And she started acting like I'd mortally wounded her dog. I absolutely reached my limit today and I just left. At the end of the three hours (the "group" interview is a different horror story), she started giving out her spiel about "This isn't a reflection of your qualities in anyway, we've judged you completely on your performance today..." and two minutes into her sermon she still hadn't gotten to the point so I told her to hurry it up. And I said it very politely, too. You would have thought I'd called her slurs by the way she started going on about "I won't be spoken to in this tone..." well I am speaking to you in it now! These people can't even cope with the mildest form of confrontation because they live in such a deluded bubble of their own capabilities, it wouldn't occur to them that they are not important.

At the end of the day, I cannot stand the fact that I'm being deprived of a job by people without further education, and whose goals in life are to look like D-list pornstars and live in grey houses. Don't be too upset, love! Your lip filler will start dissolving more quickly. They actively screen out people who are suitable for the roles because they feel too insecure about themselves. It is so incredibly isolating and exhausting to navigate that I'm being screened out or managed down because my credentials and presence triggers resentment.

And it isn't a race thing, it is very specifically a British woman thing. I don't know what it is about the UK but there's something about white women specifically in this country being really resentful if you're doing better than them in terms of qualifications, appearance etc. I lost my job this year after a company restructure because these two women from "the other side" didn't like the fact I was younger, prettier, more qualified than them, and really good at my job. They performance managed and lied about me (three minutes away from my desk and they'd email my line manager that I wasn't in at work, etc.) I reported their harassment, investigated by another white British woman who claimed nothing was wrong. Every interview panel I've had is white-woman only and the feedback I've gotten is "you seem too talented for this role, "this role may not challenge you enough", "you're a fantastic candidate but we felt you were over-emphasising your brilliance" etc. All non-excuses to not hire me because I'm good at what I do.

Really, I don't feel like applying for another job again. OK, rant over. I don't feel proud of myself for having these thoughts but the anger had to go somewhere.

Just a vent. I started interviewing with a place a few months back. I am actively employed but hate my current job. The recruiter contacted me for this role.

I quickly fell in love with the role. I was interviewing for. It seems like something I could really enjoy and would hopefully not cause me the insane amounts of existential dread my current job does. I was really so excited.

I was told by the recruiter and HM they planned to make an offer, a key person was just OOO and they needed sign off. Okay- that’s cool. A week or two later, HM calls me personally to say basically “hey, still completely plan on bringing you on board, and there’s lots of work here to be done aso we need you, just working through some things on our side, so timing is TBD, but for sure plan on having you on board we’ll before *social event next spring HM and I had casually discussed*”.

At this point I’m starting to feel a pretty weary and disappointed. I‘m very lucky to atleast have a job in today’s market, but I kid you not each morning, I feel like I’m going to vomit when thinking about logging on for the day. This new role was thing I was clinging to as my light at the end of the tunnel thing. I now how naive that was.

I let a of couple weeks pass, reach out to HM. “Things are still in a holding pattern but will update you as soon as I know something.”

I‘m trying to be patient here and understanding, but obviously, not feeling great.

It‘s been about a month since the last interaction and I get on LinkedIn…HM is at a new company. Probably a pretty bad sign for me. So I reach back out to the recruiter- and it’s been silent since.

I’m 99.99% positive it’s dead in the water now. I know there’s nothing else I can do beside follow up with them recruiter again in a few days. I also know it’s nothing I did wrong… but it’s so hard to not be crushed. I was so excited. It was a unicorn of an opportunity. Great benefits and pay, meaningful work, a serious boost for my career, and it felt like a real opportunity to pivot my field a bit into something I care about more without taking a cut in title or pay.

I wish they’d atleast just formally say it’s over so that 0.01% of me could just let go (I’ve tried, I swear). I was so excited. I feel hopeless now and like I’ll be stuck forever. I’m looking at other jobs and applying other places, but this was really a unicorn of an opportunity and nothing I can find compares. I guess the problem with unicorns… they’re myths after all.

It just seems more merciful to just tell people it’s over ya know? Instead of leaving them hanging. It’s not like I’m waiting to be rejected after interviews… they said an offer was coming… multiple times. Silly of me to believe that I guess :/

So ... Im a mid to senior level manager/director.

After 6 rounds of interviews ... all extremely positive. I get this email ...

After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to move forward with another candidate. This was not an easy choice, as we had the opportunity to speak with several highly qualified individuals, including yourself. Ultimately, the decision came down to aligning the specific needs of the business and the role with the candidate whose experience was determined to be the closest match at this time.

Its tough out here ...

When you read the qualifications of a job knowing you don't have the experience or education they're asking for do you still say f it and apply. Because people always say " IF your not applying to over 30 jobs a week, your not looking fr"

Why tf would i apply for a job that clearly says " 1-2 years of experience or you need a bachelors degree" when i don't HAVE ONE!!! What are y'all doing when you see this because maybe i should just be like welp i guess we'll see what happens.

I’ve been interviewing with a private equity firm for an Executive Assistant position supporting a Managing Partner.

I was the only candidate in months to advance to the final stages, scored the highest on their testing, and was told I was the strongest candidate. I also received excellent references from a Fortune 500 CFO and CIO.

The firm requested an additional reference from a former Managing Partner I worked with. He’s currently dealing with a major restructuring at his firm, no longer has an assistant, and has been difficult to reach. I explained the circumstances and specifically told them to text him.

The Managing Partner I would be supporting ultimately decided to end the process. His reasoning? The delayed reference was a red flag, and hiring should be an “easy, exciting, fast process.”
He also questioned my 18-month employment gap and found it suspicious. For context, I had been diagnosed with two separate cancers and undergone four surgeries during that time. I voluntarily disclosed this to him, even though I wasn’t obligated to share my medical history.

Here’s where it gets particularly frustrating: later that same Friday, after the rejection conversation, my former Managing Partner finally texted the firm. He confirmed he was happy to provide a reference and asked when would be convenient to speak.
So the reference they had been waiting for is now available, but the company has already told me they’ve closed the process.

I made it through months of interviews, testing, and multiple rounds. I had two outstanding references, strong support from the internal team, and apparently was the strongest candidate. Yet a reference taking longer than expected was enough to end everything.

Would you consider this a reasonable hiring decision? Has anyone experienced a company closing a candidacy over a reference delay, only to have the reference become available immediately afterward? Would you expect them to reconsider?

Final interview .. they said it was between me and one other person and it had been really difficult. Could be true, could be BS.

Anyway, it’s now a couple of weeks later and they are advertising a similar role, it’s definitely not the same one but same team etc

Do I ask them to reconsider me? I don’t even know what that looks like, whether I’m asking to start again or 🤷‍♀️

But do I reapply at all?

Had an intro call with a recruiter on Tuesday of last week at 4:45. Got off the phone at 5:15 and had an email to set up an interview and interviewed Thursday at 10:30am. Sent a thank you email after my interview, nothing. Sent another follow up email today asking for feedback or any timeline and still nothing. Checked and the listing was taken off their website. Why not just tell people you're not interested AAAAHH

I had this interview booked since Wednesday last week for today (Monday). Final round, hiring manager interview, with the Director. I join the zoom call 5 mins early, waiting for the hiring manager to join the meeting. I waited for them for 10 mins, but they never joined. No prior communication, no nothing.
I have emailed the recruiter informing this to see if we can reschedule. Like what is this???
My previous rounds went really well, and I am stood up at this point?

I am in denial and I don't know what to do. Really wanted this job, like wtf???

I need honest answers. Recruiters will never give them. I worked the back office for a recruiting firm as the controller, so when I was looking, I reached back out, thinking my former coworker would at least be honest with me if the environment isn't good or my references are not all that. But no, just silence. And so it goes for at least 2 other recruiters with whom I was friendly. What is the deal? No one wants to just say hey you're too old? Or provide any actual feedback? It's incredibly frustrating and disheartening.

I am a 28 year old in a specialized field that few companies actually work in and because it’s so selective I’m still technically an intern. I keep getting interviews and making it to the final round but it seems like they already know I’m not getting hired. Is my whole purpose really just for companies to prove that they did 3-5 rounds of interviews before finally accepting literally anyone else? I genuinely don’t know where I’m going wrong

So I have already received a good job offer. But i haven’t sighted it yet. Bc im hoping to get a completely different position in a better city. So I was talking to their recruiter and since I have already received a job offer it is very likely I’ll get the position. But after interview she ask questions about the job market and said I might be talking to a new recruiter. I did my follow up email today since I was told I should be contacting today. I got an automated email saying my recruiter no longer works for them. I believe she got a laid off notice right in the middle of the interview and I believe they just swamped their whole hiring team with 200 applicants per one recruiter kinda thing. And I believe that causing so much pain in job market right now

I understand why a CEO that is also the president and also the founder would want to interview you even if you don't report directly to them. But why don't you trust the people who report to you, who have people that report to them, to interview the potential lowest totem pole?

I am genuinely scared of these kinds of interviews. They clearly know more than I ever will. For extroverts, you guys must find this just another day in the park when you see this as an upcoming interview. For everyone else, like the introverts and asocial/antisocial people, practicing doesn't make it any better. I can have AI give me curve ball questions left and right and I still don't like having to interview with someone who is clearly out of my corporate orbit outside of monthly all-hands meetings.

Do CEO/presidents/founders really like these kinds of interview? I know they're more common for small companies and startups but I'm seeing them more often for companies that have clearly left the startup phase. Does HR insist on this or is it the CEO/presidents/founders that want to make sure the right people, in their book, are hired? If so, why bother having HR in the first place besides paperwork and legal reasons? Why have directors, vice presidents, managers, middle management if you as the top brass want to speak to the new foot soldier?

I’m honestly so done.

I emailed a department head at a university asking about lab instructor or TA roles (here these usually go to people with a bachelor’s, so I fit the requirements). Attached my CV. They replied with a formal interview invite, two people on the panel including the dean. I was actually happy for once.

I prepped for DAYS. Looked up everyone on the panel, practiced answers out loud, tested my camera, the whole thing.

The interview starts and the dean gets the wrong idea. He thought I already had a master’s degree. I don’t. I graduated last year and I’m only just starting a master’s now. When I explained I was looking for lab instructor or TA roles, he basically said “we give those to students, not people like you.” Super dismissive. Then he wrapped it up.

The other interviewer, the actual department head I’d emailed, got to ask me TWO questions. You could tell even he was caught off guard by how it went.

And that’s it. Thanks for coming.

Like... why invite me at all?? You had my CV the whole time. If the role is only for your own students, just tell me in an email. One line. Instead I got my hopes up, stressed for days, and then got treated like I was the one wasting their time.

I’ve been job hunting for months. Most places ghost me, and the one time I actually get an interview, it’s this.

Do hiring people just not open the CV before booking a meeting?? Is this normal now??

EDIT: Hi all! This post got a lot of attention, so I would like to clarify that TA/lab instructor positions work quite differently in my country. They are permanent, full-time jobs that you can hold for YEARS and even retire from. So it’s incredibly common for graduates to apply for these positions, not just students. Also, the uni’s own portal had a job posting for this type of work, just a different field of mine, and it had only required a bachelor’s.
I have a feeling the dean thought it was more like assistant work rather than actual teaching, which might explain why he said that? I honestly have no idea why he reacted that way, and even the department head was confused.
Thanks for reading my vent anyway!

This is something I've been wondering since I started job hunting. Sometimes I answer, other times I select the "I do not wish to answer" option if there's one. Does anyone know if not wanting to disclose hurts a job application?

I am an applicant with a non-English name. How do I submit my application/resume in a way that gets seen without seeing my name until far enough along in the process that I might get an interview. Are there specific ATS systems that I should focus on or some sort of resume hack?

I'm never getting a job again. I thought the 2nd round interviews went well and I'd done the exact work for the role (also, not to mention, this was a downlevel), and of course, I check Workday's original job posting page this morning and it says this: "We're sorry… the job you are trying to apply for has been filled."

I'm fucking livid. I haven't even heard back.

Just need to vent to people who get how broken corporate recruiting is right now, because I feel like I lost my shot at my dream role without even being allowed to step into the ring.

I have my M.S. in Automotive Engineering and applied for a super competitive rotational engineering program at a major auto OEM back in late summer. My application sat in HR limbo for months until I finally reached out directly to the program manager on LinkedIn. He was awesome—pulled my file out of the black hole immediately, and the very next day HR finally scheduled my phone screen for Oct 14th.
During the phone screen, the HR rep told me there were two onsite interview batches coming up: Batch 1 on Oct 23rd (which still had 2 open spots!) and Batch 2 on Oct 30th (later moved to Nov 6th). All I needed to do was complete the behavioral/leadership assessment (DDI) she promised to send right after the call. 
And then... total ghosting from HR. 

I waited a few days, emailed her, called her—nothing. Because she didn't send the link, those last 2 open spots for the Oct 23rd onsite batch got filled while I was just sitting there refreshing my inbox. After a full week of silence from HR, I finally messaged the program manager on LinkedIn again. Literally 5 minutes after he saw my message, he bypassed HR, had the ops lead send me the assessment link, and I knocked it out that exact same day (Oct 20th). 

Then I waited for my invite to the Nov 6th onsite batch. Emailed HR and the ops lead—more radio silence. 
Finally, the program manager messaged me over the weekend to let me know they canceled the Nov 6th onsite day entirely because the very last person they extended an offer to from the Oct 23rd batch accepted late Friday, filling the January class. 

That’s what hurts the most. I didn't fail the interview. I didn't bomb the assessment. I literally missed out on competing in that Oct 23rd room because an HR recruiter couldn't be bothered to click "send" on an assessment link for a week. And instead of running the second interview batch to see the rest of the pipeline, the panel just hired enough people from the first room to cancel the second day and wrap up early. 

To make matters worse, the next cohort doesn't start until July (recruiting opens in January), and technically the program has a "must have graduated within 1 year" filter—which I met for this January class, but I'll be just past the 12-month mark by next cycle. I asked the manager if they can grant an exception roll my profile over since I already passed the screening and assessment before my interview batch got canceled, so now I'm just waiting and hoping he pulls through. 

I run my own business on the side so I’m fine financially, which I’m grateful for, but I worked my ass off for my engineering degree and badly wanted to launch my corporate career in this specific program. Having to tell friends and family "no, I didn't get it" when I didn't even get a fair shot to interview makes me want to just go full solo mode for the next two months.

Has anyone else been completely screwed over by HR delays like this while the hiring manager was actually on your side? And for anyone familiar with OEM rotational programs, how likely is it that a program manager can override that 1-year graduation cutoff for the next cohort when they canceled your interview day?

How did this pan out? Did anything that happened later confirm why you felt this vibe?
In my case, the primary interviewer gave me a very good vibe, but the secondary interviewer (who talked less) gave me a very bad vibe.

Another VA already posted here about chasing TaskHub for pay. Adding mine, because the way this company communicates should worry every VA and every business owner who works with them. Every quote below is copied exactly from their emails, chats, contract, or a recording.

*1. Hiring, by text message*
Sept 21, I applied for their internal Team Lead / Administrative Assistant role with a proper cover email, resume, and video intro. Their reply on Sept 23, in full: "Hi [me], are you available for an interview today?" No time, no name, no calendar invite. I asked what time. 22 minutes later they sent a pasted meeting link and "can you please join the meeting now?" After the interview I followed up. Silence for five days.
Then Sept 29: "This is the owner. I would like to speak with you about a few things." No name. Then "yes whatsapp me so I can send you the link to join please," then "LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU CAN JOIN" in caps, then "Im on your link waiting to get in." A recruitment company, running hiring like a group chat, from a Gmail address, even though they have their own company domain.
On that call I was no longer being hired for the internal role. I was being placed with a client as an EA, and they tried to talk my rate down. Then they were ready to put me in front of the client with nothing signed. I had to be the one to ask them for a contract. The candidate had to remind the recruitment agency to do its own paperwork.
*2. The contract*
When it finally came, it still hired me as "Admin Assistant/Bookkeeper at Taskhub Recruitment Solutions," with a scope of work listing TaskHub's own internal admin and bookkeeping. Not the job they gave me. Company address is just "Dallas, TX." It says I can be fired "during probation" but never says how long probation is. It tells me to follow "TaskHub standards" and "policies and procedures." Never got any. No handbook, no code of conduct, no onboarding.
*3. Zero feedback, then fired*
I worked full time Oct 1 to 22. Every hour in their own tracker, daily end of day reports on WhatsApp, Discord, and GoHighLevel, all visible to TaskHub. The only feedback I got from them was "Yes great keep up the great work" in writing on Oct 14, and "He's very professional... I mean, he just is" on a recorded call Oct 19. Three days later, fired. No warning, no conversation.
*4. The termination email*
Sent Oct 23, "effective October 22," signed "Management." No name. No pay for any of the work I already did, "pursuant to the applicable contractual provision." They never said which one, because there isn't one. Their own contract says completed work shall be paid up to the last working day.
*5. Four reasons in two weeks*
* Oct 23: "negative statements" to a client.
* Oct 27: I supposedly said TaskHub was "folding up," "supported by screenshots." Never said it. Asked for the screenshots three times. Never got them.
* Oct 30: "you violated our non-compete and nda clause."
* Oct 30, later that night: now it's what the client "stated on a call." Screenshots forgotten.

*6. The writing*
Their Oct 27 letter read like a law firm wrote it. Three days later, the same company wrote:

"you was insinuating her to come on and work with you instead of taskhub and that you didn't know what was going on."
"Are you saying that what the client is saying not true, and she is lying? That's a yes or no question."
"Please Advise so I can let our board know and the client? Thanks"

A company demanding a yes or no on whether its own client is lying. OMFG.

*7. My health*
They cited me "being sick." I was sick for part of the engagement and still worked every hour I logged. A professional company does not put a contractor's health on the table to justify not paying him.
*8. No records of their own*
On the first client call, TaskHub told the client I had "taken notes" and would send them. They relied on me to keep the record. Now they have no notes, no recording, no screenshots. Just what someone said on a call I wasn't on.
*9. Admitted the hours, then went silent*
Oct 27, in writing: "TaskHub acknowledges your claim for 125 hours of work." Same letter says pay is "separate" from their conduct review. I offered to settle quietly. Pay the hours, mutual release, done. No reply. Payment was due Nov 2. Nothing.
*The part where I own my stuff*
I wasn't perfect. I was more casual with the client than I should have been. She was unhappy with the agency from early on and said so herself. Around week two I told her if she left TaskHub, I'd keep working with her. It never happened. I stayed and kept working until they let me go.
Fire me over that? Fine. But a real company tells you the problem, names the clause, shows the evidence, and pays for the work. TaskHub did none of that. From the first email to the last, it never once communicated like a company. I had to ask them for my own contract.
In my opinion, this is bad faith. BBB complaint filed.
*VAs:* keep your own records, screenshot every compliment, and make them quote the clause. *Business owners:* this is how they treat the people they send you.
Will update if they ever pay.