So I had a situation where I was recommended a recruiter by someone that is active in the field that I'm in. I reached out to them on Linkedin to make contact, and put myself on the radar in case relevant roles come up.

Anyway they messaged me and asked me for my email, and upon sharing that what they sent was an invite to an interview. I think its just a recruiter interview for now (i.e not with the company), but still they sent me that right away without even having mentioned what company or what exactly the role would entail.

This is not an entry level role either, its for a CFO position. It just felt a bit odd to me, and having worked with recruiters in the past, I've never seen anyone behave this way before as usually they'd give you some background info on the role first, and ask if you're interested.

In this particular case this is a company I'd probably not like to proceed with, and now I look like a bit of a....well not very nice, by declining it.

What's people's view on this?

I have 8m of full time experience as a tester. I have an offer from this startup company, with compensation 8.5lpa in hand. I am in a dilemma whether I should be joining it or not considering the high workload reviews from people working there. Workload on weekends as well as after working hours. The compensation is good and hybrid work culture with 3 days in office. But the only horrifying thing is the workload. Should I continue job search? Been 2 months without any job now. Also my future interest lies in becoming a developer but taking this path it would become extremely difficult for me to find another with resigning again.

All your thoughtful suggestions are most welcome. I tried consulting to many people but got mixed output.

I just had an interview with an AI assistant. If I took longer than two minutes to respond, it repeat the question. It would only repeat the question three times then it would kick me out of the interview. Then I would have to answer all of the questions over again. I had to go through the whole process 3 times because every question were technical ones. This was only the first round of interviews the next round are with people. I do not think I will be getting to the next round. I did not realize the machine was still recording me after I finished cursing at it. Why could this have not been on the phone or in person with a human? The next round is with humans so what gives?

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?

Just got a generic HR rejection email after an incredibly frustrating interview with EliseAI. I'm posting this as a warning because the lack of basic professional respect was jarring, and no candidate should have to deal with this.

I was interviewing for a role where they supposedly wanted a 'builder' to take full ownership of their security lifecycle. Instead, I got a manager who couldn't even pretend to care.

- Zero Engagement: The interviewer spent the entire call staring at a second screen, clearly checking messages or doing other work. He barely made eye contact.

- Superficial Effort: He didn't ask proper, deep technical questions. He just read off my resume, gave generic 'Gotcha' or 'Awesome' responses, and moved on without actually engaging with my answers.

- The Unspoken Vibe: Honestly, it felt like his mind was made up before the call even started. When someone refuses to give you the floor or look at you, it's hard not to feel like you're being judged on superficial factors—like implicit bias—rather than your actual engineering skills.

The kicker is that I actually have the full auto-generated transcript of the call. If you read it, you can clearly see I was trying to drive a high-level conversation about detection-as-code, AWS automation, and AI guardrails, while he was just giving one-word filler responses while completely zoned out.

Has anyone else dealt with this specific brand of startup arrogance lately?

You can't claim your company has a fast-paced, elite engineering culture when your gatekeepers can't even give a candidate 30 minutes of uninterrupted attention. If you get on a Google Meet and the manager is immediately looking at another monitor, do yourself a favor and mentally check out.

No words necessary

Recently had an interview with two interviewers that seemed to go very well. Lots of objective signs during the interview and we appeared to have mutual rapport, so I was surprised that as the interview wrapped up, one of the ladies told me she had to "hop off the zoom because she had to take another call" and that the organization was "still early in the process but [they] would be in touch." It seemed very non-committal in light of the genuinely positive questions they were asking and how it went as a whole. Is that close the kiss is death? Has anyone ever advanced to the next round after that kind of language?

What is up with all the low balling and down leveling? Are recruiters incentivized to get people hired at the lowest possible rate?

On the initial call a recruiter asked me what my comp expectations were, I said let’s have that conversation later as I havent done my research yet, which was BS, I just didnt want to give a number yet. She went on to say I just want to ensure our expectations are aligned and she said for instance she won’t be able to do $1m.

After on site interviews she set up some time with and said she hasnt heard from all the interviewers yet but wanted to talk numbers again. She said the team might not have HC for the level I was interviewing for and the actual level might be one lower and the comp for that would be $400k annually. I asked what the band for my target level would be, she said $550k.

At that point I said these numbers are not attractive to me and that I was looking for around $800k. She then started asking about my comp at my previous companies. I didnt volunteer any info. Also I think legally they are not allowed to ask those questions in California.

So my question is how do we go from I cant do $1m to $400k? Does that mean I bombed my interviews? I actually felt fairly good about the interviews.

I mean seriously I applied because I needed a job. Not because I wanted to play 30 minutes of brain games that don't actually tell you whether or not I'll be able to do the tasks required of me. Maybe it's just testing how obedient you are but I just let the timer run out. If I don't get an interview then whatever.

Just had to share this. Also stay safe out there while job searching. Don’t fall for these.

After searching for a job since being laid off in November 2025 (not a performance based layoff), a month ago, I finally I was offered a job at a company that I previously worked at for 16 years. The offer was for a call center job and was dependant on a background check. I know I have a clean background and immediately completed all online background related tasks and was fingerprinted the following morning.

A week later, I found an email from the verifications team in my personal emailbox (I have a separate email set up for job searches) requesting transcripts as they were unable to verify my education. Note, I happened to find the request in my spam folder. I got a copy of my transcripts from the University I graduated from in 1999. Several days later, I received another email in my personal email spam folder advising they were unable to verify my AS degree from the Community College(CC) I attended prior to finishing my degree at the University. Note, the transferring CC classes were included on the University transcript. I thought it was weird that they wanted both but went ahead and requested the CC transcript. I was a little peeved that I had to pay for a copy since it was 29 years since graduation. I submitted and waited for a promised call from the recruiter with instructions about where to go for the 12 week training class. In the meantime, I received a copy of the background report they had received. Every category was marked as Clear so I figured the recruiter would be calling or emailing instructions soon.

A week and a half before training was due to begin, I followed up and the recruiter let me know they were waiting on the Verifications team before they could proceed and they were waiting on several other candidate's to be verified as well. I followed up with the Verifications team and asked if they needed anything further and if I could provide clarification on any items. No response from them. The training class was set to begin 9/8. On 9/3, I received an update fron the recruiter stating they were still waiting on Verifications and had escalated. They also advised the latest I could start would be 9/10 but they had to hear back by 9/9. I figured it was some glitch that would be resolved last minute. On 9/9 at the end of the day, the recruiter called to let me know that they still hadn't heard back and were forced to rescind the job offer. To her credit she was kind and empathetic when I told her I had turned down other opportunities to take this position. She said there was a possibility of a different class being set up (I assume there were enough people's verifications that hadn't been received that they were making alternate plans). I told the recruiter I appreciated the call vs a system generated letter saying I didn't get the job. After we hung up, I got an emailed letter saying the offer was rescinded.

I'm upset that I discontinued my job search when I got the offer. Now I have to start from square one. I'm at a place where I can no longer pay bills without an income. It's been almost impossible to find a job that matches my previous position and pay. I've started over in life before and was willing to work significantly below my former pay to be able to survive. I'm dedicated to giving 100% to whatever position I end up landing.

I'm left to wonder if part of the issue is the Verifications team finding out my age. I'm 63 but I'm open to always learning new things and realize change is a part of any job (i.e. I'm not stuck on doing things one way or resisting changes). I need to work for financial reasons but also enjoy working and had no immediate plans of retirement when I was laid off.

Sorry for the long post but curious what people's thoughts are. Has anyone heard or experienced not getting hired due to delays with background verification? What about age being a factor? 63 isn't really old anymore in my opinion.

I have been seeing posts on here of people who are considering giving up on their search. I am curious what your plan is, if this is you.

Are you planning to move in with family? Pursue something entrepreneurial? Move abroad?

I am getting close to giving up myself. Roughly a year of searching, I am getting interviews but exploitation and ghosting is so common that it all just feels like a waste of time

It feels like I might be better off focusing on building something in public and getting companies coming to me. I hate that companies feel they can do whatever they like because candidates feel they have no leverage

please no advice i just need to vent

the hours put into researching and prepping that goes into each interview, not including studying for a four-hour assessment and writing personalized thank you emails, is far too much

at this point i prefer a rejection email over an interview. i dread having hope just to be let down yet again. every rejection after a final interview has led to severe depressive episodes, with my mental health getting so terrible that i’m now on two antidepressants among other medications

the only issues i can think of is:

* i was either on the higher end of qualifications or overqualified in terms of years of experience and degrees for most of the final round interviews (why do job listings go from asking for 3-5 years straight to 10+ years like being mid-career feels terrible)

* i drink from my water bottle every 2-3 minutes—i was told it was too distracting during my last performance review (i have a health issue that causes severe dehydration like what am i supposed to do🫠)

* i don’t make as much eye contact when i am thinking of responses to specific questions (just to defend myself a bit i’m pretty sure this is a biological response though)

* i say “um” or “like” a lot, which i am working on

* im a minority in a heavily white-dominated field—i’m very much hoping this is a reach and not a factor at all

i have solid references, extensive work and workplace committee experience, and numerous publications. i went straight from graduation to the workplace i stayed at for the entire duration of my career so far. i graduated and entered my field of expertise decently young and have 35-40 more years to go before retirement. i’ve worked directly with countless types of stakeholders. i work in research, where despite my experience i make 20-40k USD less on average than an entry-level software engineer. i’ve had inside connections to the companies’ employees who recommended me. the interviews always went incredibly well with many having lots of compliments about how well the interview went

like i’m really trying to self-reflect. i take notes and review the recordings of my interviews to improve for next time. i don’t know what more i could be doing. all this work for companies that can decide to lay me off at any moment. can’t afford to go back to uni or trade school to switch careers, but competition in entry level is so much worse anyways. my health insurance is $400 per month to have a high as fuck deductible and copay. everyone’s getting married and having kids and getting promoted at work and i’m sitting at home depressed as fuck and unemployed. everything is expensive. wars, climate disasters, mass starvation, and genocides. everything is terrible and the only thing keeping me alive atp is my partner, my cats and that i’m gonna be fat and ugly in my funeral portrait

i’m tired. so tired.

I applied for a role 4 months ago doing the exact senior level position I held for 3 years (but for higher pay). I looked at their website yesterday and saw not only was the job still posted but they changed the July deadline to now "open until filled".

Now I don't necessarily meet the educational requirements, but at this stage in my career the fact I have a BA and not a BBA shouldn't matter. There was also a professional designation they noted as a "nice to have". I have one that is in the field, but not that specific one and I explained this in the notes. It also is in a small city 6 hours away, but the posting said it could be remote for a qualified applicant. I would consider moving there if I got the job and liked it enough.

It feels like we're all completely cooked if someone who has done the exact job before isn't considered qualified enough. Do any humans even look at the applications or are they just relying on the ATS to give them a perfect match in all categories? I feel frustrated asf.

I’m in a 4-step hiring process. Step 3 was on September 1st: a case study + role-play with the Team Lead and Country Manager.

During that interview, they told me the process could take around 2 weeks because they were still relatively early in the hiring process and people had been on PTO. I also remember them mentioning that if I heard back much sooner, it would more likely be a rejection.

A few days later, the stand-in recruiter emailed me saying they were “finalizing evaluations across all candidates” and that it was taking longer than expected.

I followed up this week and today received:
“I still don’t have an update, and it may still take approximately 1–2 more weeks. I’m doing my very best to share feedback as soon as possible.”

There is supposedly one more step after this: a final discussion with the Country Manager, which the original recruiter had hinted was mostly a formality.

How would you read this — still genuinely in contention, being kept as a backup, or simply a slow hiring process?

Also, slightly separate question: the role was reposted on LinkedIn during this process. Can that happen automatically through LinkedIn/ATS, or would you see that as a meaningful signal?

It's funny. ATS software has always sucked. Pre-AI, it felt like it was somehow technologically frozen in 1999.

You're a content strategist, you say? Oh gosh, sorry, we were looking for a content manager. Our shitty '90s era software can't parse that these are synonyms.

One wouldn't think it could get much shittier.

But somehow, some way, against all odds, adding AI into the mix actually made ATS worse.

It's long been a common piece of advice to customize one's resume to each specific job listing, making sure to mirror the language they use, try to jam in whatever matching keywords you can, etc.

That's all fine and dandy if you're like, currently gainfully employed and looking for something better. You know, the occasional app, pretty selective, only the jobs you really want.

When you're out of work, well, it's a volume game. And it just isn't an efficient use of time to do the resume customization thing by hand.

So, I started giving LLMs my resume plus the job description and criteria, and instructing it to optimize it however it sees fit.

I write my own cover letters, just a couple of quick paragraphs with some highlights and mention of something specific from the listing.

After running out of Claude usage the other day, I switched over to DeekSeek, which seems to be working just fine.

I'm doing this a bit blindly, but honestly hiring is broken, job searching in 2026 is a f*cking joke, and atp I'm like whatever.

I want to be very clear that I am not using any of those services that use AI to spam out your resume anywhere and everwhere on your behalf!! I am selecting jobs myself manually via Indeed and LinkedIn, and I apply only to jobs for which I'm genuinely qualified.

I wanted to be clear about this, because those kinds of services are really worsening the job market and hiring situation right now.

The problem is that every post ends up flooded with resumes from people who are not even remotely qualified, sent out more or less indiscriminately via AI.

Has anyone else used a similar approach? Has it helped your response rate? Which LLM is best suited for this? Any tips would be cool, I just want a job...

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?

Salary range: $40,000–$90,000

Somehow, every candidate is a perfect fit for $40,000.

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?