job hunting pain points

“I’ve also found it humiliating and humbling at times. I think we can all agree that the job market is tough at the moment, really tough. ‘Entry level’ jobs want 5 years experience, jobs that pay minimum wage want experience, jobs that are open to all ages want experience. It’s just a shambles. I spend most of my evenings scrolling through so many irrelevant jobs on Indeed or Facebook just to find one that sparks my interest. Then, once I’ve finished reading the job description, the long list of ‘requirements’, I slowly close the browser and Indeed and give up.”

“Yes!! I can only take so much at a time.. been searching for 2.5 months and I’m so fucking tired of the personality tests where they ask you the same 7 questions over and over just worded differently. Half the jobs want you to do one and they take like 30-50min to apply to one fucking job.”

“I’m changing careers, so I get to have double the fun of job searching and not having tons and tons of “experience.” First, you’d better come into the application already knowing everything. Even if you’re already balancing a full-time job and school (like I am) or have something going on in your life, you’d better be learning every software we can think of, reading books, and building a perfect portfolio with perfect graphic design. And it has to have enough projects of certain kinds or you can’t prove you can do the job. Oh and if you don’t have that experience you can’t get paid to do it! You have to offer to do it for free! Isn’t life grand? Who needs money, anyway? Then it’s time to apply. Employer needs to know everywhere you’ve worked for the last 10 years and overly detailed information about every job. Even if you haven’t worked there in years and it’s not relevant to the job you want now. But too bad cause that field is required. The other day I typed in all that info on an app, and the page crashed anyway and saved none of my info (not even my login because every employer wants you to have an account). I didn’t bother trying again.”

“Or the ones where you apply directly with LinkedIn or with your resume, and then it makes you fill in an application where you sink in an easy 20 to 30 minutes. And then you gotta spend another 10 minutes writing a cover letter. The irony is that the application itself is asking for info that's going to be on your LinkedIn and/or resume. Like, what's the damn point?”

“I applynto an average of 25-40 jobs daily during my job searches”

“I keep getting beaten out by people with more experience, better experience, higher degrees, etc. With every rejection I feel worse about myself, and I’m really questioning how qualified I actually am if I can have two higher degrees and still not be able to land anything.”

“Is it me or has it become near impossible to get noticed on the job market in 2024?”

“It is the worst job market since the year 2000 for new grads. It's not just you.”

“‘Entry level’ jobs want 5 years experience, jobs that pay minimum wage want experience, jobs that are open to all ages want experience.”

“I’m changing careers, so I get to have double the fun of job searching and not having tons and tons of “experience.””

“Job hunting is absolute hell. Hundreds of resumes sent out for one interview. Months on end of searching with no hope. How do I pull myself out of this?”

“I’m struggling with insecurity while job hunting... With every rejection I feel worse about myself, and I’m really questioning how qualified I actually am if I can have two higher degrees and still not be able to land anything.”

“I'm curious about your experience with job hunting. To me it inevitably leads into a complete anxiety spiral. I find pitching myself like a product to strangers and constantly having to rewrite cover letters tailored to every employer to be devastating to my self-worth.”

“I’m starting to get to the point that I’m developing severe imposter syndrome and depression. Even though I have nearly a decade of experience and am incredibly passionate about marketing, I’m starting to doubt whether or not I have a place within this industry.”

“I’ve been searching since last August. A few companies that I have met with ghosted me before the final interview. It’s so draining”

“The interview was a disaster because they gave me an appointment and said they would call, so I prepared as best I could. When the time came, I stayed by my phone for an hour, but no call came. I got confused and ended up sending an email asking about it, but I didn’t get a reply. Then two days ago, I got the generic rejection email.”

“So far this year I've applied to 2 jobs, got 1 interview and was able to get the job with my asking price.”

“I’ve applied to 100+ jobs and I've only received interviews for 3. Both were positions that I'm overly qualified for... I’ve even connected and conversed with staff on LinkedIn and have even gone so far as to have meetings with them. I’ve even applied to organizations that my previous employers have partnered with and I’ve engaged with their staff numerous times. Still nothing.”

“A few companies that I have met with ghosted me before the final interview. It’s so draining”

“The vast majority of my interviews have been with recruiters who tell me how much they love my experience, my resume, and said I did great in my interview. But once my resume is passed on to the hiring manager, I’m rejected relatively quickly without any explanation why.”

“Hundreds of resumes sent out for one interview. Months on end of searching with no hope.”

“If you have only had one screening interview out of 600+ then your resume must be messed up in a way that is getting automatically trashed.”

“I only apply through Idealist because Indeed/LinkedIn are such crap shoots and I get interview requests for about half or more of the jobs I apply for.”

“I’m not clear if that answered my question. Are you saying they did hire someone for the position you applied for? Yes they did”

“I’m not really sure how or why you found my post since it’s several months old, but your message couldn’t have come at a better time. I was just in the shower getting ready to go to my girlfriend’s dinner and the intrusive thoughts were definitely getting to me. Telling me to just give up, that no one cares, that it’s pointless to even try since it’s not like anyone has any interest in what I do anyways. But then you come along, a total stranger, offering words of encouragement and advice to someone that definitely needs to hear it. I know a Reddit comment might seem like such a minor thing, but it truly does help and means a lot. Thank you.”

“Wait until you learn that 40% of those job postings are fake and only posted to make it look like the company is growing.”

“Also the stated salary is a lie. It’s 30% lower because they assume you’re desperate enough to take it.”

“It’s not just you. The world economy is bad for new grads. Unless you do exactly what company wants and does there will be no luck.”

“It is ridiculous especially when the job you’re applying for probably doesn’t even exist. Plus, the process is mostly just an ego trip for HR and the hiring manager”

“I’m not really sure how or why you found my post since it’s several months old, but your message couldn’t have come at a better time. I was just in the shower getting ready to go to my girlfriend’s dinner and the intrusive thoughts were definitely getting to me. Telling me to just give up, that no one cares, that it’s pointless to even try since it’s not like anyone has any interest in what I do anyways. But then you come along, a total stranger, offering words of encouragement and advice to someone that definitely needs to hear it. I know a Reddit comment might seem like such a minor thing, but it truly does help and means a lot. Thank you.”

“I’m changing careers, so I get to have double the fun of job searching and not having tons and tons of “experience.” First, you’d better come into the application already knowing everything. Even if you’re already balancing a full-time job and school (like I am) or have something going on in your life, you’d better be learning every software we can think of, reading books, and building a perfect portfolio with perfect graphic design.”

“It sounds like there’s something missing between the “intersection of chip design and AI” and the job description. 600 applications - what % of the skills did you match?”

“I'm not opposed to learning new skills either. The problem is that I am expected to have 5 years experience in a half-dozen technologies that *might* be 2 years old. And there expectations like that over 25 years ago. And now I am expected to shovel stuff into a github account on the weekends.”

“The "overqualified" thing is so frustrating. I was miserable in my director-level job and would happily take a pay cut for a position that didn't require managing people.”

“What do people put in their resumes that get them hired please I need help!!!”

“Been out of work since December, and I'm almost out of unemployment benefits and I have no savings. I need to find something, but I just don't have the motivation to even look.”

“After my previous employer ran out of runway I found myself in the same boat again at the end of last year. I’ve been on the hunt for about 5 months now and things seem very very different…”

“I’m starting to wonder if it’s normal to hit this level of rejection or if there’s something I’m missing in my approach. Is this just how the job market is these days, or is there something more I could be doing?”

“I’ve been job hunting for over eight months now... I’m at the point where my savings does not exist anymore. I seriously don't know what to do anymore.”

“Since learning I would be laid off a few months ago, I’ve applied to literally hundreds of jobs within my field (marketing).”

“Then the interviews. First interview, second interview, maybe an assessment. Maybe a third interview. I had an application yesterday that wanted me to take three assessments and also had a video saying they require three or four interviews “to make sure you’re a fit.” No thanks.”

“I literally just got rejected from what I thought was my dream job, after no fewer than 7 1-hour interviews. I honestly thought I aced all of the interviews, and I just sat down in shock when I got the rejection email.”

“I was wondering why, at the last job for which I was a finalist, I was asked to go through 5 rounds: -Recruiter's assistant -Recruiter -CEO+CFO -Program lead -CFO+CEO again (in person where I had to present a marketing deck that took days to create).”

“I’ve been looking since last August. A few companies that I have met with ghosted me before the final interview. It’s so draining”

“I’m constantly disappointed, regardless of how low I set my expectations and how disinterested I attempt to be for the actual job. These days, I only apply for jobs at all out of spite.”

“I need to find a job, but I have no motivation to look for one... Job hunting is absolute hell.”

“I have no money to pay my bills. Still not motivated, thanks.”

“I’m constantly disappointed, regardless of how low I set my expectations and how disinterested I attempt to be for the actual job. These days, I only apply for jobs at all out of spite.”

“I’ve been looking for nearly a year for a full time position, I recently took a job offer and began a new job three weeks ago but have very quickly come to realise that it is not for me. The biggest pain in the arse is having to go back to the drawing board with applications, cover letters, interviews and all those things that come with it that i thought i was through with.”

“I’ve gone through this for three months I’d say the biggest thing for me to not get discouraged, was to just keep on applying, not letting rejections bother me and celebrating small wins; an invitation to screen, moving to second rounds etc.”

“Depending on the industry you are in, a lot of jobs may be all but promised to people with connections. I urge you to spend 50% of the time you spend on getting a job on networking. Your applications will have a better yield.”

“I feel like the only way to get a decent job these days is to know someone or have family within the organization.”

“It honestly baffles me because if I was an employer I really don't think Chad coming into my office and going "hey my friend Brett needs a job" would sway me into hiring Brett in any way, but apparently that shit works on neurotypicals so... Idk it took me way too many years of my career to wrap my head around "networking" and what that shit actually means, but apparently it is way more valuable than just sending out resumes so I highly recommend you learn more about it and work your network if you are currently looking!”

“I noticed if you are in illegal alien you get a job and house no problem”

“I'm not qualified to be a janitor 😥”

“constantly having to rewrite cover letters tailored to every employer to be devastating to my self-worth.”

“If you have only had one screening interview out of 600+ then your resume must be messed up in a way that is getting automatically trashed.”

“Cover letters CAN NOT POSSIBLY contain any useful information, I refuse to believe it, everyone is just writing the same bullshit!!”

“We are getting under-cut by off shore teams and H1B Visa workers. The government keeps saying we don't have enough skilled workers in the US which allows the H1B visa game to continue. This is all being pushed by large corporations to keep their costs down”

“Unfortunately, after the pandemic, the whole world shifted to remote work, so we’re now competing with people from third-world countries who can do the same work for less. For this reason, finding a job has become much harder.”

“How do you show up if they don't let you even show up, because you didn't have the 15 software skills they demanded in the job description, and the ATS screens you out if you don't have every one, so you don't even get a callback?”

“Your resume needs to plain jane. No lines, no color, period. ATS (applicant tracking system) will have a hard time scanning your resume if you add all the lines, color etc to it and will reject the resume.”

“I feel like cover letters are their own form of masking. It feels better if I’m able to get excited about potential and think about who I might be in different positions but I need to distance myself to deal with all the rejection, which takes all the fun out of it.”

“Also the stated salary is a lie. It’s 30% lower because they assume you’re desperate enough to take it.”

“1. Salary Expectations. You should know before hand the typical salary expectation + if they have specific extra things like education stipends, this would usually already be listed in the job posting. This is difficult to negotiate especially with a recruiter vs Hiring manager. UNLESS you come with full recommendations from known industry people.”

“I'm not opposed to learning new skills either. The problem is that I am expected to have 5 years experience in a half-dozen technologies that *might* be 2 years old.”

“And now I am expected to shovel stuff into a github account on the weekends. Doctors and lawyers are not expected to perform surgery and review legal documents in their spare time. Why should IT people work in their spare time?”

“Maybe it's time we ask at interviews how well we stack against other candidates they already interviewed. Heck, I'm beginning to think first question to ask the interviewer is," Offered this job to someone else already? I'm a busy person and would rather not waste time on a business that begins by hiding that answer."”

“I absolutely can't stand the thought of interviewing when CEO or whoever has already decided on someone else.”

“Don't bother with temp agencies. They'll only string you along. All they're interested in is there KPIs. I myself am stuck in a rut. I've approached agencies who have promised the world to me and have FAILED to deliver each time.”

“I've had some bad luck with some temp agencies, and some good luck. In California, Apple one sucked for me. After forever, they got me a job I specifically said I did not want (there were 4 roles available at that company and they gave me the only one I said I didn't want!!).”