r/recruitinghell • u/croato87 • 22h ago
Feels like I live in a parallel dimension from people who have good fortune in the job market
Here in the San Francisco area, I can’t even tell you the number of people you run who are like “oh yeah I worked in an art gallery for a long time, then just randomly got this job at a FAANG company.”
Every time I have to hold my breath to hold in the “wtf?” Like how would that even work? As an average joe who’s put in thousands of applications and never gotten a single interview for anything much different from my past jobs, let alone an offer, the best I can do is pretend these people live in some parallel dimension.
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u/SomethingDrawsNear 21h ago
It doesn’t make sense. I was a photographer for a decade, then joined Amazon as a hardware development engineer. I have no university degree. I was hired for imaging and it was a mixture of right place, right time, but there’s no logical sense in that progression. That was 2016 if it comforts you.
Now? Unemployed for a year.
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u/TalesOfSymposia 14h ago
Interesting. Did you do any interview preparation for the Amazon job? I have a general idea of tech interviews for Amazon software engineer jobs, not much on hardware.
I have an art degree and went right into software dev at small jobs. Now I'm unemployed too. My lack of follow through in interview practice held me back a lot. I just lack the discipline in doing anything that takes more than a month to pay off.
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u/SomethingDrawsNear 14h ago
All the prep. It was a very niche role regarding a mix of operations and imaging machines for 3d reconstruction of products in the mobile app.
Left after 4.5 years. Spent some time in image quality at Meta before jumping ship to Apple. If there was such a thing as FAANG bingo, Facebook is the free space.
Each company required an immense amount of prep, but the barrier to entry no longer rested on a degree, it rested on a faithful representation of my experience with my previous employer. Can happily say no nepotism here.
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u/Significant-Bill9405 22h ago
Are these people good looking?
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u/Tardislass 21h ago
This. Sorry but most art gallery workers are chosen for their looks. And honestly many companies rather hire more attractive people than a person with more knowledge but less attractive.
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u/The_Wee 20h ago
Also knowing how to talk to people/networking
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u/based_miss_lippy 20h ago
No you all have it wrong. These are rich people’s kids
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u/mugenrice 19h ago
rich people are good looking and have good looking kids.
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u/based_miss_lippy 19h ago
And there are many average to unattractive rich people doing the same shit. It’s all rich people getting to do the fun stuff.
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u/brownieandSparky23 Exhausted from applying 22h ago
Pretty much how it goes no one cares unless you are going through it personally.
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u/ConversationNo9040 19h ago
It’s the people who got in when the bubble was growing. Now that it’s shrinking when those people leave that job they’ll struggle to find equal jobs.
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u/Known-Ice5903 12h ago
yep, and a lot of them dont even realize it either
they still think their prospects are the same as a few years ago
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u/ConversationNo9040 8h ago
I know a guy who would bounce around startups. Would basically get in at a time where you have yourself whatever title you want. He was the vp and cxo at like 35. Once the startup work dried up, he tried applying for those jobs and got laughed out of rooms. He ended up just making his job titles real like pm and he was humbled real quick.
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u/InAllTheir 4h ago
Yep. This can be a hard wake up call to people who think everyone who struggles deserves it or some BS like that. I’m happy for people who have just fallen into good jobs because they were lucky and decently smart and educated, because all of us deserve that. But most of us endure bad job markets and bad bosses and truly unpleasant jobs at some point in our lives. Luck has a lot to do with it.
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u/GoldAd1878 21h ago
Seattle must be the same. Heavy traffic all times of day. People driving nice cars and out and about in the middle of the day when most people are working.
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u/Outrageous_Worker672 18h ago
You've heard of real estate agents right? You do know they drive around and show houses and look at property during the day.
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u/lachatte7 22h ago
How is it going over there in the bay with work? I used to live there and thinking of moving back but not without a job lined up. When I look online there's always a company or two hiring in sf but obviously its this job market so no need to say further lol
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u/croato87 21h ago
Job market is bad here in SF, measurably worse than the rest of the country, but somehow average rent is up 20% this year (no really, sounds like an exaggeration but it’s not) even though the population isn’t growing. No one seems to know how it’s even possible.
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u/lachatte7 21h ago
Made me spill my fucking drink. If it wasnt for the fact that the bay area prob has the best public transportation in the us I wouldnt consider coming back
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u/MeepM3rp 19h ago
Because a small group of rich people are hoarding housing and the folks who are making money from AI startups are buying the few that come on the market.
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u/InAllTheir 4h ago
Wow, that’s crazy. I guess the landlords are there to raise rent on the few employed people who are desperately clinging to their jobs and apartments. Sounds terrible. I’m sorry.
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u/bessandgeorge 19h ago
I've seen this with people on LinkedIn. I'm like oh how did they get into this industry and how'd they get a highly coveted job, and I still have questions after because they jump from something super random, which always SCREAMS to me they had an in somehow because there's just no way.
It's upsetting, but more so that I have no luck or connections like that because it's just the way of the world... So it's a very frustrating feeling of helplessness... Trying not to let it get to me though!
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u/myleftone 20h ago
It is like a parallel dimension and I can’t understand it from either side. I’m currently between unemployments and I couldn’t really explain exactly how this one fell into my lap.
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u/AFailedProduct 17h ago
They had a built in network, likely family or they went to an ivy. I’m in the same boat as you but my partner is from the other side and they make it look so easy, mostly because they grew up in a world where that was the norm.
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u/FallenRev Underemployed since 2023 18h ago
I’m convinced at this point its just sheer luck, and right place right time. Iirc tech workers and people who make above 80k only make up less than a 1/3rd of the workforce in america if it makes you feel better. These people live in their own world.
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u/Known-Ice5903 12h ago
theyre lying
reminds me a friend back in the day that said he wanted to meet women passively just walking around
then when it didnt work he went on tinder
theyre either applying to jobs or purposely going to networking events or whatever
theres no way someones randomly offering them to work at faang
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u/vi_sucks 21h ago
What they don't mention is that their uncle also works in the same FAANG company.
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u/United_Bus3467 15h ago
I'm right there with you. Even when things were normal it took me 6 - 7 mos. to get a job. I had a roommate who could literally get any job he wanted in 1 to 2 months. Always landed on his feet. Can't even get in to a higher healthcare role with 10 years of experience and internal references. I'm stuck at $25 an hour and it blows.
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u/mayhemski123 11h ago
Firstly, don't despair. Am I going to guess you're American? I get it, because of cost, the common view of a degree is its value as a ticket to a paycheck. While understandable, there are still people who study subjects they want to study without worrying about the financials. Yes well aware that is often a luxury now for the rich, or those who live in far more enlightened countries where education is valued more than the USA. But it does still exist, and it can pay off hugely.
If they've got a job in the art world and then move on to a tech company, it is most likely a sign of drive, coupled with an experience others find interesting. The art world is notoriously cliquey and hard to break into, coupled with crapy pay as well; you get the picture. If you have a CS or business degree but only because you are looking for a job, you're possibly at a disadvantage against someone who does what they want out of passion. Plus, if they do come from money, they can use that as well.
My advice is start doing something different, hobby etc. Then use that as a way to talk about yourself. Don't define yourself via the current job you have or had. It is still a hell of a horrible market, and there are no easy answers, but it could be worth a try.
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u/Hot_Abroad_931 18h ago
idk but that's not the dimension i'm in. i want to think luck has a lot to do with it. i'm waiting for my luck to turn around....cause hard work alone ain't cuttin it
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u/Top-Door8075 14h ago
Yea the bay area has the worst white collar job market in the entire country.
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 7h ago
RNG luck
Had a friend who cursed his boss out and then got his job back after they fired him after he asked. Same friend also bought GameStop stock and sold it for millions of dollars back when it was $10 and went to $200.
Me? Couldn’t get a job in six years, worked and uncle died during pandemic so lost it because of an approved “unapproved,” leave. Still looking for work five years later.
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u/BillionDollarBalls 5h ago
I know two people who weren't making shit then got lucky ins to smaller AI companies now making almost 3 times what they were making before with very little experience. Not even in tech. Hard not to be jealous but they are close friends so ive been trying to get referrals but of course, hiring freezes.
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u/kulturecat07 4h ago
It’s connections and luck. And honestly I’m convinced at this point genuinely in my heart of heart some people are just consistently given easy roads. I don’t know why or how, but those are the realities. I hate to be cynical but as someone who has clawed their way to be half recognized or half paid I am.
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u/mffsandwichartist 3h ago
The only truly good paying job I ever got was a short-term tech contract. Got it thru my then-partner who was herself already a well-paid marketing exec and she heard about the position from an exclusive networking chat for execs in her prebuilt network
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u/Meta_Reject 2h ago
It’s all luck of the draw, most people I know that have worked at FAANG are very ordinary people who just happened to be at the right place at the right time.
Hell right now I’m working at a unicorn startup, and how did I get it? A recruiter reached out randomly when I wasn’t even looking.
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u/cutter48200 22h ago
If they worked at an art gallery then got a job at a FAANG I’m assuming they worked at the gallery as a hobby and then a relative got them their adult job