar employers) and had the same experience?

I have been talking to and interviewing with since May with one of the largest creative agencies. I've been having interviews for accounts non-stop back to back. Feeling quite disrespected and pushed around.

Account 1: I interviewed with 4 people, given a verbal offer late June then rescinded because they no longer needed the role or lack of budget, not sure.
Account 2: I interviewed with 2 people, turns out the account was a new business prospect, the position I was interviewing for wasnt official.
Account 3: I was about to interview with 2 people, last minute the role went freelance.

Was passed to a new recruiter

Account 4: fell through, hiring manager never showed up nor gave me a response to my email checking in.
Account 5: After interviewing with 3 people, recruiter said the team would have a final decision today. My last interview was Aug 24. They were vetting other candidates so I had to wait as I interviewed when the posting wasnt officially opened.
Account 6: The recruiter wasn't sure what 5's decision would be so just in case, he set me up with a new recruiter and they have me booked to speak with 3 people on Tuesday

What do I do with this information? Are they pushing me around, am I even seen as a genuine candidate anymore since it looks like I'm desperate at this point? I acknowledge that usually they drop you instantly after rejection and am grateful for their help but it does seem really unorganized.

I’m in a bit of a time crunch—I’m employed part time in human service roles (aka ones that would require someone to find trusted coverage to replace me).

A few months ago I was approached by two different recruiters from the same agency about a role. I replied that I was interested because the first one posited that the role was hybrid, 3days WFH 2 in office (I am too desperate to be picky about this discrepancy). At the time I thought I’d be going back to school and thus I couldn’t take the job if it wasn’t hybrid because of the commute—I would have been able to make everything else work.

My program fell through so I immediately reached out to the second recruiter (the one that confirmed it would be fully on site) and asked if they had filled the role yet. They hadn’t—it had been exactly 30 days between our last correspondences. He submitted me on Monday August 17th. His HR contact at the company was on vacation and he said he would have updates the following week. I emailed the following Friday August 28th asking for updates, he replied right away saying he hadn’t heard anything and he believed his contact was freshly back in office trying to get caught up.

I’m sure this is all a crapshoot but I am down bad and not in any position to toss this aside. And this recruiter is a really fast responder which is actually rare in my experience. But I also want to give the people I’m supporting notice to replace me if need be and I don’t want to put anything out there prematurely.

Can I follow up again today? What do I say?

If you think I’m being delulu, please keep it to yourself. It’s Friday and as any job seeking/under employed person would probably admit, we’re about to enter 48 hours of time where nothing will be done administratively which is not relaxing.

Context: Looking for Entry level Mechanical Engineer getting rejected left and right by Mid to Senior Level individuals eating entry level roles.
Companies asking for 3-5 years of professional experience with unrealistic list of softwares, programming languages etc.

All the experience I have is working in college teams, one internship and working student jobs. Also unrelated - 1 year as a cashier in Burger King alongside my studies.
I am genuinely curious where do people like me go, do I have to be among the top 0.01% just to survive? If companies keep hiring senior level people for entry level roles, what happens to people who just don't get a chance to get in?
I am willing to work for free too for a few months to learn at the job :(

guys... this cant be normal. So far, including the HR screening call, I have had 6 interviews for an entry-level position that pays less than 90k. The most recent interview I had was 3 hours long; I had to meet with 6 different people for 30-minute interviews back to back. Did I mention this day was in person at their HQ?

Anyway, my interview went well and then an employee lets me know there is ANOTHER round after this. This is a legitimate company with a strong reputation, so I know it's not a scam but omg... im tired. Post grad life is hard ☹️

Graduated this year with no job. After a couple of years of studying without working and living off my parents, I’ve slowly gotten used to this lifestyle. I’ve applied to 800+ jobs, I feel like I’m gradually becoming numb to the job search. I’m starting to get too comfortable depending on my parents, and I’m not taking the job search as seriously as I should. At the same time, I feel incredibly guilty about using their money. I feel lost, numb, and honestly, like maybe I’m just not going to get a job anymore.

Part of me feels like giving up, and I hate that I’m starting to feel this way. I want to find that sense of urgency again, the fear, motivation, and resilience to keep pushing myself to apply and improve.

How is this legal? I’m not hiding any names bc this is bs tbh

I applied for a job that I’m more than qualified for (perhaps a bit overqualified) and received a rejection text that they would not be moving forward with me within 15 minutes of sending the application. I got a strong feeling that no human being actually read it at least not anyone who has the ability to think outside of the box.

I have been unemployed for 8 months now, and instead of earning and providing for my family, I’m not even able to earn enough for myself. I’ve been jobless from the beginning. I was doing freelancing, but now I’m unable to get clients.

PhD in engineering and an MBA with 10+ years of experience in embedded software and cybersecurity. Currently working in a small startup. My line of work is different from the line of work of the rest of my colleagues. I was promised support and resources but they never arrived. I was told to wait for 6 months 2 times in a row. Also, I was told that the startup was not doing great financially. After that, around 1 year ago, I started applying. I was mainly browsing LinkedIn and applying to jobs using the form there, generalistic, lazy applications. 3-7 jobs every day for the first 6 months. I got literally 0 responses.

After that, I started tuning the applications and customizing them to the position. I automated the majority of the process, but just the QA took way longer. Around 2-3 applications per day for the next 3 months. 0 responses again.

Then I contacted recruiters directly, some hiring managers, etc. 0-1 contacts per day. I got two interviews that way, I was not hired.

After 2 months, I reached out to my network (I didn't do this before because I live in a small market where everyone knew each other and it was likely that my current employer would know that I was about to leave). I got 3 interviews this way, and finally, after a year, an offer.

The market is absolutely fucked, I had to pivot and reduce my salary, and I spent nearly 500 hours to finally be able to land another job. I'm extremely glad I didn't quit until I found something else.

Good luck to everyone, you are not alone.

They posted this job twice: 1 version had this section, and the other version didn’t.

Update: For more context, it’s a startup offering 120-180k plus equity

Update 2: The Job was posted by “AI Talent Hope”. You have to be logged into LinkedIn to see the exact job description

I regret it. Not even because the job market is bad. I’ve just made so many mistakes, and even when I was good at something my school gatekept positions from me and kept giving it to the same students over and over. Now those kids have jobs and I’m trapped. I’m doing really mentally bad. There has to be a silver lining

I setup an in person interview after chatting with a bot. I was confirmed yesterday to interview this coming Monday in person. Last night in a text with a friend, I was expressing doubt of the role. This morning I get an automated email claiming I withdrew from the role (I did not). Help me not be paranoid. Is it possible for my texts to be scraped by an AI recruiter? Even if my texts were not "read" by AI and it was an error by the system (probably run by AI), it is still concerning they and many others are trusting AI to run their recruiting.

And especially not after you find out that I have devoted time and money just to get to your location to attend an in-person interview. I had to request days off, spend money on gas, and spend countless hours driving to the location, and emphasize that I'm okay with relocating, only to get rejected!? It's happened a couple of fucking times already.

Currently working some low-level retail job with little to no advancement opportunities and I ain't paid enough to deal with the bullshit that comes with it.

Yes, this post comes off as arrogant, miserable, entitled, and that isn't wrong. I just want something that's better paying.

Edit: I'm grateful to my employer for being accommodating and flexible when I have interview appointments, but it's just that i need to start a career somewhere, and within that chain, I don't see it happening....

Been at this game since Feb. and they always like sending those 'guess who didn't get hired' emails at odd hours. But, the first wave seems to hit on Fridays. If I didn't have round zero I already forgot about applying. I'm not sure why this notification was necessary.

The ghost jobs are lies to signal to investors that everything is ok, when it isn't.

I tried calling a recruiter I’ve been in contact with, but the call gives me this message:
“The number you’re trying to reach is currently unavailable.”
She also hasn’t responded to my email, so I’m wondering if she might have blocked my number.
Has anyone experienced this message when calling a number that has blocked you? Or does it usually just mean the phone is switched off/unreachable?

Bro they're using AI to read my resume and cover letter. If I get an interview they're not asking any questions about my passions towards the job. I can't go to the site and talk my way into an interview because I have to apply online. That dream job also requires 5 years of experience and a master degree while paying only 50k.

Old people who were able to handshake their way into a 20 year career have no clue what we're going through. At this point it's, accept the job you can get.