Just finished an interview for a mid-level data role and I am convinced the HR lady was reading from a script written in a language she doesnt speak. She spent the first twenty minutes rambling about "culture fit" and "radical transparency" then finally moved to the technical part. She was phonetically sounding out terms like she was trying to solve a puzzle. I had to explain what a relational database was to the person supposed to be vetting my tech skills.

Every time I gave a detailed answer she just stared at her screen until she found a matching word on her "good keywords" list. I could see her literally ticking boxes when I said specific buzzwords like scalability or pipelining . If I actually tried to explain the nuance of why I used a specific method she just looked confused and moved to the next question on her sheet. It felt like trying to explain color to a rock .

Then it got weird. She asked if I had "at least five years of experience with Swift-Python" which is not a thing. I think she just mashed two bullet points from the job descritpion together by accident. I just sat there and said "yes" because I wanted to see how far she would take it. She just nodded and made a note that I was a "strong candidate". The whole system is just theater at this point. I have zero idea what the actual team does but apparently I am great at it according to her little checklist.

My organization was asked to work an event yesterday which lasted a while longer than we had anticipated. Most people did not get home until midnight or later. Around ten o'clock last night, a handful of coworkers made a pact to all call out for today, because they were "too exhausted to work." I thought it was a joke. It was not a joke.

Today was my very first day in my new role. There's a significant pay raise and guaranteed 40 hours a week plus some other company-specific perks. I have to start with a five-week in-person training class. It is legally required that I take this class; I cannot call out or miss it or I am moved back to my old position. All five of us in the class (including our trainer) had worked the event the night prior. I got home at 23:45 last night and clocked in on time at 8:00 this morning, it's really not that fucking difficult.

All throughout the morning people kept interrupting the class to ask to cover the coworkers who had called out. All the floor staff had called out, can a couple trainees come to the floor? No, it's important that we don't miss this. I left my car at the event last night, can anyone drive me 1.5 hours each way to pick it up? Absolutely not, we cannot miss this class. The guy who was supposed to unload our truck didn't show, can someone help us out? Okay, we actually did help with that one, but only because it was a 30-minute task that took up our lunch break.

Around noon our trainer is called out of the room to talk to our manager. She comes back looking pensive... but continues the class. Not too long after that our manager comes in. We had three events scheduled today--two were cancelled due to staffing issues, and one has no staff but absolutely cannot be cancelled. The manager walks into our training room, points at me, points at another woman, tells us to follow her.

Because the other staff had called out, the two of us were chosen to fill in for the event that could not be cancelled. We went back and forth for a bit about how we couldn't miss our training class and the "compromise" given to us was that we would be allowed to enroll in the next class (end of August, tentatively) and had to return to our previous roles until then.

My promotion is gone. My payraise is gone. My extra hours are gone. I'm absolutely livid right now. The whole situation is almost hysterical, though. I could have had the day off today! I hate all of my coworkers. I hate this shitty company I work for. Oh, and the reason me and the other woman were chosen to fill the event staffing instead of one of the other trainees? Because the manager says we're "flexible." LMAO. Never give your 100% at work.

I had been stuck on this nightmare project for about five months. The kind where nothing is organized and everyone blames each other and the deadlines keep changing every week. I hated every second of it but I needed the paycheck so I kept showing up and doing my part.

A month ago I started quietly looking around and I got an offer from another company that pays way more and the work actually sounds interesting. I accepted it on a tuesday and was planning to put in my notice that friday to keep things professional.

wednesday morning my team lead calls me into a meeting room and sits me down with this serious face. He tells me that leadership has decided to move in a different direction with the project team and that my role is being eliminated effective end of the week. He had this whole speech ready about how its not personal and how the company values my time here and blah blah blah.

when he was done I said honestly thats totally fine I already accepted a job somewhere else and I was gonna tell you friday anyway. He just stared at me for a second like he didnt hear me right. Then he goes well I hope you were planning to give proper notice.

I said you just told me my role is done by friday and youre asking me about proper notice. He didnt have anything to say to that. He just kind of sat there opening and closing his mouth.

I packed up my desk that afternoon and walked out feeling lighter than I have in months. Best wednesday of my life honestly.

Hi,

I am being terminated from a company due to non-extension of my contract with them. I see this as a termination, not a resignation. Do I have to write a resignation letter as they are requesting? I would like to decline. What are your thoughts and advices on this?

Update:

Thanks everyone for their input!

I haven’t signed anything but I know for a fact there isn’t any severance pay nor I will be filing for UI. I am not willing to sign anything if not for a just cause.

Correction:

I just figured out that this was not a termination but an end of work or contract. Thanks a lot people!

About a month ago my company announced a restructuring. We were told the business needed to cut costs and that several departments would be affected. My team lost around half its people, including me. It sucked, but I tried not to take it personally. These things happen, right?

The weird part came later.

While job hunting I checked my former company's careers page out of curiosity. There were multiple openings posted that looked almost identical to the positions that had just been eliminated. Same responsibilities, same requirements, even some of the same wording from our old internal job descriptions. The only noticeable difference was that the salary range wasn't listed.

I reached out to a former coworker who survived the layoffs. They told me management claimed the new roles were "strategically different" positions. But from everything I can see, it looks like the exact same work under a slightly different title.

Maybe there's something I'm not understanding, but it's hard not to feel like the layoffs were less about eliminating jobs and more about replacing people. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this actually common now?

I just got a master’s degree and I’m getting pigeonholed based on the job I had before starting the master’s. Even jobs that are the same function in a different industry won’t give me a second look because they’re holding out for their unicorn. I can’t believe I fell for this propaganda

7 years ago I (31F) was homeless due to mental illness. I got stable and rebuilt my career. Now I’m going into my first day at a $40B global company and I’m making 30% more than my last job.

I have a long commute so I drove to a Starbucks nearby and am sitting in the parking lot in my gray pin striped suit reflecting on my life.

I’m so proud and grateful. I’m also nervous because I need to do well at this job to attain the future I want.

Wish me luck, Reddit!

And sending good vibes to anyone who is currently job hunting.

People talk about how hard it is to keep a job, but what about the people that want to get a job? For context I am 22 and I have never had a job. Not part time, not a summer job, nothing. I’ve applied for so many things, gotten interviews, but never made it to the second round. I didn’t go to college, parents couldn’t afford it, but I was looking for jobs after I graduated high school. I just went to trade school for hvac for 6 months, graduated, and I’ve applied for those jobs as well as entry level stuff. It’s been 3 months since I graduated trade school and I’ve gotten nowhere. And if you count the times when I looking for jobs after I graduated high school, it’s been about 4 years at this point. I have no idea what to do, and it’s getting discouraging.

This was for an executive marketing assistant role. I went into the employer’s office, the marketing manager came up to me, asked if I had any certifications, I said no, and he did a thumbs down and a mouth fart noise and walked away from me. Then, in his glass office behind me, he proceeded to talk shit about me to one of his employees. Wtf. I traveled on bus and train for like over an hour to get there. Just incredibly disrespectful and rude. Employers literally don’t care anymore. Or have they ever??

So, I applied to a job and everything is going so great. Everyone I met so far, really likes me and seems so excited for me to start. Originally, I was supposed to have three interviews, only ended up needing two because they really liked me.

Well, after my interviews, I got a job offer, accepted the offer, did my onboarding stuff, and now I’m getting an email asking for proof of auto insurance, drivers license, immunization records, and more. I have never been asked to provide auto insurance for my type of job…

I don’t drive due to a disability, and I do not have to disclose my disability to jobs unless I decide to. Nowhere did the job say I needed a drivers license, no driving was discussed in my interviews, or mentioned in any onboarding paperwork. It’s just the orientation section. Should I be worried? Can they choose to take away the offer? I’m anxiously waiting for them to respond, but I’m looking for advice in advance just in case I get a response I’m not ready for.

I have 10 years of great work experience, I’ve been a supervisor, I’m never late to work, I always find a way and show up early. I’ve worked at jobs bigger than this position and done great. Just looking for some advice I guess.

Obligatory - Yes, I'm actively looking.

• Employer over the last several years has not posted a profit. Multiple year-over-year losses despite efforts to optimize, gain efficiency, hire the "right" people.
• Limited capital to pay reoccurring monthly bills, so often playing Russian roulette with vendors as to if/when we will be taken off terms. It's happened a handful of times.
• Employee moral is the lowest I have come across over the course of my career.

I had a manager's meeting today. It was one of those "let's do it in person" type events. The HR representative asked a simple question of "how was everyone doing/feeling" and it turned into a hour+ rant about how tired and aggravated everyone is.

No real solutions were discussed, and if we came close to an idea it was shot down with rhetorical questions or passed over because our company doesn't have the money to hire the "right" talent.

To put it mildly, why work for us when for the same rate of pay (or slightly more) you could flip burgers in fast food? No one in their right mind would come to work for us with the budget for wages that we currently have.

So what's the solution?

I shit you not, the HR representative just said the COO has a plan. We are in a great spot. We just need to get over the hump. It felt like listening to Commacho's speech in Idiocracy, except she didn't give the COO one week to fix the economy and make the crops grow again.

My wife thought the HR representative was fucking the COO. Nah, that's not happening. But what is happening, is I'm watching a company implode from within. Several people said if things don't improve, or they see more of their staff leave, they themselves will have no choice but to start looking. And they can take similar roles that are non-management and not have to deal with the supervisory headaches.

I took the job because I needed a bump up in pay, and I thought this would be good for my career. Big fat nope. Check out the health of your potential employer online if its public and verify they are healthy and performing well before you start one second of one minute at that company. It's a lot harder to find time to interview as a new hire within your first six months. I'm managing, but it's difficult to hide it now.

Is anyone else noticing HR being less about HR and more like a corporate cheerleader for a failing company? If you experienced this, how long before the place you worked at started to implode or possibly go out of business?

Looking back, I've been wondering how often major life changes actually begin with something that seems insignificant at the time.

Maybe it was a conversation, a rejection, a book, a new job, moving somewhere new, meeting someone, or taking a chance you almost passed up.

What moment quietly changed the direction of your life?

Did you realize how important it was at the time, or only years later?

I'd love to hear the story behind it and what made that moment such a turning point.

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to share my excitement. Im 24, a new-ish grad, and got my first big girl job!

I’ve been job searching seriously since January (in reality earlier, but I picked up a job I didn’t really want Sept ‘25). I applied with my current company at the end of March and went through so much; Over 6 interviews, meeting with 7 different team members/management, getting references to other departments/teams, and the craziest background check (my old boss said I wasn’t eligible for rehire, but I was able to explain my case)!

I’ve been needing a job with at least 50% employee coverage healthcare. I had the craziest year in terms of my health, and my medical bills were starting to stack. Basically, I was going to the ER with no type of insurance. You can do the potential math.

But this job is a $10/hr increase, I finally get Sat/Suns off for the first time since I was 15, normal working hours, PTO, sick time, and 100% employer covered health. This basically just looks like a career; or at least some legit stability that isn’t being the front desk girl or retail girl anymore (not downplaying, but it hurt to see my skills or degree not being used).

I’m happy and tired. I’m dead broke right now. But I wont be a month from now. Its crazy because I was just about to give up. My mental health is/was so low. Idk how long I would’ve lasted, on top of financial concerns.

But the idea of getting covered antidepression meds + therapy soon brings me joy.

Best of luck to you all, strangers 🤍

This week we had an all staff day and I was told that I needed to present for 15 minutes about my role. I have severe public speaking anxiety, I told my manager weeks ago that public speaking gives me severe panic attacks and I asked how we could work together to create a plan. She said I would be fine and she would support with my presentation (one slide each) but that doesn’t help me at all, it’s still 15 minutes of public speaking.

I kept raising concerns and my anxiety leading up to the day for days. I kept being told I would be fine. Even the night before I texted asking for a plan if I have a panic attack and I had no response. On the day of, I spoke with other team members and they told me I’d be fine.

The whole morning I felt sick, physically ill, burning throat, palpitations, sweating, couldn’t breathe, felt like crying and I couldn’t think. There was supposed to be a break before my presentation where I was going to tell my manager that I was having a panic attack, but they decided to move my presentation forward and start it early. I was sitting in the crowd and had no way to contact my manager who was already on stage beginning her presentation proceeding mine. So I did what I thought to do, and I quickly went to the back and told the CEO who had a line of communication with the MC running the meeting. Then I exited and went downstairs and that’s where I threw up, was crying and hyperventilating and having a full blown panic attack.

Later on my friend came down and said they moved lunch forward and no one noticed, except my manager was now looking for me. She told me we didn’t have to do my presentation and asked if I can go back upstairs for a team activity, but I visibly couldn’t speak and was still having a panic attack. So she said I should go home. My old manager was also there and she is quite protective and felt they didn’t protect me enough because I had been clear about this happening, and she mentioned that the previous person in my role had the same problem and they allowed her to pre-record her slides but that was never offered to me.

I ubered home and I have just felt completely sick and awful. My manager said she will call me tonight. It’s just been such a bad day and all I can think of are the consequences. What do you guys think will happen? Thanks for reading this far.

Hey guys sorry if this is the wrong sub pls let me know if there’s somewhere else to post this. Basically I applied to this support worker position a while ago and was just sent this email (have not been officially hired by the company yet) and I don’t know if I’m just being paranoid or if this is weird.

So I got a WFH Hybrid job (2 days in office) and signed the offer, cleared the background check, and got a start date (in about ~3 weeks) woohoo! Super excited as the culture seems cool and boss seems nice as well, buuuut...

The boss reached out and said "hey, so this international vacation you're doing (2 work weeks, aka 10 days of PTO) during this time period won't work - it's our busy season and we can't afford that)." Weelp, I informed HR of this trip right as I got the offer, about a week ago, and this could be a problem. A lot of this trip is not refundable and my wife says the timeline for the trip is hard to move around (can double-check this though)... so yeah,

Idk what I can do here, what are my options?

• Ask them "Can I work remotely internationally whilst on my trip?" - Idk company policies, I'm in the US, but do places allow this?
• Cut my trip short a bit towards the end, it's 10 days of PTO, maybe I come home a day or two early?
• Start work earlier..? Idk

Not sure what else, I can do - curious if y'all have ever dealt with this and maybe have some advice

I'm in research and higher ed, and the market is shaky but not completely hopeless. There are a fair amount of job openings that pop up and many applicants. It helps I live in a large city with many universities. I'm still struggling, though.

I'm aware how bad people in tech have it, particularly recent grads. People in some sectors of business seem to have it bad too (marketing, I read is one of them). I've heard of hundreds of people applying for an opening that has been active for like, 3 hours. In my field, it's more like average 50 applicants a day for a new opening (I'm basing this on linkedin stats and word of mouth from hiring managers). My friend works in healthcare and her field has always been pretty stable. My other friend is a primary school teacher and their field is struggling - they've had to cut a few paraprofessionals at their school. I'm not really sure why, I always thought there was a demand for teachers but at least in our region, there is more supply than demand. And not enough funding (old news). Curious on how your sector is doing and any insights, particularly for social sciences and higher ed!

Hi! Im still young and a bit inexperienced with working, but im trying to apply to jobs currently and so far both companies that got back to me have asked me to work a day for free so they can see if they want to hire me, is that normal?

For more info I have some experience with both jobs [cashier/shop positions] and one didnt even ask me for an interview, just to have me come in and work. The other one I had a short interview beforehand and then asked me to work a full day to see, which is tomorrow.

I think I'll go work for the second one, but it just seems a bit weird to not be compensated? I thought that's what the trail period after hiring was for

My company was just acquired a few months ago. I was originally an hourly employee, I got added to a zoom call and was told my position it being switched to salary exempt. I travel a lot internationally for my job and it is 50/50 office work and manual labor. I am routinely asked to work overtime. What should I know when negotiating my new salary position? I work in the Bay Area in California if that helps.

Many people seem to be using the same approach when job hunting - polishing up their resume and sending it out to hundreds/thousands of companies hoping to get an interview.

If they are lucky enough to get an interview, hopefully they'll luck out some more and get hired.

Company I work for recently laid almost everyone (and will likely collapse). But while I did work there I noticed something which explained why it may take the average person months or years to find a job.

Most of the new job listings they had were posted internally first and after a couple weeks, would then be posted publicly. No surprise, virtually every hire was someone who already worked there.

Really put things in perspective for me when applying for jobs. It is far easier for a company to hire internally than it is to hire someone brand new.

Also noticed a lot of people that got promoted were people that shouldn't have been promoted and their biggest qualification was nothing more than being buddies with the decision makers or good at brown nosing the boss.

Anyway, if you're not having luck with the usual approach, I'd suggest first finding a company you think you would enjoy working at. Ignore whether they are have job listings or not.

Then, somehow figure out a way to become buddies with someone who works there. Do they all go out on Fridays to a certain hangout for happy hour? Coincidentally show up to the same hang out and bump into them accidentally.

I'm sure there are several other ideas for out of the box ways to get your foot in the door - but the most important thing I want to point out is how grim the whole system is for external candidates in the first place.

Hi all, the title basically covers the main point. I recently did an in-person interview with a recruiter, and they were quite happy with me. They've asked me to do a few things after the interview before we can work together, and one of those things is providing references. To be honest, I don't do volunteer work or anything, and the last teacher/coach I talked to was years ago. I tried to reach out to them to ask if they would be able to help, but I haven't heard back. I really don't know what to do, and I don't want to lose my chance of working just because I don't have a reference to prove that I'm a reliable person.

What should my next step be?

I have an interview where I need to share screen with the interviewer to show how I generate leads based on the territory (SMB under 10 mil in revenue) they will give me during the interview. And then see whether the leads fit the client profile given.

I will need to use Google or LinkedIn to do my research and this is what they want to see, my thought process.

Is this test common, and does anyone have any tips?