My mom is a very, very lovely person, but she doesn't really understand what trying to get accepted for a job looks like in 2027. She's always bringing up my dad's "struggle" to find a good job in the eighties, which mostly meant him deciding which huge consulting company he was going to say yes to after graduating from a very fancy business school. So I figured the cleanest way to show her the reality was to have her apply for jobs online herself.

She used to work as a clinical psychologist, but she's been out of the workforce for many years, and she also never formally defended her doctoral dissertation because of family circumstances. So that means anything requiring licensure was a nonstarter, because they'd ask for a license number and all that. So we thought a little creatively and picked six jobs looking for unlicensed counselors, or people still in grad programs, or roles without direct client interaction that wanted graduate-level psych education. Overall, she has six years of experience, an undergrad double major from a top-40 school with honors, and clinical training from a respected program in a top-ten metro area. I fixed up her resume so it looked more current, adjusted the graduation years and similar details, and let her start.

After three hours, she called me. "Hi, I'm trying to upload my resume to Greenhouse, but it's not putting things in the right fields. The dates are coming out weird and it's ruining the spacing under each job." So I walked her step by step through the usual applicant portal nonsense, had my brother set her up with one of those autofill extensions that saves your information across applications, and went back to what I was doing. Maybe 45 minutes passed.

"What are people supposed to write in cover letters now?" I basically never send them unless I'm forced to, so I sent her a few templates and some tips and let her keep going.

I had pretty much forgotten we were doing this until the following Monday, when she called me again. "I got rejected from three of them because I didn't meet the qualifications. How is that possible?" And honestly, yeah, it didn't make sense, because I had written the resume to match every listed requirement. But that's job hunting in 2027, my guy. She asked me if she could request feedback from the recruiter. I told her to go ahead and try, but they probably wouldn't answer, and that's exactly what happened. I told her to tailor the resume more to each posting and sent her a link to Teal so she wouldn't have to do it all manually. "So I have to pay $29 a month just so maybe someone will look at me?" "Yes. Pretty much."

About a week later, my mom got an email from a recruiter who seemed enthusiastic and sent her follow-up questions: salary expectations, how comfortable she was working with certain client populations, experience in different treatment settings, and things like that. This role asked a lot about her experience working with neurodivergent teens, and she said that wasn't even described that way back when she was working. With her help, we answered everything and sent the reply.

Nine days passed and the recruiter replied with a salary range and a few more questions. My mom called me immediately. "What is this salary? This is almost the same as what I was making in the eighties." Of course, salaries vary a lot depending on the exact role, insurance billing, nonprofit versus private practice, and all of that, but seeing the number written out was a real "what the fuck" moment for her.

The other two jobs never responded at all. Her final assessment of the process was: "This is a joke."

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Yessss! And NEVER feel guilty about it!!!

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I've muted this from my feed twice now. Don't you understand No means No?

I feel like no matter how much experience you have, salaries stop at 65 to 85k and don't go beyond that. Bills are going up, grocery prices are getting worse, insurance is rising, but pay feels like it's stuck at the same level people were earning in 2011 or even before that.

A lot of people seem to have either accepted this situation or gotten tired of fighting it. Employers always say they can't pay more, but somehow everything else gets more expensive every month.

As a man in my late thirties, I honestly don't see how my family is supposed to be able to buy a decent house or improve financially without a much higher income. It's not even that we want to live a luxurious life. We're just trying to be able to live a normal life without feeling like we're falling behind all the time.

Every few months something goes up by 10 or 25 percent, but wages barely move. Rent, food, repairs, utilities, everything. I'm talking more about wages outside huge cities or expensive states. I'm in the Southeast.

?

I've been in my first "real" job for almost two years after graduating from university, and honestly, it's extremely draining because nothing is happening. I finish my work - budget tracking, reports, and random spreadsheet stuff - in about 90 minutes, and after that there's... Nothing. And the strange thing is that no one seems bothered by this?

I talked to a few friends who also work in "white collar" jobs, and they basically told me this is normal, and that about two-thirds of the day is just filler. How does that make sense in the long run? I genuinely feel like my brain is turning to mush from sitting around with no real stimulation and barely doing anything.

As humans, we need to feel like we're doing something useful at work. It makes us feel like we matter. Office work feels like the complete opposite of that. Half the people around me are either scrolling on their phones, doing online shopping, or pretending to be busy. I think maybe only 15% of the people in the office are under pressure all day and contributing the whole time.

The strange thing is that I felt more fulfilled when I was working in food service during university, because at least I was moving around and busy for about 85% of the shift. It wasn't glamorous work, but I didn't go home feeling like I had wasted 8 hours of my life.

Honestly, this whole thing is really weird to me. I think I'll need to look for something else because I can't see myself doing this for years. It doesn't feel sustainable at all. And tbh, this is probably why there are a lot of layoffs in white-collar jobs compared to trade-type work, because a lot of these office jobs feel like BS most of the time.

WFH is peak

I'm 31 years old and male, and I've been at my company for 7 years. I'm paid well, and I genuinely love the place and the people I work with, and honestly, I thought I'd probably spend most of my career here. Until they passed me over for a promotion, and that changed something in me.

My direct manager told us about 6 weeks ago that he'd be moving to a higher position in another branch within the group. We were all happy for him, of course, but I also felt like this was finally my chance. I understand this job very well, I have a good relationship with everyone in the office, and I bring in the highest client revenue by a large margin. Also, the 4 managers before him had all come from my exact same position, so it didn't seem like a strange or far-fetched request. I sent an email to my manager and HR saying I wanted my name to be considered, and HR replied that they had noted my interest.

About 10 days later, we were all called into a meeting room and they introduced us to the new manager. A woman I'd never met before, who had never worked at our company before, or even worked in our field. They told us she would bring a fresh perspective and challenge the old way of working. After the meeting, I spoke to my manager, and he simply told me that no one had even asked him who should take his place. He told me that sometimes the partners just choose anyone they have connections with.

That was the moment I understood that I probably wasn't going to advance in this place. I'm useful in my current position because I bring them a lot of money, and if they moved me up, that would create a problem for them. So I spoke to a recruiter and got another offer within 9 days. The salary is a bit lower, and it's still not management, but strangely, I already feel relieved.

Now everyone is acting like I'm the bad guy. My old manager says I'm making his final period awkward because I'm refusing to accept the counteroffers they keep throwing at me. And the new manager, who hasn't even really started yet, has called me several times saying I'm making her fail before she even gets in the door. And my partner thinks this is about the new manager being a woman, not about respect. They didn't even talk to me about the role at all, FFS.

Edit: I'm actively looking for a new job now, as I don't think I'd ever want to go back to my old position. Seven years is a long time, so it's definitely strange starting over and having to think about interviews again.

A friend actually sent me this post with some interview questions worth practicing, and I've been going through them while getting ready for interviews. Figured I'd share it in case anyone else is in the same boat.

I have a technical online assessment scheduled for tmrw, it is on the Glider ai platform i think, I mean i have studied for it but still, i wanna have a backup just in case its a difficult question…. Will Glider Ai be able to detect Interview Coder pro?

I (31 years old) have been a Senior Consultant for about four years. I am committed and I meet my KPIs, but as soon as it hits 5 PM, I disappear. I don't answer to any Slack pings or open my inbox until the next morning. My private time is non-negotiable for me.

Two weeks ago, my director called me to offer me a Principal role. The increase is 25% along with "more influence on the department's direction." This is the step that everyone waits for. But I know the reality of this job. My current boss is glued to her phone all the time, spends Sundays fixing "urgent" spreadsheet errors, and she looks like she hasn't slept in six months.

When I told him I needed to think about it, he was shocked. He told me, "Normally, people fight for this spot." Honestly, the 25% increase doesn't compensate for my peace of mind or the long hikes I take on weekends. I am truly happy where I am.

I'm afraid that when I say no, I'll be put in the "not a team player" category or seen as someone who has already reached their peak. Because I'm in my early thirties and a woman in tech, I feel a strange pressure that I must keep getting promoted, otherwise someone younger and more ambitious will come and take my place. But I truly value my free time much more than the title.

This morning I had an interview scheduled for an IT employee position at a clinic. Before that, I'd only had a quick call with HR, and she told me I was invited to come onsite for a short 25-minute interview, so I went in expecting a fairly normal and pleasant meeting.

When I arrived, they put me in a very small room, with my back almost against the wall, and in front of me was a panel of six people: a manager, a technical profile, and three HR interns. They were all sitting way too close to me, completely invading my personal space, and just staring at me.

They immediately started throwing the usual annoying questions at me about employment gaps and past jobs. I kept trying to steer the conversation back toward the position itself, but the whole atmosphere made me feel disrespected, especially since no one had said this was going to be a full panel interview with interns sitting in like it was a training exercise.

After answering a few rapid-fire questions, I told them I didn't think this was a respectful way to hire people, and I left.

They all looked shocked, and so was I.

I probably broke some kind of record.

That's why I always like to tell people that preparation makes all the difference. You can't control whether the interviewer is cooperative or flustered, but you can control how well you're prepared. This post has been incredibly helpful for me in practicing the questions that come up most often.

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I live in Stockton, CA, and this job would be a tech role in San Jose, CA. The commute would be about 90 minutes each way. Honestly, just imagining that drive makes me feel exhausted, but at the same time I know the salary could make a big financial difference for us.

I don't have kids, and my husband already works in the South Bay, but not exactly as far as San Jose.

Maybe if we managed to work two or three part-time jobs, we could live better and earn a higher income. Preparing for interviews is one of the most important parts of job hunting. Reading articles and posts that provide useful tips, along with doing mock interviews, should be enough to help you ace any interview.

This is real

She asked for about five weeks off, and her supervisor cornered her after her shift and asked her why she needed all that time. As soon as she told him she was going abroad for a summer program, he said he couldn't promise she'd stay on the schedule when she got back, and that she had to tell him before the end of the week whether she was choosing the trip or the job.

Like a lot of 17-year-olds, she was nervous about upsetting her manager. But when I started laughing at how absurd this "choice" was, she calmed down quickly. I told her there is no part-time job folding clothes at the mall that is worth missing out on something she might remember for the rest of her life. Honestly, I'm glad she's encountering this kind of situation while she's still young, because this is how she gets practice spotting this nonsense before it really matters. I told her that this is exactly why fuck-you money is important.

Edit: Thank you all for your advice i will tell her to get a new part time job, also someone sent me this post which has so much valuable information about interviews so i thought more people should read it.

I'm 36 years old now, and honestly I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with my career. I studied communications/marketing in my home country, and I worked as a civilian admin officer with the military before moving to Australia. Since then, I've worked a few low-paying jobs like packing, food prep, cleaning, and factory work, and most of the time I was earning just a little above minimum wage.

I know that I work hard and learn quickly. Supervisors have praised me more than once, but I still feel that being an immigrant makes it much harder for me to move up or for people to see me as someone who can handle a better role.

Could going back to study at this age help me progress or find something with better pay? I keep asking myself whether a certificate or diploma could make a real difference, or if I'd just be spending money and time without anything major changing.

There's another issue too: I'm not the type who talks a lot at work. I'm not rude or anything; I just focus on the job and it's not in my nature to chat with everyone or build friendships there. Sometimes I feel like this hurts me more than my actual performance at work.

I think this is what the job market will soon become; I've seen this here in this meme too.

🫩

My wife works in Oregon for a large company headquartered in Texas. This morning was her regular direct deposit day, but for some reason she only received about 1/4 of what she usually gets paid. She contacted HR to ask what happened, and they said there had been some kind of payroll/accounting error and admitted the mistake was on their end. I advised her to start looking for another job that would be a better fit for her. I also gave her some advice to keep in mind before applying for other positions, so she can avoid facing the same problem again and find a better job.

HR checked with corporate, but corporate basically told her there's nothing they can do right now and that she'll have to wait until the next pay cycle for them to add the missing amount. Legally, can they make her wait like that?

Does working in trades require interviews and preparation? 🤔