r/recruitinghell

Just had a pretty wild interview with a recruiter and I’m still processing it.

Within the first 15 minutes of the conversation, he told me that my experience isn’t a direct fit because the markets they want this person to cover aren’t the same markets I’ve covered in my most recent roles.

Fair point, I guess. Except… this is literally stated on my resume? I’ve also covered those exact markets earlier in my career, and I’ve actually progressed in other interview processes for roles covering the same markets, so I think the experience is considerably more transferable than he was making it out to be.

Which makes me wonder: why shortlist my resume in the first place if this was such an obvious dealbreaker?

But then we got to salary, and that was the truly bizarre part.

Before I could even give my expectations, he went on a long explanation about how they don’t like candidates negotiating. Apparently they want candidates to stick to whatever salary expectation they give because otherwise someone might negotiate for 10% more after receiving an offer, and they don’t like that.

I was thinking… isn’t negotiating compensation after an offer kind of a normal part of hiring? So I asked what the salary range was.

Nope. They can’t share the range because apparently if they do, everyone will just aim for the highest point of the range rather than the lowest.

Okay… so we’re starting from the premise that candidates are all trying to game the system? 😂

Anyway, I gave him my expectation. He immediately told me it was totally not workable and then proceeded to tell me what the average salary expectation of their other candidates was.
And then… just waited.

As if I should revise my expectations because other people are asking for less? We don’t necessarily have the same experience, seniority or market value??

I lowered my number somewhat just to test the waters, and he basically said no, even that was too high. The number they were targeting was more like my proposed figure as the total package. I told him that was significantly below what I was earning previously and therefore wasn’t something I would consider.

His response? Then perhaps I should withdraw from the process.

So I did. He asked if I had any other questions. Nope. 😂 I just politely ended the call.

The part I find strangest is that none of this was really a negotiation. It felt more like: here is the number we want you to accept, here is why we don't want you to negotiate, and if you don't like it, withdraw.

About two months ago someone in my network shared a post from a director complaining they were not able to fill a role and they have been trying to fill this role for a few months now and have been tweaking the job posting but not able to get anywhere. When I saw this post that company didn’t have any job posting for his department so I messaged him to get some details. They shared the job description and chatted with me for a bit, they asked for my resume and I sent it in.

In typical 2026 fashion the job posting was asking for far too much (unicorn) for fairly mediocre pay. I was more than qualified and experienced for this role so decided to pursue it any way. The following day I got a call from the hiring manager who conducted an almost hour long phone interview which went quite well. I didn’t hear back anything for the next month so I reached out to the director again and they said they have had a few vacations due to summer and things have slowed down. The same day I got an email from the company’s hr recruiter that asked me a list of hr screening questions and sent me an interview request. A week later I had an interview on teams with the hiring manager as well as a senior member of his team. Once again another hour long interview that went quite well.

I then again heard nothing back for two weeks so I reached out to the director again and he replies an hour later saying the hiring manager should have sent me an email. A rejection. I feel like my time was wasted and honestly speaking hand on heart I was more than a fit for this role yet still a rejection. What is this company looking for?

I guess I just needed to rant a bit.

I fucking hate myself for choosing CS. I really wish I had picked accounting or literally anything else.

I spent 4 years on a degree, took on debt, and somehow still ended up jobless/underemployed. Feels like I wasted the most important years of my life preparing for a career that doesn't even fucking want me.

I keep thinking about how different things could've been if I'd just chosen something else. Now I'm stuck with debt, no decent job, and 4 years that I can't get back.

My life is fucking over.

I’m convinced the trope of “No one wants to work.” Is projection. I’ve gone through interviews with companies who liked my resume, formal education, and relevant experience and still be unsure to move me forward in the interview process and actually reach out to the HM first to see how much time they’re willing to train if I was hired on.

Yes, that was said to me mid interview by the recruiter, now I’ve been ghosted. Mind you this was for a role that was requiring 0-2 years of experience and I had 2 yrs of experience.

Not only that but the high expectations. Since nobody wants to train they expect you to know literally every single technology they utilize from day 1. Again if you don’t, you’re not getting the job.

Then of course salary expectations. I live in a state where they are required by law to post the salary range. But what I see them do is post it which is reasonable at first, but then when following up on interest with a Microsoft form they mention a “anticipated hiring range.” Which is significantly lower than the advertised salary range then are surprised they can’t find anyone.

If there’s any HMs and Recruiters that read this and ANY of this applies to you, I don’t know how you sleep at night.

I hear that this is why people are leaving their masters degrees of their resume because some HMs have a chip on their shoulders when they review a resume and it’s almost too impressive even for them….

An example is my friend. He has a Bachelors in CS and a MBA. He was in the interview process and the recruiter pushed it along. The HM reviewed the resume and their LinkedIn profile and shortly later got the automated “We are pursuing other candidates.

I guess this HM, who is the director of the IT department forgot to anonymously look at my friends LinkedIn because upon discover the director of IT has never worked a normal IT job, doesn’t have a relevant degree in IT and only two associate degrees (AAS).

My friend probably said beyond his formal education and experience, he likely asked for too high a salary.

Thoughts?

Hello friends! Not sure who will respond to this or if it will help anyone, but I wanted to let people know if you want to vent, my door is open. I understand how frustrating the job market is, and there are people out there who want to talk about how they are feeling or are uncertain how to do so. I come from a place of kindness and encouragement and to help those who need uplifting.

My help may not be much but I want to be a voice of reason to whoever needs to talk or just wants another perspective on something or even just someone to listen. I’m someone that enjoys helping to encourage people because no one should feel alone, especially during this difficult job market we are all facing. If no one replies or needs help, just letting letting you all know to not give up and please don’t let the discouragement bring you down. Let that be your fuel to continue fighting and fight for what you deserve. Stay strong everyone. 💪

I see a lot of posts across employment subs saying that the terrible job market is not just a U.S. issue. Then they state that a Western European country is also doing poorly.

So do any of you know which countries are doing fine? Which countries are seeing growth? Why?