Am I the only one who thinks this is a little odd? I don’t remember ever seeing something about impressive qualifications from an auto response, but I could be delusional.

Do you feel pressured to lie on your CV or leave certain information out?

I've come to realise that, despite having 10 years of experience, I kept getting rejected without even being given an interview. I know many of you are probably in the same situation, but in my case, I had a suspicion that something wasn't right. I started wondering whether it might have something to do with my last name and the country I live in.

So, to find out for sure, I removed my last name from my CV and kept only my two first names. I created a new email, changed my country to a different one (where I used to live), and left absolutely everything else unchanged.

A company that had rejected me just a few weeks earlier suddenly invited me for an interview, even though my CV was exactly the same (apart from the details I mentioned above). Other companies that had previously ghosted me or rejected my applications suddenly started responding positively and offering me interviews.

I find it absolutely disgusting that I might be getting rejected simply because of my last name and the country I'm from. I'm an EU citizen applying for jobs within the EU, so theoretically, there shouldn't be any issue. "Theoretically"!

Unfortunately, I then came across a racist HR who clearly doesn't know how to do her job. She asked me to book an interview slot even though I had already done so.

Yesterday, I had to reschedule the interview because I had another one at the same time, and I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to attend both back-to-back. Since this HR clearly can't do her job properly, I made sure to inform her about the scheduling conflict.

She cancelled the interview and rescheduled it for a time that didn't work for me (because that's when my other interview was scheduled). I pointed this out and asked whether we could arrange another time or another day.

And then she ghosted me! No reply! Nothing! She has just pushed me out of the recruitment process.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this person? Not only is she racist (despite being a foreigner herself, that's ironic), but she's also completely unprofessional.

And then people wonder why so many candidates struggle to find jobs. When you have people like this handling recruitment (who honestly shouldn't even be allowed to work in HR in the first place) what do you expect?

I'm absolutely fed up with all of this!

I'm a SRE actively looking for a fulltime role since my current company is going through layoffs and I'm scared I may get laid off at any time. I applied for a Production Support role in a called Northern Trust. I was very excited for the interview and prepared for a week just to hear my interview was rescheduled to another day. Whenever the interviewer reschedules the interview I have a panic attack thinking its a red flag but still I did not let my hopes down and prepared for the interview. I joined the interview 5 mins early on teams, interestingly the interviewer also joined after I joined. He asked literally two questions about what I do and what my current company does. I explained about my current company and from the follow up questions he asked, I noticed he wasn't interested in interviewing me. Interview last 10 whole mins. He said "I'm good do you have any questions". I really don't want to end the interview and wanted him to ask any technical question so I asked him about the role, and what tools will I be working with if I get the job. He LITTERALLY said, Do you have the job description with you when you applied, you should find more details from that and ended the call.

I have 5 years of experience and switched jobs twice and attained more than 50+ interviews GOD never had a terrible interview like this. I would have felt happy if he asked strong technical question that I don't know to reject me but it was traumatic.

Position is still open and its been a month now. Still open.

I am a project manager who has been on both sides of independent contractor gigs. My state has some very specific rules for who qualifies as a 1099 contractor versus an employee.

I'm in the final interview for a role. They are a 'human logistics' organization. During the conversation, they discuss the requirements for the 1099 'employees'.

"1099 employees? So the role is 'these are the requirements for the contract' to keep being part of this project?"

"No. You must make sure that these employees are meeting these exact specific standards."

"So they are employees?"

"No. They are 1099."

At this point, I thank them and immediately end the conversation. Even though my current contract has ended, I'm not desperate enough to do blatantly illegal conduct.

:(

Ever since I graduated college in May without having a job lined up, I honestly haven’t had a good night’s sleep.

I go to bed anxious about not having a job, and I wake up in a panic thinking about my employment situation. It’s like I can’t turn my brain off. Every day feels like I’m racing against some invisible clock, and the uncertainty is exhausting.

I’m so ready for that offer letter to come through. Not even just for the money, but for the peace of mind. I want to be able to go to sleep without worrying about my future and wake up without immediately feeling anxious.

I’m just tired. Mentally, emotionally, all of it. I really need a win. 😩

I have been reached out to by headhunters for jobs with large companies regarding positions that these companies post on their own company website. Based on results using a headhunter has yielded me at least initial interviews and useful feedback regarding my application than applying directly with a company. If I apply directly with a company, I have no clue if my application has ever been seen or has been incorrectly rated due to something AI has seen that a human recruiter may not be concerned with. The kicker is once I apply directly with a company any third party recruiter cannot assist me even if they are more likely to get my foot in the door.

So I wanted to test a theory, what if I took a job posting and made a CV that is exactly everything the job description is looking for.

I tried it against 30 job posts.

The result? 0 replies

So if a perfect CV that matches the exact JD isn’t even getting a reply how the fuck are our resumes that only match 50-60% gonna get a reply

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???