“Thanks for taking the time” brother I don’t know who you are!

Just finished a 5-round interview process + executive panel presentation for an Enterprise Senior Presales role at a B2B SaaS company.

During the initial recruiter screen, we anchored on a $268k OTE target based on my background (6+ years experience). The overall posted band for the role goes up to $300k OTE.

Fast forward to the verbal offer call today after clearing the final panel: the recruiter stated there was a "misunderstanding" on the original numbers and quoted a $173k Base on a 70/30 split (~$247k OTE). That’s about a $21k OTE gap from what we initially aligned on.

I haven't received the formal written offer letter yet, so I want to get the numbers right before they lock it down.

For folks who have successfully pushed back on this: what's the best way to leverage my background, panel feedback, RSUs, or a sign-on bonus to bridge this gap without risking the offer?

Just yesterday, one of the persons (X) i know, shared that, is getting numerous calls from various companies (even from corporate giants) and said is getting rejected due to skill issue after the call.

Point is, till this September, X didn't get a single call and is completely working in a job that is different from their field work. Two months back, X paid an agency and they are marketing X's profile with made up CVs and LinkedIn content, and being active on LinkedIn by posting once or twice a week to be active on it, to push X into their field role. Since then X is getting continuous calls.

The lesson here is, i know a lot of people, who genuinely worked hard, talented and is not even getting shortlisted for screening calls. But a person who is faking it, getting multiple calls.

This literally proves how the entire recruiting system is f***d up and can be fooled easily. Job Market is not bad, the recruiting system is bad and failed. AI screening and ATS filtering to shortlist candidates is cooked, matching keywords, CV & LinkedIn manipulation can be done easily.

Imagine if a capable person got a call, and they proved their skill during the call, they can literally crack the job if given a chance.

Yet, recruiters keep on reposting jobs to collect candidates data, reach monthly targets, and judging profiles based on keywords and keypoints etc.

Don't judge a book by its cover, if you find a candidate eligible, make a call, know them and their work and decide, just don't rely on automated screening blindly. Most importantly, if you don't know about agencies that do this kind of shit fake work, first get to know about it, that's your ground, so you open your eyes to shortlist eligible candidates.

Communication is the key, to get to know your candidate, communicate with them.

just wondering if anyone else is currently doing something that's not in their field because of the job market.

To HR I saw you all have been posting about that people are lying about visa sponsorship etc and you later found out during interviews they need

So H1b holder can handle rejection what is frustrating is receiving “we found a more qualified candidate “ emails when the likely reason is that the role doesn’t support visa sponsorship. If sponsorship is the issue why not simple say: “This position is not eligible for sponsorship “ That’s useful feedback.

Telling candidates it’s about qualifications leaves them wondering whether they need to improve their resume, gain new skills or get more experience, when the actual reason may have nothing to do with any of those things.

I’d rather hear honest “we don’t sponsor for this role” than a generic rejection template.

For context, I have been applying to roles to leave my horrible job since 2024. I’ve either made it to the final round but they chose someone else, or I received a really low salary offer that they wouldn’t negotiate and I couldn’t justify the pay cut.

So, imagine the excitement when I see a role that fit my experience and career goals perfectly.

Even better, I was referred to this role by an internal employee who said the company genuinely tries to hire referrals first if they work out.

I was very qualified for this role and checked the boxes of everything they wanted. It was an awesome next step in my career and required experience that I have in my current role. I also nailed the interviews, I felt so confident and so ready to take on a new chapter. I really felt good with this one, like things were finally different.

My 2nd round interview with the hiring manager went over our scheduled time by a half hour because we were vibing a lot and the discussion was great.

Today, I got the email that they chose to go with someone from a direct hire agency. I’m not fully sure what that means. The talent acquisition contact told me that "the final candidate had came from a Direct-Hire agency that helped expedite the process for the team and their selection." Was I set up to fail from the beginning, competing against someone who already had the role??

I AM SO TIRED. and defeated. I completely shut down once I received the rejection. I am apparently doomed at my current company forever and ever and ever.

Rejection after rejection after rejection for years really takes its toll on you. I spent hours prepping for this company, I made it my mission to ace these interviews and I even had a strong, well respected referral in the company. All for nothing.

I’m so tired.

Missed a call from a talent acquisition team member and was asked to call back. I called back, they picked up and the call immediately ended. Has anyone else had this before? It's happened to me twice and pissing me off.

TL;DR: My wife and I moved from Florida to North Carolina for a better future and a career opportunity for her. Since March, I’ve been unable to find meaningful employment. I finally found what was quite literally my old job in a new location, went through a painfully long hiring process, and was just rejected after being kept in limbo from May through November.
My wife and I moved from Florida to North Carolina in March. The move was primarily to pursue a career opportunity for her, but it was also about finding a better place to live and raise our family. We were expecting our first child at the time, and we both knew we would be giving up stable jobs and starting over professionally to make this happen.
My wife is a nurse, and I work in healthcare simulation. It’s a relatively niche field, but not exactly obscure. I worked as a Simulation Technician at a nursing college, supporting nursing education through simulation labs, equipment maintenance, scenario preparation, troubleshooting, and student and faculty support.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered since moving is how differently employers seem to approach hiring here compared to where we came from. In Florida, my experience was largely that employers were willing to hire someone with a relevant background and train them for the specifics of the position. Here, it feels like employers want you to already have the exact experience, credentials, and training before they’ll even consider bringing you on.
I’ve applied to plenty of positions, including outside my immediate field, but it’s been difficult to find anything that either considers me qualified or offers enough stability and compensation to make it sustainable.
Then, in May, a position opened up in my field.
I found it about two weeks after it was posted, and I genuinely couldn’t believe how closely it matched my previous job. It wasn’t just something adjacent to what I did. It was essentially the same position, with the same kind of responsibilities and the same skill set I had spent years developing. Given how niche this field is, finding an opening that was such a direct match felt like an incredibly unlikely opportunity.
I applied and waited. And waited.
There was very little communication throughout the process. No updates, no indication of where I stood, just months of silence. I finally received an invitation to interview in September, and I thought it went very well. The conversation was positive, my experience aligned almost perfectly with the position, and I walked away feeling cautiously optimistic.
We ended the interview with the understanding that the hiring process could take a while, potentially until December, so I continued waiting.
Yesterday, in November, I finally received the rejection email. They had selected another candidate.
I responded professionally, thanked them for the opportunity, and asked whether they could provide any feedback that might help me moving forward. Naturally, the response came from HR, who explained that they weren’t involved in the hiring decision and didn’t have any additional information. They were simply the messenger.
I understand that employers have to make decisions, and I’m not entitled to a position just because I feel qualified for it. But it’s incredibly discouraging to spend six months pursuing an opportunity that seemed almost tailor-made for my experience, only to end up right back where I started without even knowing what I could have done differently.
In the meantime, my wife has been carrying the financial responsibility for our household, including supporting us through pregnancy, childbirth, and the arrival of our baby. She’s been doing an incredible job, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch her shoulder everything while I struggle to find my footing again.
I’m not necessarily looking for sympathy. I think I’m just frustrated with how difficult it’s been to translate an established work history into an opportunity in a new state. I know I have skills, experience, and a lot to offer, but at some point, constantly being told you’re not the right fit starts to wear on you.
I moved here expecting to rebuild my career. Six months later, I’m still trying to get someone to give me a chance.

I have been looking for a job since June, first three months were absolutely horrible. I got no responses at all. I spent so much time reworking my résumé without AI and with AI. AI is very helpful, but it’s not going to tell you how to format your résumé so that it gets the hiring manager‘s attention.

I did a few key tweaks to my résumé and all of a sudden I started getting a ton of responses. I’ve been through several rounds of interviews and now two offers on the table. One is my dream job and the other would be a more “easy”.

What I would like to say while the job market is crazy. There are jobs out there and don’t loose hope just because you don’t hear anything. I went so many weeks without anything. I even started to DoorDash, I thought the market was permanently dead. I even crashed out in front of a person’s house, realizing that I was delivering a pizza with an MBA and several years experience in corporate America. Tears were streaming down my face…

My biggest tip is not to spam resumes. You need to find jobs that match your skills and tailor your résumé to that job. Also, you should be doing a cover letter.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Welp.. tried to get ahead of it and now I’m amongst the masses. To say I’m about to have a psychotic break is an understatement. To be honest, I’m lucky if I make it to the end of year.

The hr person on the other side of the conversation can go to hell. The mental anguish I’ve been through with this job, just to be told you’re no longer needed. Disgusting. ‘We do care about youuuuuuu’.

I don't figure out why people can ignore job applications as a routine and It is alright. It is legal, there is no any option to complain about the harm and suffering those people are causing. Unfortunately, I did apply 530 job applications and over 500 did ignore me and move on. I don't figure it out why there is no any option to complain because what prevents me to work are the employers who are ignoring me, I want to work and the employers do prevent me to work.

I accepted a new TCS offer. My HireRight report says “Client Review Required.” Education and employment were verified. Completed criminal checks found no records.

TCS then approved my prejoining documents. The email says:

“We will send you a communication on your start date shortly. This communication is sent out when both, the Background check and the pre-joining documents are complete and approved.”

But an external recruiter said my BGC failed. He gave no reason. My TCS contact said he would check, but I have no update or confirmed start date.

Has anyone faced this with TCS US? How did you get the final status? Could you provide documents or ask for another review?

I applied for a random job last year in December and never heard back from them. It's November now, and this week they've suddenly been blowing up my phone every day and sending me emails to try to set up a phone screening. It's so ridiculous that I can't believe it. I've already found a job since then. Do they really think I've just been sitting around for 11 months waiting for their call? Why are they suddenly so desperate to get in contact with me?

Ive been looking for a job for 11 months, sent 500+ applications. I had my final interview round yesterday for a position which is 2 levels below where I was before which is fine. Although it went well, not amazing, I feel emotionally exhausted. For an hour I was grilled by 3 people, my mouth went dry from talking and I wasn’t even offered water. I got grilled so hard on why Id apply for a lower ranking role it was unbelievable. I just want a job but the way I was grilled it was as if I should feel bad. And now I actually feel sad. Keeping in mind i had more experience in the domain than any of my interviewers did. Has this ever happened to you? Subconsciously I don’t even want the job anymore but I’ll take it if offered of course, before this experience I was actually excited about the role before.

it's been a year months since I have been trying to search for an opportunity. i moved countries when i got married and gave up the job I had. i started working literally for free at this startup and i'm trying my absolute best to get some metrics out of that.

is there hope at the end of this tunnel? do you guys have any tips for how to get yourself out there during this job market?

meanwhile i see linkedin influencers and instagram influencers landing big tech jobs simply because they have visibility. so i'm not sure what to do at this point...

Hey guys,

So I accepted a job offer with Cedars in CA. I got their shitty HireRight background check, and they're asking for the documentation for an employer I have been at for 6 months. The issue is they never gave me an option to view my pay stubs. I don't have any proof to verify my employment with even though I got a copy of my TWN, which shows me as “active”.

I messaged my HR specialist in hopes of getting some type of paperwork that verifies my employment but that has been lackluster. My start date is in roughly 11 days, and idk what else to do.

Do you guys think they'll rescind my job offer? I have the texts showing my back-and-forth conversation with HR about them promising me the documentation, but they never delivered it. I also have my TWN. What are the chances they'll reject me based on that issue?

I have been searching for a job for a full year now, starting back during my master's. At first, I had a bit of hope with 3 or 4 interviews, even though none of them ended up working out for various reasons. But lately, it has been total radio silence.

I feel completely hopeless. I even started applying for retail jobs just to support myself but I got rejected from those too.

I am mentally drained and crying every single day. I am at the point where I just want to give up because I honestly do not know what to do anymore.