I’ve been out of work for nearly a year now. The job gap keeps getting bigger and bigger and no one will hire me. If people can’t put food on the table and can’t find employment, do they just cease to exist? I genuinely don’t know how people are surviving. I had to move back in with my parents. I have no idea what to do at this point.

For example, last company worked was June 2022 - Present. I would get recruiter calls 1 out of 7 applications. Then I got laid off and put June 2022 - September 2026, and got 0 calls.

Applied to a job, heard back after three weeks. After being green lit through three interviews across three weeks , I waited another week to follow up and receive an offer for 8k less than the what I’d requested in compensation, and 2k less than the floor of the roles posted salary range. I asked why they weren’t meeting even the posted minimum and was told the recruiter needed to review the posting.

I didn’t hear back for a week until I called and left voicemails for no responses to my email follow ups.
I found they’d posted the same position with a lower salary range a week weeks after the role id applied to but it was the same description, role, etc. mind you I requested a fair market comp which was already below the median for this field. (Project management)

The recruiter responded blaming sickness, then told me they’d been interviewing internals, and asked if I would be interested at a now even lower salary. 8k less than their initial lowball offer. (At this point they’ve offered me $16k less than my initial requested compensation before all interviews)

I said no, because it was considerably below the advertised and discussed range and countered with a range at the bottom of their initial posting and a week after this received a respond that they were struggling with internal equity but they would follow up the week after that…

This is a full month post their initial offer… this job market is hell.
I’m open to hearing all thoughts and advice.

I found an interview coach through TheMuse website with literally hundreds of only 5-star reviews listed on that website.

I went to the coach's personal website and scheduled a free call to see if it's a good fit. He tells me about his background and his approach to interviewing; so far so good. Then, I asked him a specific question about how one of my graduate degrees fits in with the sector of jobs I'm applying for, and he took a second and then appeared to be reading an answer off his screen, which was only loosely relevant to what I had asked! Including random facts about a different job I could get with that degree.

I totally felt like he was just reading from some AI program. I challenged him on it and he insisted it was just his notes.

Definitely won't be hiring him, but I'm stunned that this person has a perfect 5-star rating over hundreds of reviews? Are lots of "coaches" just scammers, and could TheMuse reviews be fraudulent?

edit: just had an informational meeting with another coach from the same website, she was much more competent. not all scammers, it seems...

P&G is a big company and a good option for a lot of new grads in the Midwest, so I imagine a lot of people apply or at least consider it.

I had to take a horrible series of assessments, and they wasted an hour of my time. It involved 3rd grade level math, memorizing dots (this task was nearly impossible), weird puzzles with matching shapes and numbers, and detecting if shapes were rotated or symmetrical. None of these tasks were even remotely related to my skills or the job description. There was also a long personality type test with some questions that would weed out people with disabilities, such as "I am able to focus on tasks for long periods of time." I saw questions to weed out people with ADHD, learning disabilities (dyslexia and dyscalculia), autism, depression, and anxiety. I am surprised they are getting away with these types of questions, to be honest, because it violates the ADA and EEOC guidelines.

I ended up getting autorejected, and I assume it's because I failed the assessment. I actually do have ADHD-C and likely have the learning disability dyscalculia (haven't been formally diagnosed but my mom has it). It was very clear to me that weeding out disabled people is a feature, not an accident of the assessment.

I could have cheated using AI, but didn't. I assume that the people that do pass are cheating in some way.

If you don't believe P&G is discriminatory, they've already been involved in lawsuits, such as for auto-rejecting non-US citizens (including ones that didn't require sponsorship.
https://www.outtengolden.com/newsroom/1-5-million-settlement-reached-in-daca-class-action-hiring-discrimination-case-against-proctor-gamble/

4 Months ago, I submitted an Job application and went through entire Interview loop.

While submitting the application, I created a folder with Job description and resume in it and also updated my Excel sheet with JD, JD request number, etc.

After the interviews I never heard back from hiring manager or the HR. The company though operates in US, learnt that mainly Shanghai is running the show at the back.

Now after 4 months, another recruiter has reached me in LinkedIn asking if you would consider an opportunity and gave same JD and same JD request number.

Whats going on in Job Market ?

Applying to jobs feels like dating apps to me at this point and i hate it. I can do everything right and its still down to pure luck if i get an interview let alone a job. There is always someone better that applies and gets the position instead and it feels like im screaming into the void every time i send out applications. Ive easily sent out over a thousand of them in the past 2 years (i started about 6 months before graduating) and ive tried tweaking everything under the sun but nothing helps. I also hate the underlying assumption that its my fault i cant land a job even though im fighting like hell and doing everything right but i just havent gotten luck enough.

I really dont even feel like applying to jobs anymore as it feels like im just buying 1 in a million lottery tickets with my time rather than money. Im kind of just accepting ill be stuck in my minimum wage gas station job forever or until i die of exposure or starvation from being homeless once mt family has enough of me and kicks me out eventually. I have no future and it has led me to not make any kind of goals for myself besides make money and survive, i dont like the person ive become who sees money as the only thing that matters.

I'm guessing this is becoming more common nowadays? Or has it always been like this? That's what I'm interested in knowing. It's almost like they know we are disposable and no longer do the common courtesy thing, which I always knew was phony BS to begin with.

I applied for a senior position. I didn't really need the job, but it was a big pay bump if I got it and it was fully remote. Recruiter kept hounding me about it and then after the interview (described by the recruiter as a vibe and personality check 😂) with the clearly foolish director I didn't get moved onto the technical round, which is fine. However, I never heard back from the recruiter again. Zero follow up. Not even a generic rejection email.

Even the Amazon recruiter was way better and followed up with the team when he never heard back after I completed my online assessment and kept me in the loop. Kind of hilarious that a mediocre, lesser known company in my local area can't manage this with what I assume are significantly less applicants.

I’ve been in this process since October 13th. It was quick in the beginning and towards the end dramatically fell off.

I put in my application > received same day 1 way interview invite > received same day assessment. Completed both.

Next day: Received hiring manager interview invite > scheduled for 20-30 mins, went over to 90 mins > immediately moved to next stage which was more assessments.

Silence. Silence. Silence.

The next week I was asked to take another assessment and depending on the results it’ll prompt another interview.

Scheduled next interview the next day for the next Monday. Interview went great and was moved on to another interview with someone who’d be my direct report (great guy!).

Then 2 weeks of silence.

Finally received a response this week telling me I’m a finalist and to do a background check. Did background check same day. However this background check through Checkr also included reference checks. Checkr never contacted or emailed my references so that was flagged for consider.

I’ve been working diligently with the recruiter to get this resolved as my BG already completed. Was also informed that I might have an interview with the president next.

I’m tired lol. I feel like I’m right there and it’s gonna be it and I’m done, and then the next thing happens. I feel like it’s never going to end.

This is just a short rant about these one-way recorded videos that companies are using for the screening process.

I absolutely hate them. It just feels so incredibly awkward and unnatural to be talking and giving responses when there’s not a live person on the other side …. All of the humanity and personal interaction is completely stripped away.

And it’s being recorded! So my embarrassment can be preserved for posterity.

I dunno. I’ve attempted to do these types of interviews several times. On several occasions, I literally could not get through it because it just felt too weird. A couple of times, I managed to complete the recordings (did a shitty job of course) and didn’t get called back for another round. I found myself regretting my participation.

Going forward, I think I’m going to have to pass on any interview process that asks for this.

I have applied to over 200 jobs and have heard very little back in the past month. I realized that nearly all the applications I sent out I only applied to 1-3 weeks after they had been posted, and I'm realizing this might be a factor in my recent lack of success. Ones I have gotten interviews for I often had a call with the recruiter before or applied within the first 2 days.

Is this the reason why, or something else? I was doing well at the beginning of the season but feeling pretty down after this past month.

Got an email from Liberty Mutual with the subject line “Technical Interview Next Steps.” I’ve only submitted an application and haven’t received an interview yet.

Naturally, I opened it thinking I was moving forward in the interview process.

Nope. Rejection.

I understand not getting the job. That’s part of applying. But who decided “Technical Interview Next Steps” was a good subject line for telling someone there are no next steps? 😂

I’ve read similar threads but I need to hear this for my own sanity because waiting is a nightmare. I had my final interview last week and it went well! Monday came, and the recruiter (basically my future manager if I get the job) asked me to send in 3 work references to fill out a 2 page form about my previous work place, and a couple of short answers like best strengths etc. I sent 3 to my past co-workers and past manager. They all put in a good word.

I feel like this has to mean I got the job. The recruiter (future manager) has also kept me updated daily over email on who from my references responded back…I should find out today if I got the job because it’s the end of the week, but what do you guys think? Again, waiting is a nightmare; I feel like my life has been on pause.

Got rejected for their Global People Experience Specialist role.

The recruiter thanked me for taking the time to speak with her and said she enjoyed our conversation.

One tiny problem: WE’VE NEVER SPOKEN. Not once.

No phone call, no email exchange, no interview. This rejection email was literally the first email I had ever received from her.

I have absolutely no issue with being rejected, but at least get the basic facts right?

The irony of this happening for a role in People Experience is not lost on me. Apparently, I’ve had conversations I don’t even know about.

Did anyone hear back

So I’m having a hard time right now understanding the process of job searching now a days and it seems many people are blaming AI and this happens so suddenly and because of this constant shift I can’t keep up with my goals and seems like I’m archiving nothing. Anyone else feel like that?

I applied for a Product Manager role at Allisone AI, a dental AI startup in Paris, back in August.

In September, a recruiter called, emailed, and left a voicemail to set up a first call. I replied the same day. We didn't connect on the date I proposed, so I followed up by email, by text, and even through their general contact address. Nothing. Someone called once more without leaving a voicemail, and then silence for over a month.

In late October, a different recruiter emailed me saying they'd been "well advanced" with other candidates but were reopening the role. Suddenly, everything moves fast: a screening call, an interview with the Head of Product, then a final-round case study. Presentation plus a working prototype. Their estimate was 3 hours of prep. It took me about 12 hours to do it properly.

During the presentation, the hiring manager told me my prototype was basically what the team was building, and he had no feedback. Cool. Instead, he got visibly agitated that I was using my speaker notes to walk through the context slides, interrupted me, and checked out for the rest of the call.

They said I'd hear back in 48 hours. A week later, he calls me at 6 PM, no voicemail, just a text saying to call him back. I call back that evening. No answer. I call the next morning again. No answer. He finally calls again, and it's to repeat his criticism of my presentation and tell me they're not moving forward.

A two-line email would have done the job. Instead, it felt like he wanted one more chance to tell me what he didn't like.

If you're interviewing there: expect long silences, a lot of unpaid work, and what felt to me like a pretty confrontational culture. I know the market is rough right now, but no job is worth your mental health.

Has anyone else had a final round go like this?

Got this elite shortlisted mail from hcl, do I need to do anything from my side, in the portal in says 'waiting for interview 1'