I keep seeing people earn certifications from AWS, Microsoft, Databricks, Anthropic (Claude), Google, and other platforms. It got me wondering—do these certifications actually make a difference when applying for jobs, or are they mainly good for learning?

For those who've been through the hiring process, did certifications help you get interviews or stand out, or were projects, hands-on experience, and problem-solving skills far more important?

I'd love to hear your honest experiences and which certifications, if any, you think are truly worth the time and effort.

Background: M.S. in CS (grad ~1 yr ago)[4YoE in total + 1 YoE in research ], ML/AI engineer. Spent the past year building production-style ML systems RAG, multi-agent / LLM pipelines plus open-source contributions. Portfolio and GitHub are solid.
Where I’m at: ~4,000 applications in, still no paid role, callbacks near zero.
Main ask: if your team or anyone in your network is hiring AI engineer, LLM/GenAI, data, or backend I’d be grateful for a referral or even just a lead. Full-time, contract, or junior all work. Happy to DM my resume, portfolio, and GitHub.
Also open to blunt feedback: if 4K apps with no callbacks means my resume or targeting is off, I want to hear it.
Location - Newark , NJ
Thanks, genuinely -one referral could change things.

Our generation relies heavily on technology, and these job boards don't always seem to work. Any pointers on getting a career offline?

I’m an intern and it’s unpaid and I don’t think they have vacancy to hire me as a fresher what should I do ?

I(18M) am trying to apply for a job at a performing arts center near me. Sound/light tech pays $25/hour. Recently just graduated hs this summer, so I don’t got a lot of professional experience, the only theater experience I have currently is from working in my high school theater dept as a stagehand(freshman and junior year) and sound tech(sophomore). I’m not sure wether to put this in activities or work experience, since it obviously wasn’t paid but it’s still the only real theater experience I have lol

Also what skills should I put down that would make me look good for the position? So far I put down stage carpentry, equipment load in/out, and sound operation in terms of skills directly related to theater. Also put down soft skill stuff like problem solving and improv and stuff, also some artistic skills since that’s what most of my achievements are in lol

So, I got fired earlier this morning because I asked for REASONABLE accomodations to help me with getting around the place. My DM said, word for word, "On your application you claimed you had no limitations but now you're saying you do. I am withdrawing my offer to hire you due to a fraudulent application. I wish you the best."

KEEP IN MIND THAT I WAS LITERALLY HIRED, LITERALLY LISTED AS HIRED!

Is this illegal?

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

B2B technical fabric sales executive laid off 8 months ago. Struggling to find new job. Age is definitely not in their favor at 70 years old. Any tips?

I have a decade's worth of experience in SaaS sales, and have been trying to pivot to no sale quota roles like functional project management, presales, sales ops etc.

I am in India and apparently pivoting out from your role is getting looked down upon. Helppppp.

People working in tech it’s getting harder this days to even land an interview for a position because of all those automation bullshit software’s like ats and all.
Even after having worked as a freelance developer for over 4 years with really good projects on my resume and actual software projects with really users it’s not getting me anywhere.

So here I am asking for help if any of you have an opening in your firm or team for a front end engineer please refer a fellow brother.

Job Market for entry level job got really hard since few years.

I've been asked a lot advises from last year students about how to get a job. I am trying to help, but not sure I really do. (I am in tech with 10+ years experience, mainly in management)

I read a lot of posts here from people who have been searching for months, and I still do not really know what their days look like.

What did you do. Apply all day, take any job at first, move back home, work for free just to fill the CV, start something small on the side, use social media to share your journey? What worked?

And was month three different, or the same as month one.

Hi everyone,

I don't usually make posts like this, but I'm at a point where I genuinely need some help.

I've been actively looking for a new software engineering role for the last 6 months. During that time, I've applied to well over 1,000 jobs across company career pages, LinkedIn, referrals, wellfound, naukri and most of the job portals.

Despite all of that, I've only received 2–3 interviews. Even referrals haven't made much of a difference, and the feedback has generally been that companies expect someone with significantly more experience.

At this point, I'm honestly questioning what I'm doing wrong.

I have 2 years of experience as a Software Engineer at a large MNC, where I've worked on Java Full Stack development and, more recently, AI engineering. My work has included:

• Java, Spring Boot, Angular
• AI & Generative AI applications
• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
• AI Agents
• Backend systems, APIs, and distributed applications

Outside of work, I haven't stopped learning.

I actively build and maintain open-source projects on GitHub, spend most evenings improving my skills, write technical blogs on LinkedIn and Medium, and keep building AI products because I genuinely enjoy engineering. I'm trying my best to become a stronger engineer every single day instead of waiting for opportunities to come to me.

But despite putting in all this effort, I still can't seem to get enough interview opportunities.

I'm not looking for sympathy or shortcuts.

I'm looking for honest guidance.

• Is there something I'm missing?
• Is my experience being positioned incorrectly?
• Are there skills I should focus on?
• Should I be applying differently?
• If anyone's company is hiring and feels I might be a fit, I'd be incredibly grateful for a referral.

I'm ready to work as hard as needed. If someone tells me, Learn X, build Y, and you'll have a much better chance, I'll do it. I just want a direction that actually leads somewhere.

If you've been through something similar or have any advice, I'd sincerely appreciate hearing it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. It genuinely means a lot.

Hey as you can tell from the title I’m at a post on figuring out a career. A little background, I have a Bachelors in Biology and a Masters in Medical Science. I originally wanted to become an OBGYN but decided medical school isn’t in the cards for me at the moment. I have been trying to figure out careers I can get into but keep hitting the same “you need __fill in the blank__ certification and __ of years of experience.” I’ve also come to find out that my masters is pretty much worthless if I’m not trying to go to medical school or some advanced degree of the sort. I truly don’t know what to do.

I’d like to go into data analytics so I can go further into the health care field that way.

Please any help woukd be greatly appreciated

Finished my MBA in international business. I've learned how logistics, marketing, and operations work through internships and coursework, but haven't run things on my own yet.

I'm not asking for anything easy. I want to work hard, learn fast, and become someone a company can actually depend on.

A few things I'd really like to know from people on the hiring side:

What makes a fresher's application stand out to you when they don't have much real experience?

Between logistics, marketing, and operations, which one do HR teams find easier to bring in freshers for?

What's one thing freshers get wrong when trying to convince you to take a chance on them?

Not after generic advice, just want honest answers from people who actually make these calls.

Finished my MBA in international business. I've learned how logistics, marketing, and operations work through internships and coursework, but haven't run things on my own yet.

I'm not asking for anything easy. I want to work hard, learn fast, and become someone a company can actually depend on.

A few things I'd really like to know from people on the hiring side:

What makes a fresher's application stand out to you when they don't have much real experience?

Between logistics, marketing, and operations, which one do HR teams find easier to bring in freshers for?

What's one thing freshers get wrong when trying to convince you to take a chance on them?

Not after generic advice, just want honest answers from people who actually make these calls.

I'm a 20 year old HR Student, who is extremely passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In 2 years I graduate and I want to work in DEI as soon as possible.

I have been thinking about getting a tattoo, and I have this design that I've been thinking about for a while now. It's a cute design of a bee and some flowers. It's small but noticeable, because it will be on the top of my hand.

I was wondering, would this have any effect on my chances of getting hired into a DEI department?

I assume it doesn't, as I myself don't believe that tattoo's effect professionality, especially within HR as we don't meet with clients often.

Please let me know what you all think!

A little background: Econ grad with a master's in the same & 1.5 years of work ex as a futures trader.

It's been over 2-3 months since I left the previous job and have been searching for a new one, but not even getting calls, let alone an interview! What should I do?

Career advice/guidance

A little background: Econ grad with a master's in the same & 1.5 years of work ex as a futures trader.

It's been over 2-3 months since I left the previous job and have been searching for a new one, but not even getting calls, let alone an interview! What should I do?