u/wreeecks

This has been bothering me for a while, whenever I see an application closing date in the job post, does it mean that there will be no call or interview until the application closes?

If this is the case, there will be 100+ applicants and would be a nightmare to choose the right candidate. Most likely candidates will be filtered by salary first, then skills.

Or is it first come first serve? Highly likely there's someone qualified in the first 20 applicants.

Any HR or recruiter in here to confirm it?

After a massive redundancy wave, I’m down to my final month of savings. As the sole breadwinner for my family of four, the stakes couldn't be higher. Modern cost-of-living pressures and rent mean that government assistance alone won't keep a roof over our heads.

The current IT job market feels entirely disconnected from reality. Job descriptions have turned into "unicorn" wish lists demanding years of experience in bleeding-edge tech like AI agentic workflows for roles that shouldn't require them. Despite 4 ATS-optimized versions of my CV, the silence is deafening.

Out of desperation, I pivoted to applying for casual, non-technical roles—pick-packing, delivery, data entry—willing to take minimum wage just to stretch our runway. I haven't received a single call. Am I viewed as overqualified, too old, or just trapped in a systemic blind spot?

The reality of my last 90 days:

​Applications: 200+

Recruiter Calls: 5 (2 Aussie, 2 Indian, 1 scammer)

​Interviews: 0

The LinkedIn narrative romanticizing unemployment as a "blessing in disguise" is deeply out of touch when you're managing real financial anxiety. The hiring ecosystem is fundamentally broken, and it feels like the only option left is to quit the industry and start entirely over.

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Edit: Summary

1. This post was written with the help of AI. It doesn't diminish the fact that this is real.

2. I am a fullstack developer. reactjs and c#. I got more skills like UI/UX, project Management, a little bit of CICD.

3. I have 4 CVs catered for different roles i.e. fullstack, senior frontend, Product Manager/Owner, and one for casual job.

4. All CVs were written with AI assistance. Keywords, skills, and terminologies were patterned from different job posts. It's also ATS safe.

Recommendations:

1. Start a business - a long shot, this will be my next goal, I need an exit strategy..
2. Reduce salary expectations ✅
3. Switch role ✅
4. Dumb down the resume
5. Find a new labour career: tradie, truck driver,
6. Lie a little bit just to get the job