r/jobsearch

Help, so I’m having a problem. I went to an interview in January and unfortunately I didn’t get the job, but it seemed like it was mostly because of my availability. I was thinking about contacting them again and letting them know I already interviewed before and that my availability has changed to see if they have any openings. The only thing is they don’t currently have any job openings posted, so I don’t know if I should still do it or not. What do you think?

Just a genuine question. It seems like there are more recruiters than actual jobs, and 99% of the time they are literally just wasting your time by contacting you with a possible opportunity then ghosting you.

I have been trying to understand what actually separates a normal resume from a resume that gets interviews in 2026 because the difference feels inconsistent.

I have seen people with similar experience get completely different results even when applying to the same roles.

I started looking into formatting, keywords, and ATS optimization, but even when those are improved, it still does not guarantee responses.

It almost feels like there is a hidden layer in the hiring process that is not obvious from the outside.

For people who consistently get callbacks, what actually changed in your resume that gets interviews compared to before

I have 9 years experience, specifically in fintech and I’m a black, female ux designer.

I’ve never had an issue finding work before. Usually my cv gets me into the door pretty easily but now I can’t even get a first interview.

I don’t understand what’s happening. I’m getting rejected outright for positions that align perfectly.

Four years and hundreds of applications and failed interviews and automatic rejects and I've reached the point where I am entirely hopeless. Despite having a Master's degree every entry level job I apply to in my field rejects me because I lack experience so I'm forced to keep working at my part time minimum wage job where I'm forced to work with a coworker who sexually harassed me and where I'm constantly subjected to infighting and snide remarks from my coworkers about what a bad job I'm doing. My two friends from high school who are the same age as me have moved across the country and are renting houses and have multiple years of experience in their fields of choice and I'm still stuck living at home where my mom asks me for money to help her pay for her third car. Every time I open LinkedIn I find it impossible to work up the motivation to apply to yet another string of jobs who will dismiss me immediately for reasons outside my control, because everyone I've talked to has told me I'm doing everything right so after a certain point it's inpossible to believe that I'm just losing at a numbers game when in actuality it must be some innate personality flaw that interviewers keep catching on to that I can't change. I'm a useless fucking person and it's never going to get any better.

Do employers ask for references only if they're planning to hire you? I've provided the references for now, but I'm afraid if I'm not hired this time, I won't be able to request my references to add their name again for any future opportunity.

Is it a turn off or something from employers when they ask "what day can you start" and you answer immediately? Though the answer has been true everytime I've answered - yes, I can start immediately - I feel like half the time I've said that I end up getting ghosted or denied on the spot compared to saying an actual set date. Is it worth it to just pick a random date in the near future instead?

I have practically no professional experience at all. not even with fast food or retail, and I am trying to get a first job, literally anything at all, just to get some real experience on my resume and money in my account.

The big problem is that I cannot be on my feet for a full 6–10-hour shift, even with some breaks (medical issue with my feet). I'd guesstimate the most I could do in a day is 2-3 hours without significantly feeling it the next day. So that rules out most fast food, retail, and warehouse work.

I have tried applying to data entry, receptionist, and admin assistant roles, but they never get back to me. (I mostly just go through linkedin)

I would like to further my education to increase my chances of being hired, but I do not have the money for that, and I do not want to take out a loan for the *chance* to get a job that will let me pay it back.

Any and all advice is appreciated, thank you!

Does anyone have any advice on better job sites? I’ve tried LinkedIn and indeed in between the two in the last 2 months I’ve probably put in about 40 different job applications for sales jobs. Almost none of them get looked at and I’ve been looking for a new job for quite a few months.
I am still in college finishing my degree but I’m working full time hours so I’m trying to find a job that’ll be more suitable for me in the future. Any recommendations?

P.S. I am trying to avoid car salesman jobs and insurance as well because most of them don’t seem like they’re good jobs at all

I’ve been applying for a while now and honestly it just feels like nothing is landing.

I’ve changed my resume multiple times, tried different formats, and even used different online CV builders and AI resume tools to see if something would finally make a difference.

But the result is still the same… either instant rejections or no response at all.

It’s confusing because I do match a lot of the roles I’m applying for, especially entry level or early career stuff, so I don’t really understand what I’m doing wrong at this point.

Some people keep saying it’s ATS filters, others say it’s about how you structure your resume or how clearly you show impact, not just experience.

Right now it just feels like resumes go into a system and disappear before a human even sees them.

For people who finally started getting interviews after struggling for a while, what actually changed for you first, the resume format or the way you rewrote your experience?

I’m a Canadian citizen and looking for jobs in the US. A recruiter told me that my job application was being filtered out because I’m located in outside of the US. Is it okay to change my location on my resume and LinkedIn to USA to avoid this issue or is it wrong?

According to First Advantage's 2022 Trends Report, 11.2% of employment discrepancies and 8.6% of education discrepancies found during background screening come down to incorrect dates, not fabricated jobs or fake degrees, just wrong dates.

A lot of this is probably not intentional. People genuinely forget when they started or ended a job, round to the nearest year, or list a graduation date that doesn't match official records. But from a hiring standpoint, a discrepancy is a discrepancy regardless of intent, and it still has to be resolved.

For anyone going through a background check, it's worth pulling up your actual pay stubs, offer letters, or transcripts before you submit anything. A one month difference might seem trivial but it can slow things down or raise questions you didn't expect.

My spouse has been job searching since January and has gotten just one interview. He was underemployed last year in a 1099 job that just wasn't as advertised, so we were already financially impacted.

Is it acceptable/professional to post his LinkedIn profile to my LinkedIn network and say I'm trying to boost his job search? We are not in the same field, but thought it might help.

Thoughts?

I’m a new grad and accepted a job offer a few weeks ago because I was stressed about finding something after graduation. At the time, I thought it was a solid opportunity and I was excited to finally have something lined up. The organization has really good benefits, which was honestly a big factor in why I accepted in the first place. But after accepting, I’m realizing the actual work is not really what I want to be doing career-wise. The more I think about it, the more I’m worried I accepted out of fear and stability.

I don’t start for another month, and now I’m wondering if I should keep applying to other jobs in the meantime. Part of me feels guilty because I already accepted the offer, but another part of me feels like I shouldn’t lock myself into something I already have doubts about before I even start.

Has anyone else been in this situation? Would it be terrible to back out before starting if I got a better offer that aligned more with what I actually want?

What is your strategy? Job Market changes and layoffs everywhere and everyday..How do you handle hard time finding job?

I’m a 22-year-old from Pakistan about to be graduate in few months and have been actively applying for jobs for the past 2–3 months, but honestly it’s been pretty difficult finding entry-level opportunities in the Microsoft ecosystem.

I do have experience working with Microsoft technologies, especially SharePoint intranet design/development, workflow automation using Power Automate, document management systems, and also basic knowledge of the Power Platform. Alongside this, I also have a Full Stack Development background.

Most of the roles I come across are for M365 Administrators or Solution Architects, and almost all of them require 5–8 years of experience, which makes it really hard for freshers to enter the field.

I actually got hired by a company in Lahore earlier, but because I still had one semester remaining, I couldn’t join due to schedule issues. Looking back, I kind of regret missing that opportunity because it would’ve helped me gain solid experience.

I genuinely want to grow in this domain and join a company where I can gain proper hands-on experience and build my career in Microsoft technologies.

Would really appreciate advice from people already working in this field. How did you break into the Microsoft ecosystem as a fresher?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I have been interviewing with 2 companies, both of which I was equally interested in after the initial interviews with the hiring managers. After these interviews, one company (A) took a clear lead over the other (B). I just received an offer from Company A, and will be accepting it. At this time, I am no longer interested in Company B after meeting with more of the team and learning about the position. It does not align with my career goals or sound like a company I would like to work for. I did go through the full interview process with Company B in case Company A didn’t work out. I had the final interview with Company B today before receiving the offer from Company A, and believe there is a high probability that I will receive an offer from Company B. Would it be better to notify Company B now that I have accepted an offer? Or should I wait until they potentially offer me the role and respectfully decline it? The recruiter with Company B was aware that I was interviewing elsewhere and I let her know yesterday that I was expecting an offer from Company A.