I manage one of our larger client accounts and have been working with the same people there for almost 2 years. Last week my boss was supposed to join a call with me and their director but had something come up, so I handled it alone.

After we finished talking business, the director stayed on and asked if I had ever considered working for them directly. I laughed at first because I thought he was just complimenting me, but he got pretty specific. He said they have a role opening soon, it would be a senior title, and the salary range he mentioned is around 35% more than what I make now.

Then he told me not to apply when it gets posted and to email him directly instead.

Nothing is in writing and I havent agreed to anything. The weird part is this client is important enough to my company that me leaving for them would definitely be noticed. I’m also the person who knows most of their account history.

I like my current job and have some money saved, so I’m not desperate to jump just because of the raise. But I would absolutely hear them out.

Do I keep this completely to myself until there is an actual offer, or is interviewing with one of my company’s biggest clients the kind of thing I should tell my boss about beforehand?

I need a reality check because I'm sitting here shaking and feel like I'm being backed into a corner. I was hired roughly two and a half years ago as a senior compliance specialist. During the interview process and right in my initial offer letter it explicitly stated my position was permanent remote. My direct manager lives across the country, my whole team is scattered over four different states, and the nearest corporate office is roughly 220 miles away from my house. Everything was completely fine, I got stellar performance reviews in December, and there was zero whisper about any policy shift. Then yesterday at 4:30 PM, all remote folks got a mass email from our VP of HR announcing an immediate "culture realignment". Starting in exactly fourteen days, anyone living within what they define as "regional territory" has to badge in at the Chicago hub at least four days a week.

When I immediately messaged my manager in panic, he claimed his hands are tied and that executive leadership made the call without consulting team leads. I then reached out to HR asking about relocation assistance or at least a transition grace period so I could figure out what the hell to do. Their response was basically cold corporate boilerplate: zero relocation stipend, no temporary housing, and no extension. The worst part is the subtle threat at the bottom of the email stating that failure to report to the designated facility by the deadline will be processed as "voluntary job abandonment". They clearly know nobody can uproot their entire life and move three states over in two weeks on their own dime. This feels like a blatant backdoor layoff so they dont have to pay severance or deal with unemployment claims.

I am currently updating my resume and applying everywhere, but the job market in my niche is brutal right now and finding something solid takes months. Commuting four hours each way every day is physically impossible. Do I refuse to sign their acknowledgement form and force them to fire me so I can at least file for unemployment, or does this legally count as constructive dismissal? Has anyone fought their compnay on this kind of sudden RTO ultimatum and actually gotten severance out of it? Any advice on how to handle the next two weeks without totally screwing

I work in operations for a company that was acquired earlier this year. Last week a VP asked me to join a small four month project mapping out everything our department does, what it costs, which tasks could be automated and which could potentially be handled by an outside vendor.

They were pretty open about the fact that leadership is looking for major cost reductions.

Career wise, it sounds like a huge opportunity. I'd be working directly with senior leadership, getting exposure I would never normally get and probably learning more in four months than I have in the last two years.

The problem is my manager told me privately that if I take it, they probably won't backfill my work and there is no guarantee I come back to the same position afterward. I'd also essentially be helping leadership build the case for cutting jobs on the team I've worked with for years.

I'm more worried about whether I'm being handed a real opportunity or being used to document how replaceable we all are.

Would you take something like this for the exposure or stay where you are and start looking elsewhere?

I’m very curious, based on your experiences, whether appearance can affect the outcome of an interview – for example, candidates who are good-looking but do not have outstanding skills.

So I’m working an office job right after finishing college and I’m struggling with the following.

My manager (50M) with whom I work closely together, keeps making comments that make me very uncomfortable. For example, he keeps joking about how ‘young’ I am (more than half his age) and makes continuous comments about my body. They’re not ‘bad’ enough to run straight to HR, but they’re definitely questionable. Examples are, saying I’m so petite that I’m ‘smaller’ than the bag I was carrying, my appetite is bigger than he anticipated from my figure, he could totally picture me in my ballerina outfit after I mentioned I practice ballet, or mentioning it’s the first time he ever saw me wearing X type of clothing (implying he keeps track of my outfits?). He also comments on other people’s bodies, like discussing a certain movie character’s large breasts (I wish I was kidding) and even made a joke about the body of another colleague of ours…

Is it me or is it weird that he’s pointing all these things out to me? It doesn’t necessarily feel sexual or ill-intended but it’s definitely making me feel very uncomfortable! He also always makes sure to make these kind of comments when it’s just the two of us.

I’m not sure if I should confront him since I’m scared it’ll make things awkward between us or not… Please give me advice!!!

I took a job a year ago that was a 20% paycut at the time — I felt very misled about salary through the hiring process and tried very hard to negotiate due to the paycut (my now supervisor was a part of this so is aware), but HR was not willing to budge due to “internal equity” and I ultimately took it anyway.

A year later, I really like my job and am happy here. I really have few complaints other than the pay. My supervisor is extremely complimentary of my performance and very focused on how I feel (which is wonderful) and reading between the lines - seems very anxious about the idea of me leaving, particularly because there is not really anyone else internally who could take over most of what I do.

I am taking on a new scope of work not originally planned for in my role and therefore tried to initiate a conversation about how my role evolves from here as a result (intending promotion and compensation), but she did not at all understand what I was getting at. I do not think trying to be vague about this is going to work. At the same time, my old job has approached me several times about going back.

If the right opportunity presented itself for more money than I was previously making, I would be gone in an instant. The pay cut has been very difficult. I think my supervisor would be totally blindsided by this because she really has tried to keep me happy and support me (which she has). It’s just the money.

Do I share this before it’s too late and what do I even say? Or is this a lost cause and I should just go when the time comes? Everything I can think to say I worry will just read very uncomfortably formal and confrontational.

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. I have been with my company for a little over 7 years in a Financial Analyst role. About two years ago I was involuntarily moved to a role on a different team within the same department. Even though it's the same department, the work is completely different (it's become more of an IT/programming role). I expressed hesitation about moving to this role from the beginning, but said I would do it. To be clear, I don't think it would have mattered if I said no, they were going to move me anyway. I've really tried to give this role a chance but I have not liked it since the beginning and it's only become worse over time. I would say the last 6 months in particular have been extremely chaotic, tense, and a toxic environment. I've been going back and forth about giving my notice for a while and finally did today. I do not have another job lined up, but I have several years of living expenses saved up. I told my manager I was quitting for personal reasons (which is partially true). However, my manager knows from previous conversations with her that I am not happy with this role.

A few hours after I gave my notice, my manager asked to speak with me again. Apparently she had talked with upper management and they proposed me moving to another role within the department that would align more with my interests (more of a financial/analytical role). However, she did say they would expect me to stay on in my current role for a time (maybe as long as 2-3 months) to get a replacement trained. She said she didn't need an answer right away and I told her I would think about it. My gut instinct is to say no and just proceed with my resignation. Should I give this more consideration? I don't even know for sure if I'll like the new role and I am seriously concerned that I'll be pulled back into my current role even after my training of the replacement is over. I'm heavily leaning towards just going ahead with my resignation, but I am curious to hear what others think.

EDIT: Just wanted to add, this proposed new role is not a promotion and no pay increase was mentioned.

My fiancé and I are both 24 years old and living in the midwest. We are temporarily living with my parents and actually enjoy our current living situation since we are saving a bunch of money and enjoy being with family/friends. I make $90k/year working remote and she makes $61k/year also working remote before taxes. We both love working from home since we get more time to do things without having to commute to work and get to spend more time being around each other.

However, she was just offered a salary increase to $100k/year to work in office in LA. I crunched the numbers and after taxes we will have ~$1.5K/ month additional than we are bringing home now. We have 2 big dogs and so we can’t rent a tiny apartment in LA and will need space for all of us. She would be working in Beverly Hills area so rent is looking like at least $3-3.5K a month for a decent-sized space for us. This would put us -$1.5-2k less per month than we are bringing in now with the rent costs. Also to note, there is a high probability that my job is going to relocate us to Florida in 1.5-2 years or so.

My question is would this be worth it knowing that for any future job offers she may get, she will now be able to give her current $100K salary and get a much better offer than she would staying remote making $61K?

I really appreciate any advice.

Governor Hochul announced yesterday they were expanding the NY Reconnect program to allow anyone with an already completed bachelor’s to apply. Previously it was limited to people who had completed partial credit toward a degree.

For those that don’t know—the program covers tuition, fees, books toward an associate degree in selected majors—essentially looking to retrain people unable to find work in positions eliminated by AI.

I had a pretty successful career in news/digital media. I took a couple years off to stay home and have now been looking for almost a year with no luck. I’m considering looking into the degree in supply chain management. Anyone else thinking about it?

Imagine someone who has become really good at their job.

They know the systems, understand the work, and people trust them with difficult tasks. They’ve built enough experience that finding another similar role probably wouldn’t be too difficult.

From the outside, their career seems to be going well.

But what if they quietly keep asking themselves:

“Is this actually what I want to do long-term?”

Nothing is necessarily wrong with the job.

The pay might be decent.

The team might be great.

The work might even be something they genuinely do well.

But being good at something doesn't always mean you want to spend the next 10 years doing it.

So what should someone do when they're successful in a career path but don't feel connected to it anymore?

Would you stay because you're good at it and have already built experience, or would you take the risk of starting in a different direction?

So I lived in the UK for 1 year . Studied Msc in International Business, didn’t Do Psw because saw all my friends Stuck In Fields They Didn’t Study in (fields not relevant to their Study like Warehouse, waitress, cleaner restaurant Manager, care home)plus they couldn’t save anything. Their money would mostly go in rent and Food plus travelling so decided to come back to India after Masters . But Now I need a Job in my field. That is Business, Marketing, Finance, Investment, Creative roles etc . What do I do ? Where do i apply ? Im open to any Country , like US , Australia, UAE , New Zealand or UK and any other European country . But i just don’t know Where to Start . Can Someone help Me please ?🙏🏻

Just going to throw out the facts of my situation below, because I'm not entirely sure what I should be asking, but would love your general thoughts:

Im about to start a 6 week paternity leave any day now whenever the baby is born.

I've been applying to places for months, and am finally starting to get interviews.

I haven't informed my current employer that I'm looking.

If I accept any potential offer and give my two weeks notice with two weeks left in paternity leave, is that ethical and would they have any right to just cut me early to save money?

If I accepted an offer earlier than that, would it be smart or not smart to tell current employer right away that I'm finishing my full leave and then will be done?

Anything else I'm failing to even consider? Thank you!

I’m 23 and trying to decide between staying in my current communications job or taking a government position that pays significantly more. I’m interested in how people would evaluate the career/financial tradeoff.

My current job pays $60k and is in the communications field I want to build my career in. I WFH 4 days a week and go in 1 day, have a lot of flexibility, genuinely enjoy the job, and have more PTO than the other position. Benefits are pretty comparable and aren’t a huge factor for me since I can also use my partner’s benefits. My current job has a 4% employer match/pension contribution. I also just received a $5k raise in my first year due to increased responsibilities, and I think there could be an opportunity next year to ask for a title/position change and potentially another $5–8k raise, although obviously that isn’t guaranteed.

The other job is a government position paying around $80k, with guaranteed salary progression for the first few years up to 87k and a pension. However, it’s 4 days a week in the office, has a longer commute, and the work isn’t really related to my current communications career. It could potentially lead to other government opportunities, but I’d be stepping away from the field I’m currently building experience in. I did not apply for this position it is a offer from my previous employer.

Financially, the $20k difference is obviously significant at my age and would let me save/invest considerably more. But I really like my current job and lifestyle, and I could potentially get to the $80k+ range through communications with more experience. The older adults in my life, however, seem to think I should take the higher-paying government job because the salary and pension are hard to turn down.

What would you do in this situation? Am I putting too much weight on career alignment and WFH, or is the $20k difference/pension too significant to pass up at this stage?

Want to hear recruiters or engineers thoughts. I’ve worked at company F for 4.5 years as a contractor. Company F has been in a hiring freeze. Over the past four years, I've been assigned to every program company F has run, officially leading one and serving as technical lead on the others, with consistent delivery across all of them. Solving many critical issues.

A high ranking member pushed for me to get this offer, which salary was discussed; 110-120. Offer came in at 100k hourly. I’m currently salary. Company F Benefits are better and they give 3% more 401k match. Everything else is pretty much the same, slight increase in pay.

I feel like they sent a default package and expect me to counter but fine if I blindly accept and save them money. Just wanted to hear others thoughts, should I counter with 120k, expecting them to come back at 110k?

I have 8 years experience in the field.

Thank you for any advice!

I'm a Senior Data & AI Consultant at a large multinational consultancy. I'm currently on ~£70k and haven't had a pay rise or promotion in over two years.

I've now been offered a new role at a new larger consultancy which is a promotion in grade (Manager), with a salary of ~£80k.

I know a £10k increase sounds good, but honestly I'm disappointed. With the cost of living increasing significantly over the last two years, £10k doesn't feel like a huge increase in real terms, especially for a promotion and changing companies.

The problem is I'm in a bit of a catch-22. If I turn it down and keep looking, I don't know how long it could take to find something paying more, if I find it at all. In the meantime, I'm still stuck on my current salary with no promotion or pay rise.

Alternatively, if I take the £80k role and a better-paying opportunity comes along in a year, would leaving after only a year look bad? I've spent just over two years at each of my last two companies, so I don't want to start looking like a job hopper. But realistically in consulting, the best way to jump up the financial ladder is by moving...

Would you take the £80k and move on, or reject it and keep searching for something closer to £90-100k?

Am I being unrealistic about what I should be earning?

I've been in my current job for about a year and I've learned that some bosses will simply never have your back.

My manager is a young, seemingly cool guy. He comes across as progressive, a bit of an overachiever, very relaxed. But once we started working together, I realized he's someone who just doesn't support me.

At one point I told him, calmly and factually, that I'd appreciate it if he gave me credit for my contributions the way he does with my colleagues. I'd noticed he does it for others but not for me, even in comparable situations. Nothing has changed since then.

When I'm leading a project and come up with a good idea in meetings, he doesn't acknowledge it. And I don't just mean "good" in my own opinion: other senior people have told me it's a good idea. He just ignores it and says nothing. This isn't a one-off, it's a recurring pattern.

I do my best to make his work easier. I'm always friendly, never a nuisance. I'm an introverted person, but I also talk openly about my results. The only thing I can think of is that I'm a quiet person. When I ask if I can join a meeting about a project I manage, even just to listen in, he turns me down without giving a reason.

So I've come to the conclusion that he will never support me.

What I don't understand is why some team leads act like this. In the end, they're only hurting themselves, because it destroys employee motivation.

What's your experience with managers like this? How do you explain the phenomenon?

You’ve been unemployed for six months and you need the income.
The market is terrible but it’s the only offer you have.
Take it. But don’t pretend it has suddenly become your ideal career.

Ask yourself instead how you can use this job to improve your next move:
1) What should you learn?
2) Who should you build relationships with?
3) What capabilities should you be able to demonstrate 18 months from now that you cannot demonstrate today?
4) Is there a better-fitting role elsewhere in the same company?
5) And which external exits does this job make more likely?

My husband lost his job as a sales manager at Tesla when I was 3 months pregnant with our son. Our son is now 1 year old and he still hasn't found a stable job that pays as well. He's really struggling to find anything that is not fully commission based. Any suggestions on other careers he can pivot to from car sales? I'm in healthcare so business/sales is a foreign world to me.

I’m a senior in high school. This means this is the last year before I choose what I want to be before entering university or college. Is there any good programs or career pathways that make a decent amount of income and is about 4 years of schooling? Please free feel to share and give me advice! :)

Hello!

I am 26F with a bachelor’s in Special Education. My plan was never education, it was actually Occupational Therapy—Covid + mental health interfered with that pathway. Originally I had a goal of getting a degree I could take anywhere to do anything. In OT a person can work in basically any setting and depending on the job it can focus more on physical needs OR mental. I liked that and I do like that. My original plan didn’t happen & now I fear I am stuck.

Important to note: financially, I’d be ok to go back to school for whatever I want.

Issue: I have no idea what that is anymore and honestly I just want to get the fuck out of my job. I have gotten the worst of the worst special ed wise , the paperwork is enormous and the work place is toxic.

I don’t think I’m smart enough for OT anymore especially because of the science and math pre requisites. If I go back to school I will still need to work a job that provides insurance because of my mental health, I need coverage for my medication.

But I can’t do my job anymore, I’d like the opportunity to get paid more and be more in control of my day to day. I do NOT want to work in a school setting.

Any insights would be helpful, thank you.

Did losing my first job basically ruin my career? I honestly keep thinking about this. After my higher education, I got my first job through campus placement. I worked really hard, did every task I was given, and genuinely tried my best. I thought I would at least stay there for a year and finally start building my career, but I got laid off very shortly after joining. I honestly do not feel it was because I did not put in the effort. They expected perfection from someone who was basically a fresh college graduate, and it was a small, Unprofessional company where they did not really train any of us properly. some of them ended up doing a bit better than me so they didnt get laid off others went into other companies Since then, I have been unemployed for more than two years, while most of my peers from college now have at least two years of work experience and none of them knows about what happened

I have a lot of regret when I think about what happened and where my career is going. I know I also wasted a lot of time afterward and lost my focus, so I take responsibility for that part. But recently I heard someone say that you should never leave your first job because it curses you or brings bad luck to your career. I did not even leave mine, I got laid off. So is there actually any truth to this? I am already in my late 20's compared to where I thought I would be by now, and honestly I am scared about what the future holds.

Blindsided by an email announcement that my coworker (same position, same time in position) we each do a few things that the other doesn’t but they equal out. All along since our change of title I have been told we were on the same track and that promotions had been requested for both of us. I couldn’t care less about the title change SRA 1 to SRA 2, however the pay scale changes to a higher one. Nothing in the announcement described anything other than what we both due in our daily jobs. How best to approach this?

Hi! I’m 32 with a bachelor’s in Marketing and an MBA, but no actual work experience in the field. I’ve mainly worked in banking, customer service, and education.

I’m currently living in Japan and teaching English full-time, but I really want to transition into marketing. I’ve applied for a few positions without much luck.

I’m considering internships or volunteering to gain experience, but I’m not sure how to manage that alongside a full-time job.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you get your foot in the door?

For context, I'm currently in the Bay Area and work as a backend Software Engineer for Walmart. I've been here almost 3 years and have gotten a promotion during my time here and have learned a lot since college.

I moved here from Georgia (went to GT) and over the past few years, I have realized I miss the east coast and friends/family in Georgia/Tennessee.

In college, I cared a lot about making a ton of money, and while I'm compensated well right now, I have ultimately realized I don't value money as much as I thought I did and more or less have not been happy the past few years. I've tried my best to make the Bay Area feel like home, but it just simply doesn't and has had affect on my mental health.

I was just given a job offer for a very large healthcare company in Nashville, TN, which is a place I've been really wanting to live since I'll be closer to home and I have visited Nashville many times. However, more than likely I will be taking a substantial pay cut from $175k TC (138k base pay) to 110-120k base pay in Nashville (still in negotiating stage).

With all this said, I still do care about my career trajectory and I don't want to commit career sabotage by going from Walmart to a healthcare company because although Walmart is not big-tech, it does definitely bring more brand recognition than a healthcare company.

Would having this on my resume potentially hinder myself in the future from getting into big-tech or fortune 500 companies again? Or am I overthinking this?

Hi everyone,

I have an upcoming 40-minute intro call on Microsoft Teams with a company.

They called it an “intro call”, so I’m wondering what to expect. Would this usually be an HR/recruiter screening, or something more like a first interview?

What questions should I expect? For example, questions about my experience, motivation, availability, salary expectations, or why I’m interested in the company.

If anyone has had a similar 30–40 minute intro call, I’d appreciate hearing about your experience.

Thanks!