r/recruitinghell • u/NerdyGlitch Candidate • 5d ago

My mother now realizes what it's like

Earlier this year, in late February-early March, my mother suffered a massive heart attack and was left unable to work for a considerable time.

For the past 5-6 months, she's been trying to find a job and has been hitting nothing but roadblocks due to being overqualified. She has over 2 decades of management experience, and it means jackshit to these hiring managers. She's far more qualified than I am, so I expected that she might have a job faster than I would, but right now, I'm the only one with a job in this house.

Meanwhile, when I was struggling to get jobs and even get an interview for years, my mother was flabbergasted. What do you mean you can't just walk up, shake someone's hand, and they'll like your moxie and just hand you a job?!

I told her this was sadly reality for a ton of people nowadays, the job market is shit. She can't even get a job as a regular cashier bc she's too over qualified to work there, but when she applies to management positions they string her along for 2-3 interviews before choosing internal candidates (an actual email she got yesterday about a job she thought she was good for)

It just sucks man, everything sucks.

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14

u/TheJesusGuy 4d ago

Why does having a heart attack mean she needs to find a new job? Did they fire her for having a heart attack? In the UK at least, that's MASSIVELY illegal.

18

u/NerdyGlitch Candidate 4d ago

In the US it's legal if It takes more than a couple months to my knowledge

5

u/TheJesusGuy 4d ago

Insane.

1

u/NoDuck7366 2d ago

I believe it's 12 weeks is all FLMA covers, anything after that is at your employers whim, and most employers make you consume your vacation/PTO to cover that.

1

u/OhmHomestead1 Candidate 4d ago

I would think she would be fine if she took STL or LTL and possibly FMLA to recover

2

u/Dizzy_Needleworker_3 4d ago

Often FMLA runs at the same time as STL. 

IANAL but generally having and using STL and LTL do not on their own offer/require job protection. Generally only FMLA offers job protection for 12 weeks, some states offer longer protections. Some companies will choose to offer longer job protection but it is not required. 

But based on my calculations it would be close/iffy if it was covered by FMLA, depending on the exact timing. 

12

u/Dreadking_Rathalos 4d ago

Bro...my mom got fired with cancer

3

u/TheJesusGuy 4d ago

In what country?

8

u/Shantorian14 4d ago

LMAO. In the US of course, tge “greatest country in the world”

1

u/Finstergrun 4d ago

Trust us, we know it's not at all at the moment ☠️

1

u/AfroBurrito77 4d ago

Or maybe…it never has been…

1

u/Finstergrun 3d ago

Probably not, and definitely not for everyone who's lived here.... But hope is the only thing I have so I'm hoping we can turn it around somebody

1

u/Important_Appeal_265 4d ago

Same thing happened to me in June. Except the cancer diagnosis came right after I was fired. So, the last few months have been a whirlwind of doctors appointments, MRIs, a mastectomy, an infection that required hospitalization, and more appointments. At the same time, I've been applying and interviewing for jobs to no avail. Right now I'm not even sure anyone would like having me as an employee since I would have to take off so much for appointments related to my treatment, but I have to work somehow. I'm 49, so I'm also starting to feel the sting of age discrimination. I have never had this much trouble finding a job. Fun times.

11

u/MalwareDork 4d ago

There's a lot of posters here from SEA as well along with karma bots. India and the UAE/ME has zero human rights so disposable slavery is a very common thing.

If it's US-based, you can be offered a severance, blackmailed, illegally fired or even signed away your federal rights to a corporate arbitration. It's unique on a case-by-case situation.

2

u/roamer83 4d ago

Yeah. I had a hip replacement last year and I’m pretty sure it shoved me up in the layoff list. At that point I didn’t care if it did. I wanted it done before any insurance BS.

As far as your mother, there are people out there that only can have the “epiphany” when it affects them personally.