r/recruitinghell

The past is following me

Theres the inhumane part of evaluating you for you. Theres personal assessment tests, probing questions, tricks like hiring managers showing up late to see how you react. This is even if you get to the interview. I have years of experience and they act like I cant do the job or you're not the right "fit". Who are they to determine the right fit? What sets you apart from the others? The truth is absolutely nothing its a luck of the draw. You can learn on the job. But you allude to this and its almost like a turn off. Because then they would be absolutely useless which they are. They only serve to power trip.

I've been job hunting for almost 10 months now, and honestly... I'm exhausted.

It feels like my life has turned into the same loop over and over again: applications, interviews, technical assignments, waiting, rejection emails, then starting from scratch.

At the same time I'm dealing with a lot of personal issues, watching my savings disappear, paying rent, taking care of my dog, and trying to build some kind of future while everything around me feels unstable.

The weird part is that I don't hate software engineering at all.

I actually love building things.

My background is mostly in QA automation and product quality in DeFi. I've worked on API testing, smart contract testing, CI/CD pipelines, TypeScript-based automation, and end-to-end testing.

Outside of work I'm building an open-source quantum circuit simulator in Rust simply because I enjoy solving difficult engineering problems. I'm also participating in a quantum AI hackathon, building a hybrid fraud detection project using CatBoost and quantum algorithms.

So it's not like I've lost interest in tech.

I've lost interest in this endless hiring process.

If I had enough financial stability, I'd happily spend my time building open-source software and learning new things instead of preparing for another interview every week.

I'm not posting this because I think the world owes me anything.

I guess I just wanted to say out loud that I'm tired.

Has anyone else been stuck in this cycle for months?

How did you keep going without completely burning out?

Today was ve been rejected from 4th out of 5 rounds in the company I really really liked. I’ve applied trough LinkedIn, got the screening. Then call with team lead then call with CTO, then it was take-home task which was really sophisticated but also- very interesting. I nailed it and they liked it. And then after that it should be just one more round with CEO and some other team members. But they couldn’t get the time in sync for everyone, so they ask me to split the call into two. One with two team members was in Friday and today should be CEO round. But couple hours before today recruiter wrote me that they decided to say no after Friday round. I still waiting for the detailed feedback, but I’m almost cried in tears, cause I’m leaving abroad and my money is running out. Dunno where to get money to pay rent next month.
Tommorow I’ll have another interview and another one the day after tomorrow
It’s really a shame I love the company, the product and the people. And I feel the same from their side. It’s almost clicked. Almost
For everyone out there- don’t give up. We’ll get there. Sooner or later

For the context - it was a DevOps role for UK based startup

Don't get me wrong, I've been looking for almost 6 months at this point. I (26F) finished my student teaching internship and passed in December last year, and also got my Masters in Education. I've passed all the required tests, I have two teaching endorsements (Japanese language and history), a letter of recommendation from my field supervisor, solid references, teaching licenses in two other states as well...you name it. I've wanted to be a high school teacher since I was a teen myself and put in the effort to show it...so why can't I seem to get any responses, offers, or follow ups from any of the schools I apply to? I try to remain optimistic, but it's getting frustrating and demoralizing.

I mean, I'm a newly certified teacher so I'm sure that my lack of experience is part of it, but how am I supposed to gain experience as an educator if nobody wants to give me a chance in their school? I can't teach if nobody hires me!

In one case, I was able to go to a job fair for a school district I applied to and everyone seemed pleased and even excited at my qualifications and my mission as an educator. I handed my resume to several people in charge of the process, and applied online through their platform...when they asked for all the info on my resume in individual fields, I just grinned, beared it, and typed it all out with the hope it would pay off. Fast forward and I get a message from their HR department saying they want to interview me...for the position of Spanish teacher. SPANISH TEACHER...I speak and teach Japanese! I corrected them politely and they said they'd reach out later if they had an offer, but I haven't heard anything from them since and feel really annoyed...if they looked at ANY PART of my application, it would be clear that I am a *Japanese* language educator.

In another case, I applied to a school district in another state where I recently got a license, and the website was very poorly designed but I pushed through. Next thing you know, I get an email saying that my student teaching experience "doesn't count as a real job", a demand that I explain the gap in my resume (literally just summer vacation after my last semester before my internship), and yet another very specific letter they apparently need. Part of me wants to relent and do what they ask me, but part of me feels like this is unreasonable.

One other school sent me a rejection letter, and the rest have completely ghosted me. I worked hard for my qualifications and career and have a lot of evidence to show for it, but apparently that's not enough for anyone. I'm 26 and still live with my family, and I know a lot of people are in similar situations. But I want to be financially independent. I want to get my own place. I want to be able to do something I love and support myself. This is part of why I hate it so much when boomers say "nobody wants to work anymore".

Anyway, that's my rant for today. I've broken down and cried several times over this already. Sending hugs to everyone who is in the same boat, because I'm sure I'm far from the only one.

ETA...I am jealous of how easy it seemed to be to get a job when my dad and when my grandparents were young. I'd do anything to actually get a job by walking in with my resume and giving them a "good firm handshake"

This is a bit of a rant

I am trying my best to get a remote entry-level job. A job that I can do since I have pseudo seizures and possible autism (need to get tested for that when i have the money) Been searching for for over a year and a half now.

I am so tired. Both physically and mentally exhausted.

Been doing this 7 days a week for 6-9 hours.

Also been learning skills. I now know google sheets (still need to learn a bit of the more advanced stuff but know the main base)

You go to linkedin and find a job that looks reasonable, but then you go to glassdoor and search that company, to only find out that, that company doesn't actually f*cking exist.

And to top it all off. You are now competing against the world for a job because employers are now out sourcing like holy hell.

I then go to apply for minimum wage jobs because a job is better than no job

I am also looking at minimum wage jobs rn too because anything is better than nothing and not much better.

I'll apply and just get crickets.

OR i'll apply, go to or call the place to check the status to only find out that (drumroll please) they aren't actually hiring

I am losing my mind. I honestly don't know how much more i can take of this. I know that my health is deteriorating because of this. Barely getting any sleep most nights. I'm barely functioning. Going bald because of all the stress and lack of sleep

Getting a job shouldn't be this hard to get.

I'm about to give up

Now people will ask , PIP means anyway almost 90% chance was they were kick you out , but I pressed on kill switch , I myself resigned

4 months after that resignation , I have 0 job , let alone job . I have 0 interviews , I have lost count the number of apps I filled .

I am seeing darkness going as time passes

Hi everyone,

I'm at a point where I'm honestly exhausted to my bones mentally and could really use some outside perspective.

I have a little over 3 years of experience as a Business Analyst in enterprise SaaS, where I worked with Fortune 500 FMCG clients. My work involved requirements gathering, stakeholder management, BRDs/FRDs, user stories, UAT, product implementations, and working closely with Product and Engineering teams.

Since returning from abroad after my master's, I've been applying almost full-time for Business Analyst, Product Analyst, Associate Product Managers, Product Operations, Implementation Consultant, and Solution Consultant roles.

Here's what I've been doing:

• Tailoring my resume for each role.
• Writing personalized cold emails to recruiters, founders, CTOs, and hiring managers.
• Following up after applying.
• Learning and practicing SQL, Agile, APIs, and Product Management concepts.
• Preparing extensively for interviews.
• Reaching out on LinkedIn and through email instead of relying only on Easy Apply.

I've sent hundreds of applications over the past few months. 100s of emails and DM's for networking with no response too. People say networking helps, but how will it even happen when nobody is even willing to reply back or have a chat?

The frustrating part is that I do get interviews occasionally, which makes me think my profile isn't completely off. But I either get ghosted after interviews or never hear back after applying.

I'm starting to question whether I'm targeting the wrong roles, underselling myself, or missing something obvious.

I'd genuinely appreciate feedback from recruiters, hiring managers, or anyone who's been through something similar.

Some questions I have:

• Is the market really this difficult right now for Business Analysts?
• Are there any red flags in my background (Master's abroad, returning to India, career narrative, etc.) that recruiters might be concerned about?
• If you were hiring for a Business Analyst with my background, what would make you reject or shortlist me?

I'm not looking for sympathy—just honest advice. If there's something I'm doing wrong, I'd much rather hear it than keep repeating the same mistakes. My DM's are open if anyone was to have a chat about it!

Thanks in advance.

Back in the '60s and '70s a man could just work at a grocery store and be able to afford an upper-middle-class family home, car, and be set for life. You could just walk into any employer and as long as you had two functioning brain cells, you could get a job. Now, not even a bachelor's is not enough. Due to AI, too many people, offshoring, we cannot get any jobs. Nobody can find work, and to top it off, we cannot afford anything. We are all just wage slaves and scrambling by paycheck to paycheck.

Everything is getting more expensive, and the world is getting worse Furthermore, having a child is not possible. Buying a car or buying a home is simply not possible. Nobody can afford anything, and there is no work available. Life has been FUCKED to levels never seen before, possibly even worse than the Great Depression at this fucking point. Fuck life, and there is no point in this all anymore. No point.

The country and the economy is dead, and the American dream is dead. We will all just be wage slaves, paycheck to paycheck, barely affording anyting, to the 1% & Uncle Sam as the lucky 1% enjoy their riches. We are fucking cooked. America is fucking cooked & it is over.

I’ve been at my current company for 3 years now. It’s a family owned company (like all the higher-ups have the same last name) but I’ve managed to be promoted 2x during my 3 years. My boss is not known for warmth but she’s shifted towards cruelty and I’m fucking tired.

I have a duel role where I take care of the admin for the team but still recruit and I oversee the younger members. Because my admin responsibilities are so much I barely have time to search and I’m struggling to see how I could possibly hit target like this.

I’m working 12-14 hour days but still can’t seem to have enough time to do everything. I’ve been told admin needs to be my priority but I’m getting bollocked for not having more things ready to close and I’m just damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

Only one other person from when I started is still here. I’m tired and starting not to care. I’ve got a long commute and this job is just starting to not be worth it.

Can we go back to the good old days when you could find a place to work, get the job, and let your hard work speak for itself?

Back when your effort and consistency actually led to results. When you felt genuine satisfaction from achieving your goals at work, regardless of the salary, because you could see the impact of what you did and take pride in it.

Even when things failed, you learned from them, improved, and came back stronger. It felt like progress mattered more than checking boxes.

P.S. Sorry for the rant.

Imagine this scenario. It's April and you see an ad on a job search site that seems legit, posted by a recruiting agency. It's a temporary contract position.

You apply within 48 hours of the post and get called 2 days later. The agency gets you remote screen and actual interviews with the supposed hiring managers. They seem interested and the hourly range is above your expectations. You're told by the recruiters the hiring manager (their client) wants to make a decision before their upcoming vacation. There's a delay, then you're told the client wants to interview other candidates to be sure, then they're at a conference (more delays).

As luck would have it, the agency circles back mid May with an offer. You accept, give your landlord notice to vacate, and complete a bunch of onboarding and security check procedures for their client. You relocate at your expense, secure temporary housing and start the new job.

At the end of your first shift, you are told you'll get paid for it within 2 weeks but sorry , there's a new process in place such that your hiring wasn't completely approved, and now has to be run by the executive management team before you can resume. You're originally told don't worry, it should be resolved in 48-72 hours. That extends to a week when the client claims a key stakeholder is away, but they'll be back the next week.

You get weekly update from the client (hiring manager) and texts from your recruiter, but somehow, 4 weeks later, there's' still no confirmation of when you'll be allowed to return to duty. One shift paid, almost 4 weeks unpaid, just waiting. This whole debacle cost you time and money, lost opportunities and still no resolution.

I've totally been mogged by all the other candidates whoever they are. Been 6 months of straight rejection, and first round interviews that lead nowhere or that one final round interview that gives you hope. Got like 15 rejection emails last week, two stood out because I had actually done the interviews. I don't know what I'm doing wrong anymore. I guess I'll go with the vibes.

How do you guys keep your spirits up when getting continuously rejected?

Posting this from anonymous account so I can be as discreet as possible. Just got an offer from a pretty reputable hospitality group. Sous chef job 70k/year with benefits and a bonus worth up to 10k. Salaried employee so I would not be eligible for over time pay even after 40hours.
The hospitality group I’d be working for is a big name and this would be my first corporate chef job. But not my first management position, I was a sous chef at my last place.

It’s been a few months of not being sure where my next paycheck would come from. I’m super grateful for this chance but I feel an insane amount of pressure to do well and stay with this company for a long time because of all the good things I’ve heard about them, but also because I went months without a steady income. I’ve only ever worked at locally owned or independent restaurants before. Never for a big hospitality group so idk what to expect.

I live in a big city so the 70k is probably just enough for me to live on.

Anyone been a sous chef before that can help me out??
Or even anyone working a job has advice for me?
Anyone feel pressure to take the first good offer they get?
Or even pressure to stay at a company because of their good reputation?