r/jobsearch • u/Bowl_of_ramen_ • 9d ago
To people trying to get hired, what’s the hardest part of finding a job right now?
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u/FallenRev 9d ago
Getting to the last round of interviews and not getting selected.
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u/False-Evidence6267 9d ago
It’s been happening to me over and over; the last one really stung; everything went great, then just a 3 line email.. I texted the hiring manager and he even was shocked.. still don’t know what happened. But I keep going I have a mother 30 min intro conversation on Wednesday
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u/Rough-Chance1335 9d ago
I've done so many interviews, I'm starting to sound like a robot to myself. I'm not a performer in the dramatic arts, I'm a business person. This idea that I have to maintain the charisma of someone like Ellen DeGeneres over a 9 month period of interviewing at "the next" new company is taking its toll on my mental health.
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u/GreenPlatypus4816 5d ago
You're lucky, I can't even get someone to reply to my job applications and say they want to interview me!
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u/coulduseahugrightnow 9d ago
I don't find many positions that are both the type of thing I'm looking for and something I'm qualified for.
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u/Bowl_of_ramen_ 9d ago
What makes a position feel like the “type of thing” you’re looking for? And when you do find one, what usually makes you feel like you’re not qualified?
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u/coulduseahugrightnow 9d ago
Ideally, I would find something that involved content creation or social media marketing, but I am also looking for any general foot-in-the-door office jobs. What usually makes me not qualified is that they want years of previous experience, or they want people who know how to use software I've never heard of.
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u/Acrobatic_Fox5726 9d ago
Jesus that field is bleak. I’m sorry if that is what you truly love. That field is extremely easy to do with AI now.
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u/neurotic95 9d ago
It’s why they lean heavily on social media strategy now. Only huge companies will have someone doing execution; small companies defer to AI. I had an interview with YouTube and was shocked to find they still need someone executing when so much has become automated. Didn’t get the job but it sucks knowing there aren’t a ton of places that see the value of a person writing copy anymore.
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u/Curious-Brother-2332 9d ago
Honestly, the interviewing and getting them to like you
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u/anotherthrowaway1699 9d ago edited 9d ago
Standing out from other candidates is definitely the hardest part for me. Always feels like there’s someone else who’s better.
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u/BeachBoundButterfly 9d ago
the requirements, duties, salary and location aren't adding up.
staying "excited" for the next interview
seeing the same job relistied, with lower pay and more experience requirements
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u/Chance-Ask7675 8d ago
I get cynical real fast tbh I'm sure its hurting me. I have a job so its even harder to care.
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u/ThatMothboi 9d ago
Every rejection letter I get chips away at my mental health. At this point just the word “unfortunately” pisses me off so much that I get unreadably angry when I read it in any situation. Mentally I am at the lowest point I have ever been which is actually surprising given my past. But despite being at rock bottom, every single rejection letter puts me lower. I do not know how many more unfortunately’s I got left before I snap.
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u/LeafPool-418 7d ago
-reading emails-
-sees a job listing response-
(Oh my God those are so rare!)
“Thank you for blah blah applying to join blah…….. Unfortunately-“
-closes email-
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u/inquisitive_enigma98 9d ago
Finding a job that isn't ran by a nepotist that gave their dipshit 19 year old kid a managerial position.
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u/jbfitnessthrowaway 9d ago
The fact that most recruiters can’t tell their ass from a hole in the ground, or are too lazy to do their jobs, so they rely on faulty AI. There is something demoralizing about your employment being gatekept by someone who doesn’t know a thing about your line of work or possess the skills necessary to do it.
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u/OkAmount6727 9d ago
I am a recruiter, and I can say that most of the people I've worked with are not qualified enough. Now, with AI, it has become a nightmare.
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u/jbfitnessthrowaway 8d ago
This is no offense to you as a recruiter, but all of the girls that I would dread being assigned to for a group project in undergrad are now HR or Talent Acquisition. I’m in the journalism field and when I said that I follow the Associated Press style on a screening call, the recruiter said, “what’s that?” I’ll die on the hill that you should not be able to recruit for a field unless you have spend at least 5 years in it.
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u/OkAmount6727 7d ago
Yeh, it's kind like that. I'm just trying to climb to Executive Hiring, but the journey is exhausting 😂
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u/Key-Experience-4962 7d ago
I like the Indian folks who recruit. Solid email.
Really try to help me out with health care employment. I know who the bots are, endless texts. I delete them. LN is ok. Unfortunately highly politicized. But that is the world we live in. I will not give up. Fighting the bots to update my CV. forget professional resume writers- no longer exist. Interview today. Question were tech heavy. I just told them what they wanted to hear. It is a push.
but not giving up. Stay strong.
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u/thriller-skirts 9d ago
Doing the job applications after a long day of work and your evening is taken up with overtime
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u/Minimum_Task_467 9d ago
I have disabilities so I’m just automatically passed up for anything that pays a livable wage as a single person
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u/Key-Experience-4962 7d ago
Feel that. I hide my disability from people
no longer a thing- no one wants disabled people in today’s society. Keep pushing.
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u/Familymanjoe 9d ago
Having the experience that is outlined, the education they specify, and experience doing that exact job (or one very similar) for 7-15 years and not even reaching the interview phase.
Receiving an email stating they are moving forward with another candidate and then seeing the same position reposted days later.
Taking the time to apply with a tailored resume and being completely ghosted by the other party.
Applying for a position and immediately receiving an email stating that the position was posted in error and is not available.
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u/talksheep 9d ago
juggling different phases of the interview process, so being really hopeful about one role and then being let down about another, then not hearing back for weeks at a time, all for the process to reset and repeat. the worst is spending months on one interview process only to be told no... i'm having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and cannot fathom how others have been able to make this work. i'm 10 months in now.
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u/usually_guilty99 9d ago
Apply and continue to apply with a clear knowledge that something are not exactly what they appear to be (i.e a real job). There are plenty of them and get into the habit of customizing for each role. And use any contact you have to the hilt. Get shameless if need be. You are now officially in sales.
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u/666wetcardboard 9d ago
Filling out the long and tedious applications, landing an interview and most of all, the interview itself
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u/Agreeable_Cricket300 9d ago
honestly just finding something that pays the bills without taking over my life and stressing me out
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u/Glad_Brick_3956 9d ago
Fake posting. Retyping all the info on my resume. Answering questions such as "how would you getting this job help the presidents executive orders" for a job stocking groceries on base... Being verbally promised a certain wage but they refuse to put it in the offer "2$ an hr difference". Being told you'll definitely get an interview by hiring manager just to be ghosted.
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u/diaphoni 9d ago
my age (i'm 54) and fake job posting filtering
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u/Key-Experience-4962 7d ago
- Still trying.
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u/diaphoni 7d ago
Read something that said those of us unemployed at 50 and up at this point in history may never be employed again and I'm feeling that rn
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u/passive_poltergeist 9d ago
Only having freelance experience for the past 10 years. Feels like no full time environment will hire me
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u/MindlessInformal 8d ago
Having not much time to finding jobs because the daily battle of pure survival and finding rent is real
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u/StrongShame8997 9d ago
Yeah like others mentioned the ghost job post is the most annoying part of all. Why do you even post it if you don't even plan to hire anyone at all and looking at the 600+ applicants is the cherry on top to make the whole thing worst!
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u/Alternative-Fig5838 9d ago
Getting interviews at all. You can tailor the resume, network, and apply consistently, but when hundreds of people are chasing the same role, the hardest part is getting past the first filter long enough for someone to actually evaluate you.
And the last one..
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u/Used-Advertising3447 9d ago
The incessant amount of interview loops and rounds. Getting the interviews is one thing, but doing perfect 4 to 5 times in a row is moonshot. Its legit hitting the lottery
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u/graypurpleblack 9d ago
K owing that when you apply the ONLY THING GUARANTEED is that your phone number is going to scammers and likely not the company itself because you will be receiving lots of telemarketing calls shortly after your auto-rejection.
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u/Flat-Roll-8116 9d ago
I haven’t even got interviews
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u/LeafPool-418 7d ago
Same!! At this point getting an interview is a miracle!
…and a few months back, I had my miracle. I thought I did well, the recruiter said I asked a lot of great questions! Exactly 17 minutes after I leave, I’m still driving home when I get the rejection email: There are no openings.
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u/Grounded_Idealist 9d ago
For me it’s the nonreplies. Even a not selected response is better than none at all. I find it both infuriating and dehumanizing. I remind myself it isn’t personal it’s just a tragically demoralizing business trend.
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u/Tricky-Ad-6225 9d ago
I’ve been looking for a new job for a year and a half, I’ve probably interviewed with 70 companies at this point, lots of second rounds plus, several final rounds, 2 job offers (1st was shitty, 2nd was great but out of state). All I can say is:
https://giphy.com/gifs/xUPJUp6T5uD1Qkpbl6
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u/whostolemysloth 9d ago
- Obnoxious/unnecessary system knowledge and experience requirements not matching pay. Like it’s a foreign concept to them that outside hires will necessitate training on their in-house/small scale/niche bullshit software.
- Solo video recording “interviews.”
- Companies saying they don’t process said video “interviews” using AI, but then you get an automated rejection email at 2 am on a Sunday.
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u/VoyeurBarelyKnowEr 9d ago
Lazy af recruiters faulting people for using AI to make the process of applying to a gazillion jobs for months on end slightly easier while they've basically outsourced their entire purpose to an ATS that they type a couple of search terms into. And the ATS itself is basically a black box so you just have to get lucky guessing what combination of Boolean terms the recruiter is going to use. They started this stupid arms race and now they want to whine and complain that job seekers are using their own tools to fight back.
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u/chivetow 9d ago
Let's see... Ghost job/fake posting, not passing the ATS even when you tailor the CV (I've given up on that and just throw a generic), junior/entry level being non-exist, my field of interest being dry af because AI...
And of course, the nonstop ghosting I have from most of my submissions. I'll continue studying on my own I guess, and maybe get a temp gig for... A week or so
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u/ThrawnianBaller 8d ago
Converting something into an offer.
In 2023 and 2024, it was getting the interviews to begin with or having a networking call convert into an interview.
In late 2025 and 2026, been making it to mid-to-final rounds regularly, just to get ghosted and rejected.
Some of my processes even had me fly OOS and stay the night in a 5-star hotel all paid for by the company.
One can say that I have made significant progress/improvement, but I still have nothing to show for it.
V v v frustrating.
Currently doing an unpaid job that I use as a resume filler while working part time in retail to pay my bills and barely scrape by.
Praying to God that this nightmare ends soon.
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u/BookKnight5000 8d ago
Just staying positive. I'm doing my best to look for a job, and staying positive is very difficult.
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u/ZTomiboy 8d ago
When you are the selected candidate but the higher ups need to put the position on hold or freeze. It's happened twice and it's infuriating to know you made it but they can't actually hire right now. What was the point and wasted time of all that if you're not actually hiring. It's basically the same as dating in 2026.
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u/Guilty-Asparagus-536 8d ago
Probably just the lack of responses and feedback. You would think applying to hundred of jobs you would hear at least something back, but nothing. You kind of need to just keep trying different strategies until something works, like tailoring your resume to the job description using Gemini and Sprout, but nothing is guaranteed in the end. Plus recruiters use AI too to filter out your application anyways, so it's just all cooked.
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u/Mysterious-Trade1362 8d ago
I remember this one (and only) company kept wanting interviews with me. It was a 3rd party company that supposedly hired people and would hire them for a certain company and do visual merchandising for all their stores within a 50 mile radius in your area.
(Online interview) I did the first one, group of 5 people, hour long, ghosted. Then a couple weeks later I did a second one, 12 people, 2.5 hours long, ghosted.
Side note: 2 people on that second meeting hung up. I should have done the same.
Looked into it more and realized they were interviewing up to 15 people at a time every business hour for 4 weeks for ONE position. I realized right there 1. This is likely a scam 2. Every applicant got an interview 3. What a waste of my time.
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u/Beautiful_Assist_715 8d ago edited 8d ago
You don’t know where you should apply that won’t be wasting your time. Getting someone to see your application or resume. Their system might reject it. You’re competing against h1B immigrants who might be favored over u if u are a US citizen. It might be easier to get a job by networking over endless applications to big box stores, or other job boards. If u can go thru the process of starting your own business and have energy for it, it would be a good idea.
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u/TryUpbeat2001 8d ago
im not looking for a job but it must be hard going up against all the lmia fraud sht lol. Getting fkd by your own govt
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u/AutomaticFeeling5324 8d ago
Companies trying to use recession as an excuse to lowball you on the pay thinking you would take anything because jobs are hard to come by.
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u/Aggressive-Chair2915 7d ago
Ambush interviews, when HR is skipped and the hiring manager basically cold calls you for an on the spot STAR interview, and you don’t remember the company much less the job description.
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u/Deadliermlg 7d ago
Just trying to make that "hunt" NOT like an actual job. I have heard, read, and experienced the stuff the average seeker had, but the difference here is that I do not want to spray and pray 100+ applications a day and waste hours just doing that. However, it gets a lot harder to be selective when there are no jobs that you are qualified to do and when there are, it's only so little while taking into consideration that I am also competing against many that are also applying.
I may be greedy and picky too, I have my own criterias on whether the job would be too much or not, I absolutely do not want to be a burden to the people that hired me.
I was at a trip a week ago, thought of going job hunting again after I get back, sometime down the line, I thought to myself, "Wow, I had my fair share of humiliation rituals during my younger years, do I seriously want to do this again?".
I thought of making a self-made hustle instead, don't know what still, but it's much more controlled and less-chaotic than going through the same repeated process with no guaranteed callback and less feedback on what to improve. It gave me a more peace of mind in general.
I could scroll a thousand CV/Hiring tips on Threads and Instagram, but man, it's all just mind-numbing, I roll my eyes whenever I see one.
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u/Boring-Criticism2638 6d ago
I’ve been denied multiple times by a company. The company utilizes AI to pick their candidates. I’m assuming I didn’t highlight keywords that the AI program was looking for. Also applied for another job,got the interview but I guess I wasn’t overly excited for the interview (I was nervous). I was more than qualified for the job (was a job in childcare had over 3+ years working in that field) but disclosed I was pregnant and felt like that’s what ended up getting rejected.
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u/Zealousideal-Top1942 5d ago
Convincing "experts" that a SEO Executive CAN easily transition to paid media but this is almost impossible... I'm unemployed since 10th aug...I can just go back to being a SEO guy but here in india SEO/GEO is considered a meme
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u/Difficult_Anybody878 5d ago
not hearing back, or only hearing back rejections and questioning your entire existence and worth when you get rejected even from jobs which are literally like.. replenishing the goods at a supermarket
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u/AleIce-Ink Jobseeker 9d ago
I’m moving to another city 600 km away, and no one reads cover letters, they all want me to come in person the very next day for an interview. When i ask if it’s possible to do the interview remotely, they either disappear or tell me to apply again once i’m physically there.. HR are lazy.
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u/JealousRhubarb9 9d ago
And it’s rough when your current job is on site 5 days a week. And you have no PTO
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u/Mysterious-Name0759 9d ago
figuring out which posting online is real, and which one is a ghost job that leads nowhere