u/Successful-Stand6699

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............

Hi everyone. I found out earlier this week that my job is ending, and honestly, it really sucks. I work with students in campus ministry at a Christian university, so the idea of leaving them is hitting me hard. My supervisor said: "You're not fired, and this isn't technically a layoff, it's just that this role isn't in the budget for the next academic year."...So yeah, I've effectively been laid off.

He also told me he doesn't want me to tell the students or my coworkers that my role was eliminated, or that I'm leaving because of a funding decision. Is it okay for me to tell the students that leaving isn't my choice, and that my position was eliminated? A lot of the students I work with have had adults come in and out of their lives constantly. More than one has asked me: "You're not going to leave us too, right?" And I'd usually joke and say: "Unless someone forces me to!" So I feel like they have the right to know that I'm being pushed out, not that I suddenly decided to leave or abandon them.

Grateful to anyone who read this.

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.....

This whole thing is honestly absurd. Less than two weeks ago, I posted that I had been accepted for a job at a tabletop/card shop as an events coordinator. During the hiring conversation, the owner said he wanted someone who could "hit the ground running" and put events on the calendar quickly. So... That's what I did. I put together 8 solid events in 9 days. Beginner D&D night, local maker mini-market, Throwback Console Night, Geeky Speed Dating, Board Game Matchmaking, and things like that. On the ninth day, he pulled me aside and said, "I don't feel like this is going to be a good fit."

I asked him what happened, and he basically said to me: "You didn't do anything wrong. You're the strongest events person I've brought in. You did exactly what I asked. The problem is my regulars. They feel like the shop is changing too quickly, and I misjudged what they wanted. I thought your ideas were excellent, but the weekly crowd has been messaging me nonstop saying they feel like they're being pushed out of the space."

So... I'm out of work. Again. I had an interview this morning with a community organization, but they said they received around 240 applications and are talking to a lot of people from that pool. I only have 4 years of event planning experience, so there are definitely people there with way more experience than me. My savings are almost gone. I genuinely don't know what I'm supposed to do next. I was so happy that I finally had something, and now somehow doing exactly what I was hired to do means I'm OUT OF A JOB AGAIN.

But I won't stop here. I'll continue my job search. I remember I used to worry a lot during interviews because of the questions asked, until I read this post which compiled the most common interview questions. I think it will be helpful to me too, and you might find it very useful as well.

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..........Sounds like Ghost Jobs

I kept seeing this advice a lot on career TikTok. Stop sending applications out into the void. Message people on LinkedIn and ask for a 20-minute virtual coffee chat. Don't ask for a referral or a job. Just frame it as an informational interview. So I decided to try it for 3 weeks. I messaged 32 people, all of them at companies I had my eye on. The message was very simple: "Hi, I've been following your work in X and would love to hear a bit about your career path. Would you be open to a 20 min chat sometime? No worries if not."

Out of 32, 10 replied. 6 said they were too busy or wouldn't be able to. 4 said yes. In the end, I spoke with all 4 of them. One of them was really nice and pointed out several things in my resume that I never would have noticed. One call was a bit exhausting because the guy seemed distracted the whole time. Another one was useful but very generic. And the last one said: "we're not hiring for that role right now, but send your resume over anyway." I sent it. She forwarded it to someone on the hiring team. And I got an interview.

I didn't get the job. But I made it to the final stage, which basically never happens when I mass apply on ZipRecruiter. The annoying part is how much effort it takes. Writing 32 messages that weren't copy-pasted took me about 8 hours total. And yes, the rejection feels weirdly personal. A few people completely ignored me. And one person replied with something like "please don't ask strangers to do unpaid career coaching." I won't lie, that hurt.

But despite that, I think I'll keep doing it, just at a slower pace. Maybe 7 messages a week instead of trying to send 32 at once. Has anyone else tried this and had it work for them? Also, how do you get over the cringe feeling that you're literally asking strangers to pay attention to you?

https://preview.redd.it/opbcq21sp7hh1.png?width=619&format=png&auto=webp&s=43881192ff1ad5931c5d567510ce3bd672d42457

..Stunning interview

This was in late 2020.

After 4 different companies ghosted me, I got tired of pretending that interviews were a one-way thing. So when they asked me, "Do you have any questions for me?" I went straight into it. The HR lead went silent for a second... And then spent 12 minutes telling me what happened at their old company. I got the offer two days later.

Has anyone else tried being this honest in an interview?