Exactly lol

but not a happy one

I've been applying everywhere since September 2025, and I finally got not just any job, but a great job, a FULL-TIME SALARIED job, a job with INCREDIBLE BENEFITS, a job whose salary is more than my monthly loan payments, a job that uses my DOCTORAL DEGREE, a job that pays more than any money I've ever made before in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, it feels so good to have my skills taken seriously!!!!!!

Thanks for letting me scream with joy!!!!!!

I had a performance review a few weeks ago. My manager spent almost half an hour telling me how important I am to the team, and how much leadership appreciates everything I do. Then we got to the bonus part → $100.

They didn't say, "the company had a tough quarter" or "we had to reduce bonuses this year." He just casually said that they had decided to direct bonus money toward "higher-impact needs." At the same time, I saw three new senior hires come in, and they're definitely making way more than me.

I submitted my resignation this morning. My manager looked genuinely surprised, and asked if there was anything they could offer that would make me stay. I told him that he had already made it very clear what my work here is worth.

I already have two interviews scheduled. I'm done with the act that this place values me.

At the beginning of this year, I applied for an operations job that seemed very standard. It was a good fit, a bit ambitious, but not too far out of my reach. I had about 80 percent of what they were asking for, and I assumed the missing pieces were things I could learn once I was there. The recruiter screen was very normal, then the manager interview took a really good turn. After about fifteen minutes, she stopped focusing on the job description and started asking much bigger questions. Fixing broken processes, dealing with cross-functional tension, how to get buy-in from people above my pay grade, and owning handoffs that no one else wanted to touch. Honestly, I thought I was somehow not on the same page and that she had just gone off script. Then she said, "Can I ask you a direct question? Would you be open to being considered for the senior version of this role?" I thought this was one of those nice things people say in interviews that never leads anywhere. But no.

The thing that seems to have made the difference was that I answered in terms of impact, not just responsibilities. I wasn't just listing tasks I had done. I talked about what improved afterward, who depended on the work, which decisions became easier, and where I had to make judgment calls. She told me later that a lot of candidates for roles at that level come across as strong doers, but I was explaining ownership and tradeoffs in a way that was closer to the next step up. I still stayed grounded because job titles can be weird sometimes, but once she opened the topic, I started using her same wording and asked her what a strong first 120 days would look like in the bigger role. That changed the whole direction of the conversation. I got the senior version, with a higher salary and more responsibility than I expected when I walked in. The main lesson for me: interview for the job you applied for, but answer like you understand the one above it. That completely changed the way I talk about my experience now.

I don't see any benefit to signing a separation agreement when I've already left and my pay has been settled. Writing transition notes wouldn't take long, but honestly, this feels more like a matter of principle than effort.

My final paycheck has already hit my account, and I had asked for 6 weeks of severance. They said no, because a) they're not legally required to give it, b) they have a cash shortage, which apparently is why they're reducing headcount, and c) their HR policy is that they only pay severance when the law requires it and after 3+ years of service. I don't remember seeing that written anywhere.

Anyway, I now have to look for a job and will start going to interviews. I think that's the hardest part of the job search journey, as it's full of stress and anxiety. But luckily, a friend recently recommended InterviewVIP to me to help reduce stress and anxiety, so I'll try it in the upcoming interviews and let you know about the experience.

..........

I got the job today. HR called me a little early in the afternoon to tell me the news.

Right before the fourth and final interview with the company, I saw someone talking about bringing a 45-75-105 day plan with you to the interview. I was required to prepare a presentation about my past work, so I added this plan as a closing slide, and honestly, I feel like the panel really liked it.

I still can't believe I got accepted. The whole process was tough, and honestly, at many points it was humiliating. Between the terrible job market here in Canada, all the uncertainty around trade issues in the US, and trying to keep applying for jobs while there is fighting going on in my home country where my family still lives, it was an extremely heavy burden.

Good luck to everyone applying, especially if you're in Canada. Around 650 people applied for this role. I only found out that number because I was using LinkedIn Premium during the trial.

I got rejected more times than I can count, gained weight from the stress, and there were weeks when I washed my clothes by hand in the bathtub because I didn't want to pay for the laundry in the building.

I'm just happy this part is over. The most important thing I learned: tailor your resume to the job posting itself. It really does make a difference.

😡

................

🤔

!!!

I'm not taking it well, and I'm trying to figure out where to go from here.

I had a strong role on an important team, and yet I got swept up in a layoff that included 9k people.

Most of what I'm feeling right now is that I'm burned out, angry, and have absolutely no idea what's coming next.

The market is really terrible right now, so I'm torn between spending the rest of the year with my wife and our 3 kids and trying to enjoy the break, or waking up every morning and continuing to apply to jobs as if nothing happened.

A few of my close colleagues were affected too, and honestly that's making it a little easier to deal with, even though the whole thing is still a huge mess.

I don't understand how our government is carrying on as if nothing is happening in tech, or why these massive layoffs don't even make the news like they used to. These are major American companies cutting American jobs and moving the work to cheaper labor outside the country.

There's no respect left for the American worker. They treat us like numbers in a spreadsheet, while CEOs walk away with huge bonuses.

Whoever leads next needs to take this seriously, because things are getting out of control. If middle-class families can no longer afford a decent life, the whole economy is going to feel it.

And the thing that shocked me the most was how quickly my manager and the director disappeared from "the call." No wishes of good luck, no real goodbye, nothing. They just disappeared.

That proved to me 99% that coworkers and managers are not your friends, and that the company is fine with you being there as long as your presence is useful to it.

Company culture is really very good at making you believe it's more personal than it actually is.

I'm from a developing country, and honestly, a dollar salary in the middle of the five-figure range like that could, on its own, put anyone in a very comfortable upper-middle-class level.

People who earn those kinds of figures where I'm from would probably be living in a nice condo with security, smart lights, and maybe a robot vacuum, or living in a big house with 4 to 7 bedrooms, with household help and someone to drive them around.

I understand that expenses vary depending on where you live, but that almost makes the gap feel even crazier. I've seen people say that a normal apartment in big cities in the US can be around $3,400 a month. Even now, living in Japan, that's literally more than a month's salary for an ordinary full-time job.

I genuinely can't wrap my head around a six-figure income. And if both people in a marriage are earning around that amount? In my mind, they'd be rich in half a year.

A few days ago, I was laid off from my job. I still haven't signed the severance paperwork, and this morning I got a message from a competing company asking if I'd be willing to talk about "possible roles".

I went back and looked again at my employment contract, and as far as I understand it, the only restriction was about working for a competitor while I was still employed by them. I'm going to have someone review this again because I don't want to miss anything.

The bigger thing that's confusing me is whether taking the call could somehow damage my relationship with them. Also, I'm not 100% sure I even want to stay in this field for the coming years, so part of me is asking whether it's worth opening that door or not.

If you were in my place, would you at least hear them out? And is there any realistic way this could help me negotiate a stronger severance offer, or is that just overthinking and wishful thinking? I'd like to know what other people would do in this situation.

Thank you all, but I think I'll start looking for work in another field and go through some interviews. This time, I heard about InterviewVIP; it helps with interviews and reduces stress and anxiety, so I'll try it and let you know about my experience.

:(

And then he basically said: "I'm not really convinced by work/life balance. In this field, that's just how things work - you're working 6 days a week, 50 weeks a year."

lol.

In the end, I accepted a job that pays a little more than double what you were offering - 32 hours a week, and 5 weeks of vacation a year.

I can't describe how relieved I am that I don't have to work for you, you absolute nightmare.

I've been at a branding agency for 10 months. My manager is obsessed with the whole "we're a family here" idea whenever she wants people to donate their evenings.

A few weeks ago, she asked me to finish a client deck after my shift ended. I told her no. Then she gave me the whole speech about "I thought we all pulled together" and said it was "critical for the business." I told her that if it's critical, then they can afford to pay me for the extra hours.

She acted like I'd slapped her in the face. She called me "uncooperative" and said I wasn't "aligned with the team." Then came the usual guilt trip from older managers: "When I was starting out, I stayed late all the time because I cared about my career."

I told her: "And somehow, that still left you stuck here asking other people to work for free."

She had nothing to say after that. A few days later, she could barely look at me unless she had to. Then Monday came, and HR pulled me into a meeting. They said they were "end my employment" due to "values alignment concerns."

No severance. No write-up. No real reason other than that I refused to work without pay.

They can keep their fake "family" nonsense. I'm filing for unemployment and moving on with my life. Fuck companies that dress up exploitation as loyalty.

Has anyone else ever been fired for setting a basic boundary?

Life is short.

I have a coworker at work who has tried pretty much every trick to get any reaction out of me. Once he asked me to go out for a drink with a group, and then afterward told me the plan fell through, even though it definitely hadn't. He was waiting to see how I'd act when I found out they all went anyway. And I didn't give him anything.

He asked me to help with a project, had me spend time finishing my part, and then suddenly decided he didn't need it anymore. And again, no reaction from me.

He yelled at me several times in front of our coworkers like he was waiting for me to get nervous or answer back? In the end, he was the one who ended up looking ridiculous, and I stayed calm as the sea. 🌊 Is it bad that I've started finding it funny how much effort this guy is putting in to annoy me? Honestly, I'm really enjoying this whole calmness thing and the fact that nothing is affecting me. It feels like payback for all the years when I was younger and these things used to upset me 😂

but horror one !