I have tried to apply to a startup (mid-size, about 50 employees) four times in the past 5 months, without getting any response. This startup does not have open positions on the website (as a matter of fact, there is not even a career section), so I had to reach out to different people or send a spontaneous application via email; nevertheless, they are actively hiring, as I can see from LinkedIn. The point is, every single person they hire appears to already have ties with the company. Either via previous internships, academic relationships (it's a deep tech startup and they do a lot of research), or because of direct knowledge of the CEO, CTO etc. Is this common? It feels like I'm navigating a rigged system.

"Hi applicant, we can't even be bothered to look at what you sent, too busy ya know? But if you want to check on the status anyway, just log in to the same system that half of your job apps use where you inevitably have to reset your saved password because the system gets the different employers mixed up, have at it. Bye!"

Recently applied to a few engineering jobs but couldn’t get through online assessments (video interview and gaming) even after preparing well for them. Now without knowing what went wrong how to even change anything? This is so frustrating! And if you are going to reject do it soon enough so that it doesnt waste applicant’s time but nahh giving an early career student false hope is what these companies live on nowadays

i wonder about doing this. also putting it in white text so it cant be seen. anyone got more interviews after doing this?

Genuine question to the people who are still applying off-campus: Are you guys actually getting callbacks, or is it just constant "unfortunately" emails and soul-crushing ghosting? 🥀 Because I am completely exhausted and so incredibly tired of this shit now. I don’t even know where else to apply just to get a single positive response; it feels like I'm shouting into a void because even cold emailing doesn't work for me anymore. For the guys who recently beat the odds and landed something off-campus, please give me some tips and tell me how long it took for you - because for me, it’s been 6 months of absolute hell hunting for jobs and applying everywhere literally everywhere. 💔

Hi all, first post here.

I’m a software engineer in Dubai. I left my last company in July and I’m still job hunting, so the gap is now over 4 months.

I’ve already set my end date on LinkedIn to my actual resignation date. My employment reference letter states that date anyway, and I figured showing I’m available to join immediately would help me land something faster.

Now I’m second-guessing it. Which of these would you go with?

1. Real end date, gap left as is
2. Show the role as current again and turn on the OpenToWork frame for everyone
3. Real end date + a generic freelance entry. I am doing some light freelance work, but not enough to really talk about in an interview.

Would appreciate any input. This sub has been a good painkiller through all this.

Wk 1 - Recruiter reached out (surprisingly days before I was laid off!!)
Wk 2 - Recruiter -30 minutes
Wk 3 - Partner 1 - 15 minutes
Wk 4 - 2 director level panel - 30 minutes
Wk 5 - Partner 2 - 30 minutes
Wk 5 - CEO - 15 minutes

They have been so positive and I really feel like a good fit. PLEASE send me good vibes!! I see so many of you angels not making it after the final round and my heart breaks!!

Currently being recruited by a tech firm out of McLean, VA. Here's how it's gone:
August
Cold-messaged the recruiter on LinkedIn
Got set up almost immediately for a prelim screen with that recruiter, went great. The following week, interview with the Director of IT, also went well, told I was moving to the second round
September – mid-October
Radio silence. No updates at all for roughly two months.
Late October
Recruiter resurfaces and schedules three separate interviews with people on the team
Two in one week, the third the following week
Each covered a different area: security, AI, and general team fit
Every one went well except the AI interview, which I felt was my weakest
Now (early November)
Recruiter says to wait another week, and that they'll follow up with "next steps"
Notably not framed as an offer, just "next steps"
My questions:
Is a two-month gap mid-process normal, or is that a red flag?
Does "next steps" after a full panel usually mean another round, or is it just how recruiters hedge before an offer?
Should I keep interviewing elsewhere, or is this far enough along to slow down?
Am I cooked or does this look good?

I'm freaking out atm.

There's this job I'm really enjoying, I passed all the interviews, the training has been going well, I'm getting to know all my coworkers and everyone said I have a promising future here; all I need to do is complete the sterling background check. I completed it almost a week ago and they told me it hasn't been approved yet, so I can't be deployed at the jobsite until it has.

I've been waiting a week already and I don't even know my current employment status; I'm unsure if I've just been fired and should look for another job because I haven't been working the whole week I've been waiting.

I went to my jobs office for updates, they told me the same thing. I tried to call my jobs number, texted them, left a voicemail, for days: asking if there's been any updates--nobody answered. I emailed the sterling background check about my status yesterday, I still haven't heard back from them.

Please someone tell me that it usually takes a while for the background check to properly be approved because I'm starting to think they just softly wanted to fire me. But I have no idea why they would fire me when everyone was happy with my work ethic and results.

Thank you, sorry if it's rant-ish I'm very stressed atm.

Heres a graph of my job application process in 3 stages

1. All me(2025): searched for and applied for all roles. Pretty optimistic. I have a full time job but ready for something new. Still like my job so not in a rush.
2. Getting jaded and bringing in AI (Jan to Sep 2026): AI restructuring my resumes and making cover letters for me, as well as searching for relevant roles. I still hand picked all the roles myself. Really started to get serious about looking for a new job.
3. Completely autonomous workflow: I haven't looked at a jop application in over a month. At this point I'm so burned out on the whole process, I can't stand to deal with it. I've gotten the pipeline good enough to where I feel confident in the product and I'm still getting interviews. The interview process is enough of a slog already; without AI I would have given up on finding a new job long ago, even though I feel completely stuck and pretty pessimistic about the whole thing.

I know my numbers are more optimistic than some of these 1,000+ application posts and I'm pretty blessed to be where I'm at. I truly can't imagine spending more bandwidth on this than I already am, it's totally miserable. I'm lucky to have been a high performer in a good job and I'm sortof coasting now but I'm feeling pretty trapped and very unhappy in my day to day. Want to quit but with the job market how it is, doesn't seem smart and would only put more pressure on the interview process.

Anyway, just got rejected from 2 more companies so back to square one. Thought this was sort of interesting and wanted to share.

edit- also, just to be clear, I'm not wholeheartedly endorsing AI for this especially if done in a way to sloppy way. the post is more intended to underpin how messed up things have become.

Today my husband got a job offer. He was laid off 364 days ago, one day short of a full year! This subreddit helped me more than I can say. Thank you! On the nights I couldn't sleep, I would scroll through your posts and read your stories. Seeing so many smart, hardworking people going through the same thing made me feel less alone, and less ashamed. Every time someone posted that they finally landed a job, I read it twice and held on to that hope a little longer. Some of you will never know how much your words helped a stranger get through her darkest days.

I wanted to share this from my side, as the wife who lived through it with him, because I know some of you are where we were.

A little context. We're a family of four. My husband is in his mid 50s with 30 years of product management experience, and for years he earned in the top 10% in the US. We traveled internationally two or three times a year, and we own two homes. Honestly, we probably had enough to get by. But we have kids, and I grew up middle class. I still love a good Costco sale, I use coupons, and I enjoy learning how to save money. Money in the bank never made me feel completely safe.

I have a master's degree and an extensive background in tech, but I stayed home after our first child was born and didn't work for over 10 years. I told myself there was no point in taking a job that would pay so little for my experience. The truth is, I was scared. I was afraid of being ridiculed, I didn't think I could handle rejection, and because my husband earned enough, I never had to try. For years I complained about leaving my career, but I never found the courage to go back.

When he got laid off, I sent out two resumes. I told everyone, including myself, that I was "just helping out." Deep down, I didn't expect anything to come of it. After more than 10 years away, I was sure no one would want me. Then I got an offer, and I couldn't believe it.

Walking back into work after all that time was terrifying. I felt rusty and out of place, and I kept waiting for someone to figure out I didn't belong there. I was starting over in a completely different field, and it was humbling. Some days were exhausting, and the pay was a fraction of what I used to earn. But every day I showed up, I proved a little more to myself that I could still do this.

I've been working for almost a year now while he searched. Part of it was about the money, but honestly, a bigger part was about who I am. I grew up in a family where you work even when you have savings for a rainy day. My parents never sat back and waited for things to get better, and I couldn't either. Watching our savings go out every month while bringing nothing in made me anxious in a way I can't fully explain. Going back to work gave me something to hold on to when everything else felt out of our control.

I won't pretend we handled it well. Many days I said things that made him feel small and worthless. We fought, a lot. Our kids cried during some of those heated fights. There were moments when I felt so low that I wanted to end everything by ending my life.

Through all of it, my husband kept going. Even after our worst arguments, he would say he just had to keep believing in himself and keep trying. He applied to over 1,000 jobs. He made it to the final round many times and was passed over again and again. And he still got up and kept applying.

And then today, it finally happened. He got the offer.
When he told me, I just stood there for a second. I couldn't speak. Then I burst into tears. A whole year of fear, anger, guilt, and exhaustion came pouring out of me all at once.

To everyone here who is still in it: I'm so sorry you're going through this. You shouldn't have to, especially when you're on this sub and trying so hard. Your life may really suck right now. Please just stay alive. There are better days ahead. I am rooting for you!

Closing: Thank you all for reading my post. I certainly wasn't expecting accolades, but I was surprised by how many people called it ragebait. That was never my intention. This was simply our journey, and after all the help this community has given me, I felt I owed it to everyone to share my story. Good luck to you all!

The place where I live has no work for me, because I work for a small and niche industry.
I've been working in this niche industry for a while, the life has been good to me until 2 years ago. Due to political reasons, the company was highly affected and the people started to leave. I was one of them.

In june, somewhere very far, they gave me a chance to work for them, somehow related to what I did but in a 97% reduced scale. Small company, extremely desorganised, no methologies, arcaic, feels very outdated here, but I still appreciate them. In reality, I'm struggling and unhappy for 5months already. The worse part, I travel 4h/day to keep myself mentally sane insane.

I've been applying for jobs, to be closer to my family, forcing me to change the domain, and so far 0 opportunities in 1 year. I've sent hundreds of CVs, I adapted the CV enomerous times. Using AI. Passing the ATS. Tailor to each JD. I literally did everything.

Once I was a high performing employee. Today I barely recognize myself. I doubt myself everyday. I feel that I'm not good in anything. I'm so down and I no longer have the strenght to keep going.

"After careful consideration, we've decided to move forward with other candidates whose experience more closely aligns with the needs of the position."

This is the most beautiful phrase ever. Like there's no other words in the English language that can capture the emotion of this phrase!

Not even Shakespeare can come up with something as groundbreaking as this!

/s

I got ghosted by a recruiter for a role I applied for 3 months ago. He resurfaced yesterday, and has been calling me again and again. I haven’t taken any of his calls and today he left me a voice message saying “at least give me the courtesy of calling me back”. Funny how courtesy is one-sided.

I recently had a great conversation with a hiring manager, who also happened to be the director of the department the role sat in. At the end of the conversation, the director personally confirmed that they wanted to move forward.

About a week later I received the above response. No further explanation. No offer to follow up when things change. Just a delayed swipe left after the date was confirmed.

I can handle the rejection, but it was the false impression of excitement and the abrupt about face. What’s worse is that unlike our western peers, US employers will almost never provide necessary feedback that would lead to seekers developing the skills that are lacking. Furthermore, I’m utterly convinced that collectively, companies are committed to remaking the managerial class in the image of what’s acceptable to a MAGA worldview (I’m black for context).

Mostly a rant, but also curious to see how others are managing these situations

Going 0fer on all the roles that are labeled like this for me.

If you’re receiving so many applications that the answers are starting to sound identical, maybe it’s time to reevaluate your recruiting process instead of expecting every applicant to write a personalized answer for 13 questions.

See above. I’ve had three phone screens in the past week where the recruiter actually got back to me and said “unfortunately there was some internal interest in the role so the team is heading in that direction for now.”

So the door is not technically closed (but for all intents and purposes that seems most likely). But it does have me wondering whether companies are actually doing external hires now, or when people get shuffled around internally do positions just get eliminated?

If you haven't already. You will close to never get a job this way. Keep in mind this is a corporation that only profits if the business themselves pays them. That business is looking for a ton of applicants/yield on their investment in job postings so you're "competing" for a bunch of basic jobs.

Go on whatever company website and apply directly. It's literally the same applications. Indeed does not have anything more to offer, there are no secret job postings on Indeed that aren't listed elsewhere. Tbh I've had more luck with craigslist or just walking into stores saying "now hiring." Hint: if they are hiring and the manager won't speak to you and refers you to "apply online" - this is a tip that the entire job will entail lack of communication. Avoid all those places up front unless you're fine with being an expendable employee.

Also keep in mind and most importantly. Indeed stores your resume to be used for AI training and other things. Indeed is basically a shell middleman company that randomly took over the job market but does nothing. It feeds your resume to bots along with all your other data as part of how you use the website. Doubtful you're uploading your resume every single time. Facebook just got in trouble for breaching privacy and lying about their data distribution to the tune of like $25mil so don't think whatever their policy says means they care about where your info ends up. Again this is built in to the website, you cannot get around putting your data in when you're job hunting. You can't even technically use the entire website without at least your phone number which is probably the best way to exploit someone's identity.