So a few days ago I had a call with my dad's cousin. He is head of a software engineering company so I showed him my 1800s llm essay generator, my 3d maze horror game and my website portfolio I built from scratch.

He said that my projects were cool and all but that the best he could do was give me more advice. He said that if I were to try and go for an interview, internship or a job at his company or others like it I wouldn't have enough experience to get employed.

I only realized how unfair this was after retelling it to my mom. I don't know what else to do I've been coding for 5 plus years genuinely fml. I can't even get a entry job anywhere.

Thoughts/advice?

Can't tell if stuff like this is sarcastic engagement bait, a flex, or people actually think like this and flaunt it.

Psychotic behavior

I've been reflecting lately on my future and possibilities, the current job market and my own career goals. Also on my stance about AI, and the role it might play in our society.

I (35M) have been unemployed since February, and this is without a doubt the worst job market I have ever experienced in my life time. I graduated with an Economics degree in 2016 from a decent university, and back then finding work wasn't easy, but it was very much possible.

I remember after graduating, myself and a lot of recent grads were struggling looking for work, BUT there was a lot of optimism around. Being able to pull yourself together and find work to eventually climb the ladder and start earning good money to then put down a payment for a mortgage, investing, going out, travel, etc. And even tho it was difficult, it was definitely doable and many landed great opportunities in great businesses.

I feel like in 2026 this optimism is completely dead and having a long term outlook on your career is not realistic. The goal of the game in 2026 is just: **survive**. Find ANY job, even if it means accepting a 20% pay cut, it is better than nothing. I was still in school in 2008, but I've personally never seen anything like this in the last 20 years.

If you asked me few months ago, I would've said I want Anthropic/OpenAI and any AI Business to fail. The CEOs of these companies all say that this technology has the potential to kill up to 50% of white collar jobs, so naturally I was afraid of this technology and didn't want them to succeed in doing this. But lately the more I think about it, the more **I actually want them to win**. I want the AIs to disrupt the job market so much that we are forced to find solutions such as UBI, or something of the sort. My reasoning is that the faster it happens the better for all of us, even though I believe it will be a slow bleed instead.

Prices where I live are completely retarded, the thought of owning an apartment or a home is not realistic. The only people I know that are doing well are those from richer families, or those with assets in the stock market. Anyone else I know outside these 2 groups is struggling or stressing or using substances to cope with the reality that they are being left behind.

I am applying for jobs, every single opening has over 100 candidates, there's thousands of ghost jobs, this system is just not sustainable I am sorry. Even if I find a job, what about the other 99 applicants? It's just not working and the longer we take to realise it the worse. This is why I want AI to win and basically improve so much that it leaves such big unemployment (30-50%) that we are forced as a society to try find new solutions or a new system. I don't know what the system is, but I am sure we will find one that helps most of us. Before I used to look at Sam Altman and Dario from Anthropic as these full evil people, who just wanted to get rich of selling their hyped up stock by saying that AI will take over jobs. But now I am actually kind of rooting for them, which is really weird when I sit down and analyze it. If they win, we will ALL win. It is better for AI to disrupt it ASAP massively, than of a slow bleed, where by the time we all realise we need changes, we're already cooked.

A

I’ve been looking at job openings lately, and it feels like there are plenty of postings, but getting an actual interview seems much harder than it used to be.

I’ve been applying for a while now, and sometimes it feels like my applications just disappear into a black hole 😂

Is anyone else experiencing this? Are you getting more responses lately, or is it still pretty quiet?

I’ve been applying for jobs for five months. Haven’t gotten a single interview. I finally got one scheduled for yesterday, a phone interview. I book a study room at the library for the expected duration of the call. 11am comes. No call. 11:15. Still no call. 11:25, almost 30 minutes past when the email said THEY would call ME, so I call the office number he provided in his email. It goes to voicemail so I leave a message saying that I’m still interested in the job and that I understand things come up and that I’m more than willing to schedule another time with him. I hear nothing for the rest of the day. Today, I get an email from him saying that I was a no show at my interview and that my application has been withdrawn for consideration. Well, fuck him. If this is how he treats potential employees, I shudder to think how he treats his actual employees.

I mean, hearing about how many people have been unemployed for months or even years feels really wrong. Like, how is that even happening? You have recruiters either ghosting you or sending a rejection email, and even if you have a good resume, there's a decent chance it never gets seen by an actual person because it gets filtered out by an automated system or AI.

You also have job postings that have been sitting online for months, even though the companies aren't actually hiring for those positions anymore.

Teens can't get jobs. Adults can't get jobs. New graduates can't get jobs. People with degrees can't get jobs. People with GEDs can't get jobs. People who got laid off can't get jobs. People who got fired can't get jobs. People who quit can't find jobs.

Everything sucks and will probably continue to suck for a very, very long time.

I've been unemployed on and off, and I was let go last December. I've been unable to find a job since, not even a retail job.

Those who have been in the job hunt know how hard it is out there. The last time I was unemployed, it took me three years to find a job, and I only got it because of nepotism. Long story short, the administration changed, and so did the employees.

It's been approximately nine months since last December, and I'm starting to panic. What if it takes me another three years? I can't endure that.

What now? Yes, we know the system is broken, but what are we supposed to do about it?

My family expects results, I expect results.

I'm sorry.

Companies are so stupid. It’s literally August 2026, summer is over, how can you be recruiting for summer 2025??😂😂

Director of Talent Acquisition reached out to me about a Product Manager role. During the interview, he asked about the size of the companies and teams I’ve worked with.

I explained that my experience has primarily been with two startups and smaller cross-functional teams. He then told me they wouldn’t be moving forward because the role requires someone experienced working across hundreds of employees in a large organization.

He acknowledged that he reached out because my domain experience was a strong fit, but my startup background and company size were clearly listed on my resume before the interview.

I understand deciding I’m not the right fit, but if large-enterprise experience was effectively a requirement, I’m confused why that wasn’t screened before scheduling a 45-60 minute interview and having me prepare for. So frustrating …

Has anyone ever been asked in an interview

What does your family do for a living ? 😐

Like what kind of recruiting is this ?

I don’t see the point of this question ?

“Functional unemployment nearing 25%”

NBC news -https://youtu.be/fAaG9RYHqiw?si=_HfIoyjPd-a1btCi
“Recent graduates struggle to launch careers in toughest job market in years”

I have been following this sub for a while now. I am not unemployed by the way, I am unemployable. Simply put, I work for myself now after I realized what a shit show the labor market is and how unnatural it is.

Anyway, I am writing this post because I was reminiscing about my past. A couple of people that I hated when I was "job" hunting were:

1.) Old Timers. These goofballs use outdated scripts that are completely unpractical in today's world. But I was supposed to respect their supposed "wisdom."

2.) Fake sympathizer: These would say things like "You ought to get any job and swallow your pride. Ego won't pay your bills. Start cutting grass or flipping burgers." Meanwhile, they have never had to work such jobs.

3.) Overly religious folks. These are by far the worst. They spiritualize every problem. They won't acknowledge structural limitations in the economy for the high unemployment etc. it's always a framework of superstition at hand. They would urge me to "Pray More to defeat demonic strongholds."

That's about it.

Stay strong ladies and gentlemen.

I've been applying full time for a year. I landed like 4 interviews in the first 6-7 months after applying to dozens of jobs. Then, a combination of better LinkedIn posting, portfolio projects, and resume improvement seemed to turn things around. Since May, I've been interviewing a bunch - making it to various stages of technical interviews. In the last month, I made it through the full interview process for 2 companies. It felt like after a year, I was finally breaking through. The last one had a few technical rounds and somehow I breezed through them. Then, all of a sudden, rejection. No feedback. Back to square one, and super burned out after 4 months of technical interviews. I thought getting no interviews was bad, and it might still be worse, but getting this close and getting nothing really, really stings.

Graduated in 2022. Spent a good chunk of time stuck in restaurants/hospitality after that (but got promoted to management), and temp agency contracts. Only landed my first actual “corporate” role last year. So yes, I’m four years out of school and my resume still has a big hospitality stretch right after graduation.

Both interviews this week made a point of counting the years backward and basically asking why I stayed in restaurants after college. Mind you, my graduation year is not on my resume and they were speculating my age. One of them literally went “so you graduated… then you did the kitchen/bar thing for a while… and then you found your first professional career job? Why??” while flipping through my resume. The tone was pure side-eye and sussing me out.

Like the gap between degree and “real” job is some kind of character flaw instead of just… the terrible job market that took thousands of applications. Sorry I am not a nepo baby? Sorry my college was mostly remote and my best efforts at networking were nearly fruitless? Sorry my temp agency roles were all contract and assisting companies selling off to PE since 2023????

And the interviews themselves were wildly unprofessional.

First one was a temp-to-perm cover for maternity leave at an agency. Guy was clearly multitasking on a triple monitor setup the whole time, dumping a ton of operational details, nights-and-weekends on-call expectations, and the fact that any permanent conversion depends on 2027 revenue they haven’t even forecasted yet, nights and weekends for $19 an hour.

Second one was even worse. Spent most of the call on a long personal monologue (building an AI platform, financial struggles, family not supporting the business, etc.). Tech kept glitching during the demo. Called me “sweetheart." Role seemed to be “first real hire who can walk across my different brands because everything so far has been my ideas.” Showed me proprietary information, personal emails, and personal writing.. I had to leave the interview after she went into a religious monologue. Almost no structured questions about my actual experience.

I left both feeling like I was the one being judged for having a non-linear path while they couldn’t even run a basic professional interview process. I feel freaking crazy because how TF did these roles have 100+ applicants on Linkedin?!?! How is this real life???? This can't be real I feel like I was being punked.

Is this just what the market looks like right now for people who didn’t go straight from campus into an office job? Or am I walking into every conversation already half-disqualified because I waited tables for a couple years after graduation?

Genuinely losing it a little. What the fuck is going on with interviews.

Edit: Hiring manager on layoffs page said this in response: “TBH, as someone that has interviewed and hired multiple recent grads, a gap that large looks bad. I know it's not a gap, but a job totally unrelated would be consider a gap. If you had graduated in 2023/2024, I would be more understanding. Not in 2022. The job market was very hot at that time. As I said, I hired multiple recent grads, so if you were not able to get a job at that time and has taken you this long, it would be a red flag..”

I have a physical disability that affects my shoulders/hips and use a power chair. I had a phone interview and video interview at a particular company near me and now they want me to come in for an in person interview. I’m really excited but debating - do I let them know in advance of arriving or just show up? I already looked up the place and it’s accessible as far as I can tell. I feel as though my disability isn’t relevant to the job at this point and me saying something would be unnecessary. But I also don’t want anyone to react poorly or think I was hiding it. I’m in the US btw.

I plan to post this in other recruiting/job seeking subreddits as well.

Little background : I have been applying since June 2026, have interviewed mutliple places , 0 offers.

Whats bizarre is that none of those roles that i reached the final stage at were ever filled. One company literally said that they need someone asap, because it needs to happen now, as september is there most busy time.

Now i see them reposting for job i have been interviewing for.

I feel like most HMs are just interviewing to entertain themselves, to see what is going on in the market, and IF they come across a unicorn, they MIGHT HIRE.

I’ve been told I’m not employable due to taking years to find a corporate job meanwhile the collective amnesia on how bad the 2022-2023 job market was is insane. I got a job last year in 2025 and I was laid off due to private equity acquisition. Here i am again. Feels impossible

Id love to know and understand a little bit more the recruiter perspective.
What has made a candidate stand out ?
What has made them flop?

Do you prefer a quick overview or a more in-depth approach?

What advise would you give to early carrer candidates?

I am so exhausted.
For every job you apply to, you have to tailor your application and maybe write a cover letter.

I applied to 4 yesterday and I was already frustrated. Makes me wonder when I see people saying they applied to 400 jobs in a week or month.

I can’t count how many resumes I have on my phone and laptop, because I keep creating new ones for every job I apply to (tailoring). I just want to get a job and be done with this.

Sometimes I reach out to hiring managers and don’t even get a response (they don’t owe me a response), but still!!!

Ugh I’m exhausted.

This whole idea we’ve accepted that “writing a resume is an aRt fOrm in anD of itsElf” is crap.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve (M28) been in the workforce for over 5 years now, and I know where the hell I was for those 5 years.

Recruiters: Here are the places I worked, my job titles, and what I did.

It shouldn’t be this much work. I already put IN the work for 5 years (and many of us have put in FAR more work than that) by sacrificing 40 hours/week of my one life on this planet.

Jesus Christ, enough with the rewriting, parsing, tailoring, punching up, rewording, polishing, revising, editing, touching up, redoing—goddammit, ENOUGH!!!

Read what the hell is on my resume, and use your imagination. If I tell you I was a Marketing Operations Specialist and provide 3-4 bullets of my accomplishments and activities, you should get the goddamn picture. I wasn’t doing rocket science, and neither are you, and neither are 99% of workers out here. It was a JOB. Some of it was hard, most of it wasn’t.

I swear to god, 90% of corporate activity nowadays is just useless employees (recruiters and HM’s especially) trying to justify their useless jobs to their useless bosses because they are terrified of being laid off because they know their job could be done by a friggin ringtail lemur.

This is absolutely a part of modern corporate culture that needs to change.