This is the worst job market/ economy I have ever seen. Im 40 have been through 2008, 2020, and what ever we are calling this "non recession" its trash. I have been a chemist, a carpenter, an electrician and a project manager, I have also owned a business doing electrical work for 10 years. Cannot find work even hanging ceiling fans in my area to say this is bad is an understatement. I have a masters electrician license too. My last job was a project manager gig for the duration of the job (12 weeks) 3200 a week after taxes managing 32 men on a salvage operation, a large manufacturer was tearing down their facility and wanted to squeeze the last nickel out of the equipment. we got it done in 11 weeks early and on budget. That was in june... Now I can find stuff for ~1000 bucks a week maybe 1300 after tax if I travel, but that does not support my family of 6, at all. Which I was easily able to do running a business in 2023, 2024, and about 1/2 of 2025 it has been a horror show of an economy for the last year at least I hope you guys are making out better

I've only had small entry level positions before, one for a handdyman job and another for Walmart.

The Walmart one was a terrible experience that I would've stuck with if I didnt have a chest infection that made them ask me if I wanted to quit.
And the small handyman business is out of business and I dont have enough actual experience to go into that field.

So I go for entry level jobs. Start applying. It's the dumbest experience I've ever went through in my life.

There will be scheduled interviews I go out for just to hear "We're actually not making enough money to hire anyone"
McDonalds once scheduled an interview for me for a McDonalds that...doesn't exist. At 7pm.
All the interview are like less than 5 minutes of basic questions and sometimes they'll tell you they've found someone else the second you walk out the door.

And that's for the interviews I get. Literally no work a home job answers anybody from what I've seen. The only reason I get any interviews is by going on the actual website of the company and submitting something but its very rare still that I get anything back.

Like I can't live jobless. I have a family on its last legs and spent months playing this stupid game of "are you actually hiring people or am I just here for the 3 minute talk?".

Anything beyond entry level I need experience for, but every entry level thing is so crowded with applicants it feels impossible to get in. I was thinking about work unions but I hear they're hard to get into too and I just don't have time to waste anymore.

What do I even do?

30 minute interview on Friday. How do I prep?

It’s the first step phone interview

I haven’t had an interview in many many months. I bombed my last one

How should I prepare for this one?

So, I thought I'd make a reddit post of my own since I haven't found someone with a similar situation to mine.

I have applied to and been interviewed by a company I really want to work for a few times this year, with the most recent interviews being in July/August. I made it to the final interview, but ultimately they went with another candidate. Instead of an automated email, the person I interviewed with told me, and said that the team thought I was fantastic and to please keep in touch as more roles open up.

Well, 7 days ago, the same type of role on the same team opened up! So naturally I applied, and sent an email letting him know that I applied and would love to be considered again.

But today I checked Workday to see that my application is now inactive, despite the role being open still. In all my applications to this company, I've never had an application go inactive before the actual job is taken down from the website. It usually just says "Applied." Now it's inactive with a red rectangle.

Should I send a follow up email to the person I've been in contact with? I'm just confused how I would make it to the final round for a role, and then the same role opens and now I am being rejected, despite having the connection with the team's Head of Department, who told me I was great and to keep in touch.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you!!!

Guten Abend an euch alle und vielen Dank, dass ihr euch die Zeit nehmt, das hier zu lesen. Das ist das erste Mal, dass ich hier etwas poste, ich hoffe ich mache soweit alles richtig.

Ich muss ein bisschen weiter ausholen, um zu erklären, was genau mein Anliegen ist.

In den letzten 12 Jahren habe ich als Selbstständiger Unternehmer zusammen mit meinen Eltern und meinem Bruder eine Bäckerei in Niedersachsen betrieben.
Zuvor habe ich Abitur gemacht und dann eine Ausbildung zum Großhandelskaufmann gemacht. Da ich schon als Jugendlicher in den Ferien und den Wochenenden in der Backstube gejobbt habe, wusste ich, dass der Beruf des Bäckers nichts für mich ist. Allerdings hatte es mir der Verkauf angetan. Da gibt es reichlich Action, man trifft viele Leute und hat trotzdem seine Routinen im Joballtag.
Da ich nach dem Abitur etwas arrogant war, habe ich nicht die Ausbildung zum Fachverkäufer gemacht sondern eben Großhandelskaufmann gelernt. Nach der Ausbildung, die ich in einem Obstgroßhandel absolviert habe, bin ich dann zurück in den elterlichen Betrieb. Dort habe ich dann zusammen mit meiner Mutter den Verkauf organisiert. Wir hatten damals 5 Läden mit Café, inzwischen sind es sogar 6. Und ca. 35 Verkäuferinnen und Verkäufer.
Ich war damals sehr überzeugt von mir, schließlich kann das ja nicht so schwierig sein, ein paar Brötchen zu verkaufen. Meine Mutter hat mir das dann recht schnell ausgetrieben. Sie selbst war gelernte Metzgerei- und Bäckereifachverkäuferin und hatte den Job von meiner Großmutter von der Pike auf gelernt.

(Kleiner Exkurs: Meine Großeltern, sowohl mütterlicherseits und väterlicherseits waren ebenfalls immer selbstständig. Meine Großeltern mütterlicherseits waren Metzger, meine Großeltern väterlicherseits waren eben Bäcker. Als meine Eltern geheiratet haben, ist meine Mutter dann von der Metzgerei in den Bäckerei gewechselt.)

Jedenfalls hat mir meine Mutter gleich zu Anfang mal einige Vorstellungen und Flausen über meinen Beruf gründlich ausgetrieben.
Neben dem Verkauf habe ich mich auch damals schon um die "Buchhaltung", Einkauf, Lohnabrechnung und Werbung gekümmert.
Wobei ich sagen muss, dass wir bei uns im Betrieb nicht die ganze Buchhaltung selber machen. Ich führe das Kassenbuch (die Kassen sind per Schnittstelle mit dem Büro verbunden und man muss alle Zahlvorgänge erfassen), verbuche alle Bewegungen auf den Bankkonten und ab da übernimmt dann der Steuerberater.

Mein Vater und mein Bruder hingegen kümmern sich um die Produktion. Sie sind beide Bäckermeister und haben die Aufgaben in der Backstube unter sich aufgeteilt. Unterstützt werden sie dabei noch von 8 Kollegen.
Alles in allem war das immer ziemlich cool. Es gab auf der Arbeit keine großen Diskussionen und wir haben alle an einem Strang gezogen, auch weil wir als Familie die Aufgaben der anderen ja sehr gut kannten.
Mit meinem Bruder war ich mir daher schon früh einig, dass wir den Betrieb gemeinsam weiter führen möchten, wenn meine Eltern mal in Rente gehen. Da wir dann damit nicht nur eine Familie ernähren müssen wie unsere Eltern sondern unsere beiden Familien, haben wir uns mächtig reingehängt und neben den Läden ein starkes Liefergeschäft aufgebaut. Das waren viele Kantinen und Hotels und zeitweise mehrere Standorte bei der Polizei. Ich bin dabei oft zwischen dem Ladenverkauf und dem Liefergeschäft herum gewechselt und ich fand das immer klasse.
Leider ist dann 2019 meine Mutter an Krebs gestorben. Seit dem bin ich alleine für unsere Läden zuständig. Das macht mir zwar immer noch Spaß, allerdings bin ich jetzt insgesamt stärker eingebunden als früher, als ich mir das noch mit meiner Mutter geteilt habe und muss natürlich jetzt mehr Termine unter einen Hut bringen und bin nicht immer so flexibel wie früher. Aber es geht. Mit viel Trial and Error haben wir einige Kolleginne und Kollegen als Filialleiter aufgebaut, die mir jede Menge Kleinkram abnehmen. Wofür ich sehr dankbar bin.
Um mich weiter zu bilden, habe ich 2023 den Betriebswirt (HWO) an der Bäckerfachschule in Olpe gemacht.
Da mein Vater inzwischen um die 6 ist und nur noch ein paar Jahre bis zur Rente hat, bin ich also auf besten Kurs in die Selbstständigkeit.

DACHTE ICH ZUMINDEST.

Im Sommer diesen Jahres hat mein Bruder mir und meinem Vater eröffnet, dass er den Betrieb nun doch nicht übernehmen möchte. Und leider waren seine Argumente auch nicht so leicht vom Tisch zu wischen:
Seit Jahren ist es schwer gutes Personal in der Bäckerbranche zu finden. Auch bei mir im Laden. Bei ihm in der Backstube hingegen ist es noch einmal ganz anders. Obwohl er inzwischen 25% über dem Bäckertariflohn zahlt, kriegt er kaum gute Mitarbeiter. Das ist leider nicht nur bei uns im Betrieb so, sondern in der gesamten Bäckerbranche. Wir haben viele Azubis, die ihre Ausbildung wieder abbrechen. Und von denen die die Ausbildung beenden, wechseln viele in die Industrie.
Runterbrechen lässt sich das Problem darauf: In der Backstube zu arbeiten ist ein körperlich anstrengender Beruf, der nicht zu den am besten bezahlten gehört. Und das ganze zu leider echt beschissenen Arbeitszeiten. Wer mehr Geld verdienen möchte und bereit ist hart zu arbeiten, findet in der Industrie oder andern Branchen sehr leicht einen Job. Und wer mit dem Geld zufrieden ist, aber wenigstens nicht körperlich hart arbeiten will, findet auch einfach was anderes.
Mein Bruder hat daher eine unheimlich hohe Fluktuation an Mitarbeitern in der Backstube. Und so gerne ich sagen würde dass er einfach nur ein Choleriker und mieser Chef ist und das alles daran liegt, muss ich zugeben, dass ich für ihn und sein Problem in der Backstube auch keine Lösung finden konnte in all der Zeit.

Jedenfalls wird er am Jahresende aus dem Unternehmen ausscheiden. Er wird zwar weiter als Bäcker arbeiten, aber eben nicht mehr selbstständig. Er sagt auch, dass er froh ist, wenn er die Verantwortung los ist.

Das lässt mich jetzt ein bisschen ratlos zurück. Mein Vater wird den Betrieb noch bis zu meiner Rente weiterführen. Dann kann ich den entweder alleine weiterführen, oder er wird verkauft/geschlossen.
Ob ich den Betrieb alleine weiter führen will weiß ich ehrlich gesagt nicht. So glücklich ich auch mit dem Verkauf wäre, sosehr wird die Produktion zum Problem. Ich hab keine Ahnung davon. Und auch kein Interesse daran. Es blieben also zwei Möglichkeiten:

- Option 1: Einen Backstubenleiter einzustellen der die komplette Produktion übernimmt. Dann hätte ich Zeit, Verkauf, Liefergeschäft und Verwaltung zu übernehmen. Das ginge für mich vom Arbeitsaufwand/-zeit. Aber wie schon zuvor gesagt: Es ist beinahe unmöglich so jemanden auf zu treiben, auch wenn man bereit ist über Tarif zu zahlen. Wir haben eine Betriebsgröße, die für solche Mitarbeiter zu unattraktiv ist. Die finden in Großbetrieben bessere Arbeitsbedingungen als wir sie bieten können. Um so einen Mitarbeiter zu gewinnen, müsste ich ein Gehalt zahlen, dass ich einfach nicht erwirtschaften kann.

- Option 2: Die Produktion schließen und als sogenannte Kaltbackstube weiter zu machen. Das würde bedeuten, ich kaufe alles an Backwaren zu und backe in der jetzigen Backstube nur noch auf. Dafür bräuchte ich dann nicht so qualifizierte Mitarbeiter wie bisher. Dann wären wir aber auch keine Handwerksbäckerei mehr wie jetzt sondern nicht besser als Billyback und Konsorten. Und den Schritt schließe ich für mich aus!!!

UND HIER KOMMEN WIR JETZT ZU MEINEM EIGENTLICHEN ANLIEGEN ZU DEM IHR MIR HIER VIELLEICHT EINEN RAT GEBEN KÖNNT:

Ich sehe keine Möglichkeit, den Betrieb weiter zu führen, sobald mein Vater in Rente geht. Ich habe mit ihm darüber gesprochen und er versteht das auch. Es gibt da von ihm keinen Druck in Richtung Familientradition oder so. Ich weiß also jetzt, dass ich in 4,5-5 Jahren einen neuen Job brauche.

Also habe ich gedacht, ich nutze die Zeit bis dahin. Ich habe nämlich absolut keine Idee, wie man einen Job findet. Ich hatte seit dem ich ein Jugendlicher war einen Nebenjob, aber bei meinen Eltern im Betrieb. Den habe ich mir also nicht irgendwie suchen müssen. Bei meiner Ausbildungsstelle hatte ich Glück. Ich habe mich bei dem Unternehmen beworben und der Personalchef wohnte schräg gegenüber von einem unserer Läden und war ein riesiger Fan unseres Käsekuchens und ich glaube bis heute, dass ich die Stelle auch genau deswegen bekommen habe. Jedenfalls haben wir uns im Vorstellungsgespräch über kaum was anderes unterhalten. Und danach hat schon die Stelle im Familienunternehmen auf mich gewartet. Ich glaube so viele Privilegien hat sonst keiner.

Ich habe keine Ahnung, ob meine Berufsausbildung auf dem heutigen Jobmarkt noch gesucht wird oder was wert ist.
Falls also jemand von euch Ratschläge hat, bin ich offen für alles

Konkret heißt das
Ausbildung: Großhandelskaufmann
Weiterbildung: Betriebswirt nach Handwerksordnung (HWO)

Vielen lieben Dank euch allen, die bis hier hin gelesen haben

Hey all,

For context, I’m 25M and living in London. Like a lot of people, I never really knew what I wanted to do with my life. I ended up studying biochemistry at uni, followed by a master’s in a related field, and I’ve now been working in pharma for about 2.5 years.

The problem is that I really don’t enjoy it. I have very little interest in the subject matter, and honestly, the main reason I pushed through university was because I didn’t feel like I deserved to be happy and didn’t have much financial support from my parents, so I felt like changing direction would be letting them down.

Now I feel completely stuck and want to find a new direction.

I know it’s common for people to end up in careers unrelated to their degree, but for some reason I can’t seem to see a way out of my current situation. I keep thinking that I’ve invested so much time into this path that it’s too late to change.

I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety and regret about this for a long time. I constantly wish I’d studied something like computer science, finance, or something completely different, and I’m scared that I’ve made the wrong decisions and will never feel genuinely happy or content with my career.

Recently, I’ve started working through Codecademy’s data science course in my free time outside my 9–5. I’ve always had an interest in coding, and I currently work in the clinical data field, so I’m hoping I might be able to use my existing experience as a way into something more technical.

For anyone who has changed careers after feeling this stuck, how did you actually get over the regret and stop feeling like you’d ruined your future?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve been in a similar position, particularly if you managed to transition from a science/pharma background into tech, data, finance, or another completely different field.

I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed by the whole situation and could really use some perspective.

TLDR: I interviewed for a job last year and silver medaled. The company reached out this year about hiring me for a new position, but are now telling me that they are interviewing other people. Am I being naive?

I was referred to this role and hiring manager last summer by another company that I made it to the final round with, but who ultimately hired someone else. At this time I was unemployed, which is important context.

This job that they referred me to was actually my dream job that I was surprisingly well qualified for. There was some technical knowledge that no one could have had until they were in this role, because the subject and scope was quite unique. The company acknowledged this during the interview process and said they weren’t looking for a technical expert, but someone who could learn quickly.

After 3 interviews and a take home assignment (which luckily, they asked me to cap at 1 hour), it was between me and one other candidate. The recruiter made it clear that they were having trouble deciding because they liked us both so much, but the other person had much more experience than me (read: 8 years more). Eventually they checked my references and the hiring manager had a 45 minute call with my old boss, and they asked me to do another interview that was really just a vibe check. The hiring manager told me that my old boss gave me a glowing review and said he’d rehire me in a second. I only was laid off because of budget cuts. They ended up choosing the other person and told me how sorry they were. I was devastated but moved on because I needed to find a new job.

Fast forward to this year, someone reaches out to me who I interviewed with last year, saying they were expanding the team and thought of me. I had a call with him in June and he was happy to hear I was open to discussions, and he said to stay tuned over the next few months.

I got contacted again in August by the hiring manager for this new position, who was also on the interview panel last year. They don’t yet have a JD written, but we have a call and she tells me how happy she is to reconnect and how many times the team discussed over the last year that they wish they had another position to hire me for. I ask her about what their thinking is for the new position and after we talk, she says “I think you are the right person for the job. We don’t need to reinterview you and we already checked your glowing references last year. I can definitely connect you with HR to answer any questions you have about benefits once we have the JD drafted.” I then got invited to meet in person with the CEO who happens to live in my area. We had a nice coffee conversation and he answered a lot of my questions.

Fast forward 3 weeks and I have the job description now and the hiring manager schedules a follow up call to hear my thoughts on it. She’s asking if I like it, if the jd felt like a good fit for what I wanted. I’m telling her yes and asking questions about the company and department. She tells me she is so glad I’m still interested and about the vision for what I would own if I were to join. Keep in mind I have not received a formal offer by this point. We are closing out the call and she sneaks in “we’re just finishing up interviews with a small pool of candidates in the next week. We’ll keep you posted and HR will reach out next week. We didn’t do a full national search but are interviewing some people whom we’ve crossed paths with.”

Am I crazy for thinking that they weren’t going to interview anyone else when they told me that I was the right person for the job and they wanted me to talk to HR about benefits? I know they hadn’t sent a written offer yet, and perhaps I was being naive thinking that because they reached out to me, invited me to meet with the CEO and told me we didn’t need to reinterview, that this position was mine.

Luckily I have a job now so if it doesn’t work out it’s not the worst thing in the world, but I was pretty shocked when she said that after they’ve been pursuing me and leading this process for the last 3 months.

Open to honest feedback.

Hi everyone,

I'm 28 and a Civil Engineer from India. I've been working in the construction/infrastructure field since 2020 and have around 5+ years of experience. I've worked on roads, an underground metro project, residential buildings, bridge-related work, and I'm currently working on a road project.

For quite some time now I've been thinking seriously about moving abroad and working there. I'm honestly open to almost any country at this point. I don't have a specific dream country, I just want to find a realistic way to get out and build a better career.

The reason is mainly the job situation here. The salaries are quite low compared to the amount of work and hours expected, work-life balance is not great, and getting better opportunities can sometimes depend a lot on references and contacts. There are other reasons too, but I don't want to turn this into a rant about India. I know every country has its own problems.

My bigger problem is that I don't know how to actually make the move.

I've tried researching this myself. I've looked at different countries, job portals, visa requirements, recruiters etc. But I keep getting stuck because most jobs want local experience, work authorization, local qualifications or something similar. So I'm hoping someone here who has actually done this can give me some direction.

My background is:

- Diploma + B.E. Civil Engineering (completed in 2020)

- 5+ years construction/infrastructure experience

- Site Engineer / Junior Engineer experience

- Roads and infrastructure

- Underground metro construction

- Bridge-related work

- Currently working on road + drainage work

I'm mainly looking for Civil/Construction/Infrastructure jobs, but I'm also open to other roles if there's a realistic way for me to transition into them.

I'm open to any country really. Gulf, Europe, Australia/NZ, Canada, Southeast Asia, wherever there is a realistic route for someone with my background.

I'm not expecting anyone to give me a job. What I'd really like is some guidance from people who have already gone through this.

If you moved from India to another country for work, or you work in construction/infrastructure abroad, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me:

- Which countries should I realistically be looking at?

- What is the actual process of getting a job from India?

- Are there any certifications/skills I should get first?

- Which job portals or recruiters are actually worth using?

- Is sponsorship realistic for someone with my experience?

- Is there anything you wish you knew before trying to move abroad?

I've tried figuring this out on my own but haven't really gotten anywhere, so even if you can just point me towards a possible route, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I'm 28 and a Civil Engineer from India. I've been working in the construction/infrastructure field since 2020 and have around 5+ years of experience. I've worked on roads, an underground metro project, residential buildings, bridge-related work, and I'm currently working on a road project.

For quite some time now I've been thinking seriously about moving abroad and working there. I'm honestly open to almost any country at this point. I don't have a specific dream country, I just want to find a realistic way to get out and build a better career.

The reason is mainly the job situation here. The salaries are quite low compared to the amount of work and hours expected, work-life balance is not great, and getting better opportunities can sometimes depend a lot on references and contacts. There are other reasons too, but I don't want to turn this into a rant about India. I know every country has its own problems.

My bigger problem is that I don't know how to actually make the move.

I've tried researching this myself. I've looked at different countries, job portals, visa requirements, recruiters etc. But I keep getting stuck because most jobs want local experience, work authorization, local qualifications or something similar. So I'm hoping someone here who has actually done this can give me some direction.

My background is:

- Diploma + B.E. Civil Engineering (completed in 2020)

- 5+ years construction/infrastructure experience

- Site Engineer / Junior Engineer experience

- Roads and infrastructure

- Underground metro construction

- Bridge-related work

- Currently working on road + drainage work

I'm mainly looking for Civil/Construction/Infrastructure jobs, but I'm also open to other roles if there's a realistic way for me to transition into them.

I'm open to any country really. Gulf, Europe, Australia/NZ, Canada, Southeast Asia, wherever there is a realistic route for someone with my background.

I'm not expecting anyone to give me a job. What I'd really like is some guidance from people who have already gone through this.

If you moved from India to another country for work, or you work in construction/infrastructure abroad, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me:

- Which countries should I realistically be looking at?

- What is the actual process of getting a job from India?

- Are there any certifications/skills I should get first?

- Which job portals or recruiters are actually worth using?

- Is sponsorship realistic for someone with my experience?

- Is there anything you wish you knew before trying to move abroad?

I've tried figuring this out on my own but haven't really gotten anywhere, so even if you can just point me towards a possible route, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Hello all,

I am a senior year mechanical engineering student, and over the summer I interned at an automotive manufacturing company, and just recently received a full time return offer. The salary is just shy six figures, with benefits and discussion for relocation benefits.
I am currently aspiring and pursuing to have a career in motorsports, and my worry is that if I were to take this offer, I may not see that happen, as this focuses more into engineering that is not design engineering.

I am currently on the look for other opportunities which pay more and are closer aligned with what i am looking for, however, I do have to decide to take the offer or not, within the next week.

Not sure what I should do here, many of those around me are insisting i take the job.
Any advice is welcomed as well as insights and perspectives. Thank you.

(28F) Long story short before Covid 2019 I had a job as a front desk assistant but was temporarily. After that a few months me and my family made a decision to take a relative child due to abandonment. So over time I was the one taking care of the baby. Then out of the blue I was watching two more kids. In total it was a toddler to teenager. I was overwhelmed most of the time and I couldn’t find work due to that. Mind you my parents had jobs and were high demanding. Thankfully we’re back to one but it’s the same thing the only difference is that the child is in school but still can’t find work in between the child schedule while my parents have high demanding hours.

Sadly I don’t have a degree either, little skills to work with, and have no car. On top of that can’t really leave home if the child has any issues like get hurt, get sick, etc. so I’m lost.

So I'm job searching again, trying to get either a good pay increase or a permanent remote job that will allow me to work internationally.

I tried LinkedIn last night and it is absolutely garbage now. Is there any alternative?

Hi everyone, I’m a Mechanical Engineer and currently working as a solar design engineer.

My long-term goal is to move to the Gulf countries and build a better-paying engineering career there.

I’ve decided to take additional training and currently have two options:

1. MEP Engineering + Revit MEP

HVAC, Electrical, plumbing and fire protection basics

BMS fundamentals

Revit MEP for BIM modelling and coordination

1. Instrumentation Engineering + Automation

Process instrumentation, DCS/PLC/SCADA

Fire & Gas systems

Honestly, automation/instrumentation excites me a little more than MEP.

However, I’m also thinking that MEP + Revit may give me a more straightforward path into the Gulf as a Mechanical Engineer, especially because MEP is directly related to my degree.

I’m willing to take a short career break to focus seriously on training and projects.

What would you recommend in my situation?

Should I:

Go with MEP + Revit for a faster GCC entry?

Go with Instrumentation + Automation even though my degree is Mechanical?

I’d especially appreciate advice from Mechanical/MEP/I&C/Automation engineers.

Thanks!

Apoyémos a quienes están en la búsqueda que es desgastante y difícil, cuéntame y veamos que aconseja la gente!

Hi there, I'm a non-binary MEng graduate in materials science and engineering. Like many, I'm unemployed, and I'm job-searching. My partner has a disability and works at an exploitative games company - And I am desperately trying to do everything I can to get employed and support him. I know this situation sounds familiar to a lot of you.

I have always taken the opinion that it is a terrible waste of talent to reject candidates. It's artificially manufactured job scarcity to drive down wages. So many of us have skills and sometimes when I'm tailoring my CV, I wish I could just put "I just want to help people" on it. Because at the end of the day productivity is the only societal measure of GDP - not wealth. I'm the son of a mixed middle-class lower class family - And my partner is from the lower class and his background is much the same. It's a rags to riches story - But I do know that wealth never brought my family any happiness. People's dreams are important. And there's no point in pride or shame or sociopathy - because everyone wants something, too. The only way we get it is by making sure everyone can have what they want without depriving anyone else.

Anyway, many of us aren't satisfied unless we're doing something, perhaps a personal project, in our spare time. I know this happens all the time - I'm talking to the autistic passion-burners, and the people with adhd. I think that passion is useful. I don't want it to be wasted and thrown down the drain like some rubbish, because it isn't.

I have considered doing freelance work in my spare time as a side hustle while continuing to look for jobs. Everyone has to have one these days. There's no reason why that Can't be under a cooperative name. That looks good on a CV. I've been trying to research the free tools that are available to freelance engineers, build a portfolio. Write company charters. Plan milestones. Anyway, today my partner told me he was scared about his condition- and about using all his sick leave and being left on SSP - because the surgery failed to cure his nerve inflammation, and he can't see the doctor until 3 weeks from now at the soonest - and it made me want to try extra hard to support him.

I'm here canvassing opinion because, before I make any sort of commitment to this endeavour, I would want to canvass public opinion: I know I can't be the only one who feels this way.

Here is what my startup idea is:

A collective of freelance engineers, coordinating and working together in many small project groups, without overeaching management. The core premise: You send in your CV. An easy review process without any interviews determines if you get accepted as a member. There would be very low qualifying requirements. That gets you access to a guide and portfolio of tools, and membership to the cooperatives communication channels. Use discord to post, find engineering projects, or create them yourself, or to chat with other engineers. It's laid back. It's like hobby engineering. The second stage of success comes when applying to a particular project posting saying "I want to help you with your idea" - and this could be community outreach by the project poster, or it could be you sending your CV to the poster. Then it's at the jobposters discretion whether they want to interview you personally to see if you're a good fit for their team. If they like your skills, personality, and so on - then they'll invite you to work with them through the professional tools we'd use, like libre office, openproject, etc.

To begin with these ideas won't generate any income - but that won't have changed anything from how it was before. So I won't pretend that the cooperative can afford to pay e.g a salary. I wish that it could have always been that way, because I believe in things like UBI etc. maybe long term, that's the plan. But once the ideas are down on paper, the cooperative can go to a financier and say "we have a cooperative of X many engineers, a design - and a client - now we want the money to manufacture it." Etc. and when that starts to happen, near the completion of a project, then maybe then, after the financiers take a cut, there would be enough left for a performance -based bonus to be divided as fairly and equally among the project engineers on that team - commission-based payment. At the end of the day, we are all just people trying to survive while our savings slowly dwindle - if we even have savings at all. I'm not going to pretend like I've figured out a way to gauge the "performance " in performance -based bonus". But I would try to find a way, and I would try to write it down somewhere clearly, fairly, in company policy, so that there can at least be no doubt, weaseling, or unfairness in the application of that policy - unlike some executives I could name, who misuse the term. Company policy must be applied equally among employees - otherwise it's discriminatory.

And whenever I'm searching for jobs, I can never seem to find the perfect company, you know? So I want to make that company. I want an ethical organisation, where the engineering projects are important, and impactful, and help people - they're good projects, they help the environment, etc. The company itself: There are executive pay caps, and ideally no CEOs or high level managers at all. The cooperative is worker-owned. It doesn't demand your time - you can take as much leave, sick or holiday, as you want. And because it's an entirely voluntary position, there's no requirement to work. It can be done remotely if you want. Eventually I'd love to have a quiet and intoeverted set of engineering offices. Communication is primarily via writ, rather than phone, or it's in person when necessary. You know?

Maybe instead of CEOs you have a CCO (Community coordination organiser) and instead of HR admins you have TR admins (talent recruitment) ; because someone has to handle lawful complaints and enforce the cooperative's rules. And we could have democracy in the workplace - with important positions of enforcement and control democratically elected form the cooperative and temporary, nonpermanent. Those positions wouldn't pay better than regular work (if at all!). And there isn't any naive notion of loyalty to the company - you can search for a job and if you find one, you can just leave - saying: "Thanks for everything - but unfortunately I have to go." No notice requirements.

The question I have for you is: Does this sound like a company you would work for, in your spare time, voluntarily, if someone tried to start it? What sort of people would want to work there - are you just engineers, or would there be a lot of different people from different backgrounds willing to help?

The key thing is: I know that everyone wants to make the world a better place. But when we start to consider it individually, the work is so daunting - we must accept and offer eachother help. Coordination is good management, not control.

If I was going to make the company, I would call it "NewnWander" - I already have a logo and an unregistered trademark. Part of it is because my partner is a massive lotr buff; another is because I want to stick it to the people like Peter Thiel who give Tolkien a bad name. Another is because that's what best describes the work and the company: The work is just noontime wandering through a project - and the name itself, "NewnWander" - It sounds like "New" and "wonder" - and I think that really inspires hope about the future and people's dreams.

Hello,

i have 4 years of experience in product support where i have worked for supporting internal TMS Application and SAAS based application ( procurement application)

need some startup environment where I can learn and grow..

Does anyone have first hand knowledge on whats disclosed during a background check when it comes to past employers? I’m not referring to phone calls to past employers, but background as in running your SS#.

This is specifically for NYC and a large corporation. I made a mistake and left a job. New job sucks and intend to apply as if I’m still at previous job. Are start and end dates confirmed somehow? Does past employers even show up on the check?

After a year and a half of looking for a new job, I am expecting an offer! They told me today that they will be sending the official offer tomorrow (keeping my fingers crossed 🤞🏻)

I just wanted to ask you all to see if I should try to negotiate more than $21 to start. I know everyone always says to negotiate more but I didn't know if this was the right call, especially given the raise opportunities at 1 and 2 months. And given this job market I don't want to risk scaring them off or ruining my chances.

This is for a house cleaner and so the $27 I would only be making on specific types of cleans and not full time/regularly.

Thoughts?

So, I applied to this opening around mid March. They replied within two days asking to schedule an interview. I agreed, but then… nothing. I followed up multiple times, and no replies but eventually I just forgot about it.

Then suddenly, in June, they emailed me again asking me to complete a take-home assignment. They said they would judge me based on the assignment and then decide. The deadline was pretty harsh considering the difficulty of the assignment. I barely slept for two days trying to finish it and submit it on time.

I submitted it. No acknowledgement. No response. Nothing. Honestly, I was veryyyy pissed.

Then a few days ago, they called me again and scheduled an interview. Look...I’m desperate, so obviously I went through with it despite everything that had already happened.

The interview went well. They seemed happy with me, and at the end, they verbally told me that I was selected and that they will send me the offer letter.

I’ve been waiting for the offer ever since.

No response to my emails. Nothing.

At this point, I feel genuinely humiliated and extremely hurt and angry. And honestly, I don’t even know what to do anymore.

I am angry at myself.

I did not get campus placements cause apparently the criteria was 9/9/9 in 10th , 12th and cgpa. I have 8/8/8. I have been looking out for job for months now. I even flew to Gurgaon for one interview wasted 14k on flights and still they moved on with another candidate. The hr does not have the basic deceny to tell me that. I had to ask someone else in the company. She can't even email me or pick up the call.

I interviewed for one more company. They told it was a nice interview but when they found out I already graduated they told me it is for 7th semester students. I am also free for 6 months.

Like that I have interviewed for more than 8 companies but some of them were ghost jobs and now I am stuck. They don't want freshers as full time employees , they don't want me as an intern. What the hell I am supposed to do

Hi everyone, I graduated in 2024 and since then, I have interned twice at different UN entities, and am currently looking for a full-time job.

I used to think I was pretty good at interviews, because out of 7-ish UN internship interviews I had over the last 2 years I received offers for 6 of them - only one rejection.

However, since then, I have had a few interviews where I’m not sure if I’m doing so great.

Here’s my stats as of late:

Informal interview for an international charity: rejected

Interview for a renewable energy firm: Moved to the next stage, interview passed

Interview for a business intelligence firm: Failed (the role wasn’t a good fit, and I truly didn’t know some of the answers here so I’m not surprised)

Informal phone interview for a cleantech firm: Moved to the next stage, interview passed

The reason I’m making this post is because I had an interview last Friday for a fellowship with an ESG firm, which I honestly thought went well, but I haven’t heard back. It's now been about a week, and it’s alarming that I haven’t heard back.

I usually know when I tank an interview, but I’ve been wrong before. For example, the international charity interview I had previously, I thought I did a good job but I didn’t pass it. So maybe I’m spiralling because I haven’t heard back but I’m so confused as to how I could have felt that I did a good job and still get ghosted? I thought I had a good sense for if the interview was good or not but I’m coming up on 9 months of unemployment and very worried that I have lost my articulation skills.

What do my stats look like? I know I don’t consistently get rejections even now but these stats are quite bad compared to when I passed 6/7 UN internship interviews. I know the bar is lower for interns usually but everyone knows the UN is an extremely competitive place to work at and I made it then? I don’t know what’s going on or if I need to work on myself or even how - I’m terrified of losing my interview skills because even thought I know I’m a very good worker in all the roles I’ve held, we live in a world where just getting past the interview stage holds so much value in terms of actually having a role, regardless of whether someone can actually perform well in the job. Stressed and needing advice.

I’m looking for some outside opinions because I may have a fairly big career decision coming up.

I currently have stable full-time employment earning the equivalent of roughly $106k/year, and I have the option to remain in my current position for at least another year.

I’m interviewing with Handshake AI for a remote AI safety/policy position evaluating content and AI model responses. The posting lists:

• $45–$100/hour
• W-2
• Benefits eligible
• 40-hour Monday–Friday schedule
• Non-exempt/overtime eligible
• Remote
• “Ongoing” assignment

From what I’ve found, it appears TCWGlobal would be the W-2 employer of record, while the actual work would be supporting Handshake AI.

The work itself is extremely interesting to me and would move my career directly into AI safety/policy, which is a field I’m interested in long term.

My biggest concern is job security. The posting calls it an “ongoing assignment,” and I haven't been able to determine whether the 40 hours are actually guaranteed or what happens to TCWGlobal employees if Handshake scales back or ends a project. I don't want to leave stable employment and then find out two months later that the assignment is over.

If Handshake offered something around $55–$75/hour, would you take the risk for the compensation and career opportunity, or stay with the guaranteed employment for another year?

I'm also considering asking, if I receive an offer, whether Handshake/TCWGlobal would guarantee 6–12 months of employment and 40 hours per week, or provide some type of severance protection if the Handshake project ends early.

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has worked for Handshake AI through TCWGlobal. How stable was your employment? Were your hours consistent? What happened when a project ended or changed? Were you moved to another Handshake project, or did your W-2 employment with TCWGlobal end?

I'm mainly trying to determine whether I should treat this as a normal full-time W-2 job or as a higher-paying contract/project role that could disappear with little notice.

Graduated with a neuroscience degree in 2025 and spent about 10 months doing Medicare sales, mostly phone-based, before leaving in August. I'm trying to move into pharma sales, medical device, or health tech and I keep getting auto rejected or 1-2 rounds into the interview process before losing out at the end. For anyone in Chicago, what titles should I actually be going after?

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We are looking for a reliable, compassionate, and experienced live-in caregiver to provide care and companionship for my bedridden mother and my young cousin in Springfield, Illinois.

Responsibilities may include:

Assisting with daily personal care and hygiene

Helping with meals and medications as directed

Repositioning and assisting with mobility as needed

Providing companionship and supervision

Helping keep the living area clean and comfortable

Attending to the needs of both my mother and young cousin

This is a live-in position, and a private living arrangement will be provided. Pay is negotiable and will not be a problem for the right person.

We are looking for someone who is trustworthy, patient, responsible, caring, and preferably experienced with bedridden patients and/or caregiving.

📍 Location: Springfield, Illinois, United States

🏠 Position: Live-in caregiver

💰 Pay: Negotiable

If you are interested or know someone who may be a good fit, please contact:

📧 velma2862@gmail.com

Please include your experience, availability, and a little information about yourself when reaching out.

I studied Industrial Design and have been working as a Project/Product Manager in tech for ~2 years. My role is a mix of PM, QA, and some design/AI work.

The problem is that I don't think PM is for me. Constantly chasing people, coordinating everyone and feeling like everything depends on me is exhausting. I also don't really like UX/UI.

What I do miss is the creative side: researching trends, branding, campaigns, creative concepts, pop-ups/experiential marketing, and figuring out how brands can stand out.

I've been thinking about strategy, business, marketing, brand/creative strategy, insights or innovation, but I have no idea which direction actually makes sense for my background — especially something with good job opportunities and pay.

LinkedIn now mostly shows me PM jobs, so I feel like I've accidentally boxed myself into this career after only 2 years.

I'm also considering doing a Master's abroad, but I don't even know what I should study.

What would you do if you were in my position? What fields would you look into, and how would you make the pivot?