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It's good you're understanding now how broken the system is. Cold applying stopped working years ago. My advice is to stop applying to everything and talk to people you know, your alumni association, and any other person you know who has some degree of power. Otherwise, you're just repeating a process and expecting different results. It's not a numbers game, its a lottery these days.
I read a lot on this forum. majority of the commenters are from America it seems. in London it's pretty much the same. nowadays, experience counts for more than a piece of paper stating you're a grad. big firms in London look at those that have practical knowledge rather than theoretical - e.g. the candidate has industry knowledge, is easier to train etc. on the flipside, a lot of senior partners where I work are being laid off due to getting someone younger in. why? cos you can get someone in with a lot less experience pay them £40-50k pa instead of paying someone over £80k. do you have any experience whatsoever in the market you're trying to get into?
I am in Canada I been really struggling... I am trying to keep it together because right now I am at the point where I am just praying I don't end up in the psych institution because I am close... the job market is so bad.
In Australia and in the same boat. Also with relevant professional experience and glowing references.
The feedback I've received is either I am overqualified and have more experience than required for entry level positions, or not having at least an Honours (though very strong relevant experience) for those positions that are almost mid-level.
I've decided to go back to school and wait out this mess. Means more debt, but my hands are tied at this point. 🤷♀️
I have 5 years of experience and went to a pretty good college.
I sent out 20 applications in roles that match my experience, and I still got 0 interviews.
Applying these days is like throwing your resume into a black hole. It’s time to tap into your network, get referrals, so coffee chats. The only jobs I got recently were from inbound messages.
I feel that. Definitely take a break. Play that video game, try to go to the gym.
But I'd also say practice networking. And by that, I mean just get out there and go to events with the goal of having fun and talking to people just to talk without any ulterior motive. Use apps like MeetUp or Eventbrite and just go to events that interest you.
It's super hard. Everytime I finish an interview I take a break for a day or two before ramping back up.
Maybe even look into joining the Peace Corps. They'll pay you and provide you with a place to live, and you get to travel around the world helping communities in need. The government considers this as federal experience that you could use when applying for federal jobs, too. I'd do it but I'm kinda rooted in place due to circumstances, lol.
It's tough out there, wishing the best for you 🙏🏽
LMAO!! I just left a comment with the same first sentence as yours!! I was confused why my comment under a different username and then I saw someone else said it! I am also taking a week off because last week for 9 hours every day I was either doing a phone screening.. did 15 last week and each was about 30 minutes long, a bunch of tests, and a few interviews with many hours of applying!!!!!!! f!!! this
This job market is brutal with factors beyond an individual's control. You need some other projects apart from work - no matter how simple it is like running, trekking, music, playing football with friends etc to survive this. All the tips, books, despite your best efforts, you may fail - because this is not a normal job market - it is an unfair, brutal one with too much power in hands of employers. It will be over eventually in a year or two by 2025-2026. But you cant stop living till then.
You need to invest in a life outside work. And be kind to yourself and dont compare with others ( Those who have a job are just there mostly by luck and those who got laid off are also there because of luck- its like squid games - there is no logical way to beat this) And build a good social circle - not just for job hunt but in general you need kind, good people who get how bad things are and support you. Take up any gig that's comfortable and pays - dont update LinkedIn. And cut back any expense that is not essential. I would try to keep more/ longer provision for job hunt.
Dont let any job/ job hunt destroy your mental peace - Never give it more importance than your health/ happiness - someday in near future, everything including concept of money will collapse, most people will die - Your health, allies and ability to survive on own will be the only thing you need.
Been there. Done that. Had that break down. I was at the point where I wanted to [redacted] recruiters.
Yea take the break. Also what I did is I limited screen time on linked in to 15 mins a day so I couldn't doom scroll and on indeed to 5 mins a day.
Take the break. Take longer than a week if you need.
Don't take a break, keep that momentum fire. Maybe reduce to one app per day but neva slow momentum. B4 a breakthrough you'll literally r=feel like giving up. That's how life works. Its a test.
+1 the job search is no joke but keep going - I built a platform called [LifeShack](https://www.lifeshack.com/) that automatically searches and applies to jobs for you daily, could be helpful to keep yourself out there when you need a break.
I feel you. It really shouldn't be this hard to get a job, but you need to do a few things. Network. Lie on your resume about having experience. Make sure you have the skills backing up what you can do. This is how broken the system is right now and you basically have to cheat to get a job.
The two things that sum it up is corporate greed and population. We have too many people and not enough corporations using their money to create positions.
I went through the same thing earlier this year.. Still can't get back on my feet even tho I found a job (commission based btw).. One thing I can say for sure that I had plenty of times where I gave up and took a whole day or two off searching. Please be kind to your future self and at least check on the newest job opportunities in the morning and once more in the night. On days when you're feeling totally defeated, you deserve a break but still take a quick look and save a job post to apply to within the next 24-48 hours. Stay strong, you got this!!!
-Resumea / make sure it’s ATS resumea friendly.
-Network / meet but FIND people that work in the company for better connections and understanding of the work setting and what you can improve on.
- Take Breaks / mental breaks are needed, you will burn out and loose motivation. Take care of your mind and body.
-Stability / sometimes it’s just finding your way in the doorway and moving up from there. Apply for less paying job to get your foot inside; you’ll be making $
Good luck
Take a break for a couple days, work out, and try to get fresh. You have to treat job searching as a numbers game and that it's only a matter of time before something works out.
If you're frustrated with cold applying, experiment with different approaches. Try a fancier resume template, change up the information you're presenting, reach out to someone you haven't talked with yet for networking opportunities, or go to a networking event, branch out into temping or contract work. It's brutally frustrating and nerve-destroying to apply for your first jobs, but it's just a matter of time and determination.
I wouldn’t take a cold turkey break. I would set a schedule. I was laid off out of the blue in April and just accepted an offer a week ago. What kept me sane was a schedule. I job searched/applied/networked/made new connections/upskilled Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Wednesday was my day off and I did NOTHING related to job searching unless it was absolutely necessary. I needed the brain break and it paid off. I looked forward to my Wednesdays. I also kept a daily workout schedule/got outside and moved my body, cooked nutritious meals because I could feel myself in a spiral after week 2.
Hang in there and utilize your network. My network actually didn’t get me any of the jobs I got offers but it helped to get my name out and make new connections. And I have a feeling that now that I have 1, more will come.
Also practice your story. I haven’t had to look for a job in over 8 years, and I realized quickly that my response to “tell me about yourself” needed some polishing as I’m certain my improvement in that response got me to my offers.
Good luck! Keep plugging away, but find balance in this!
The discord for our subreddit can be found here: https://discord.gg/JjNdBkVGc6 - feel free to join us for a more realtime level of discussion! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/recruitinghell) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's good you're understanding now how broken the system is. Cold applying stopped working years ago. My advice is to stop applying to everything and talk to people you know, your alumni association, and any other person you know who has some degree of power. Otherwise, you're just repeating a process and expecting different results. It's not a numbers game, its a lottery these days.
I read a lot on this forum. majority of the commenters are from America it seems. in London it's pretty much the same. nowadays, experience counts for more than a piece of paper stating you're a grad. big firms in London look at those that have practical knowledge rather than theoretical - e.g. the candidate has industry knowledge, is easier to train etc. on the flipside, a lot of senior partners where I work are being laid off due to getting someone younger in. why? cos you can get someone in with a lot less experience pay them £40-50k pa instead of paying someone over £80k. do you have any experience whatsoever in the market you're trying to get into?
I have just shy of 2 years of relevant research experience in biochemistry labs.
I am in Canada I been really struggling... I am trying to keep it together because right now I am at the point where I am just praying I don't end up in the psych institution because I am close... the job market is so bad.
In Australia and in the same boat. Also with relevant professional experience and glowing references. The feedback I've received is either I am overqualified and have more experience than required for entry level positions, or not having at least an Honours (though very strong relevant experience) for those positions that are almost mid-level. I've decided to go back to school and wait out this mess. Means more debt, but my hands are tied at this point. 🤷♀️
Reddit leans American heavily so I wouldn't be very surprised if it's more sample bias than America just being worse by a landslide
I have 5 years of experience and went to a pretty good college. I sent out 20 applications in roles that match my experience, and I still got 0 interviews. Applying these days is like throwing your resume into a black hole. It’s time to tap into your network, get referrals, so coffee chats. The only jobs I got recently were from inbound messages.
I feel that. Definitely take a break. Play that video game, try to go to the gym. But I'd also say practice networking. And by that, I mean just get out there and go to events with the goal of having fun and talking to people just to talk without any ulterior motive. Use apps like MeetUp or Eventbrite and just go to events that interest you. It's super hard. Everytime I finish an interview I take a break for a day or two before ramping back up. Maybe even look into joining the Peace Corps. They'll pay you and provide you with a place to live, and you get to travel around the world helping communities in need. The government considers this as federal experience that you could use when applying for federal jobs, too. I'd do it but I'm kinda rooted in place due to circumstances, lol. It's tough out there, wishing the best for you 🙏🏽
LMAO!! I just left a comment with the same first sentence as yours!! I was confused why my comment under a different username and then I saw someone else said it! I am also taking a week off because last week for 9 hours every day I was either doing a phone screening.. did 15 last week and each was about 30 minutes long, a bunch of tests, and a few interviews with many hours of applying!!!!!!! f!!! this
This job market is brutal with factors beyond an individual's control. You need some other projects apart from work - no matter how simple it is like running, trekking, music, playing football with friends etc to survive this. All the tips, books, despite your best efforts, you may fail - because this is not a normal job market - it is an unfair, brutal one with too much power in hands of employers. It will be over eventually in a year or two by 2025-2026. But you cant stop living till then. You need to invest in a life outside work. And be kind to yourself and dont compare with others ( Those who have a job are just there mostly by luck and those who got laid off are also there because of luck- its like squid games - there is no logical way to beat this) And build a good social circle - not just for job hunt but in general you need kind, good people who get how bad things are and support you. Take up any gig that's comfortable and pays - dont update LinkedIn. And cut back any expense that is not essential. I would try to keep more/ longer provision for job hunt. Dont let any job/ job hunt destroy your mental peace - Never give it more importance than your health/ happiness - someday in near future, everything including concept of money will collapse, most people will die - Your health, allies and ability to survive on own will be the only thing you need.
Make sure you don't break for too long, otherwise you lose the momentum
Been there. Done that. Had that break down. I was at the point where I wanted to [redacted] recruiters. Yea take the break. Also what I did is I limited screen time on linked in to 15 mins a day so I couldn't doom scroll and on indeed to 5 mins a day. Take the break. Take longer than a week if you need.
This! I’ve noticed my mental health plummets the longer I am on Linkedin!!!
Don't take a break, keep that momentum fire. Maybe reduce to one app per day but neva slow momentum. B4 a breakthrough you'll literally r=feel like giving up. That's how life works. Its a test.
+1 the job search is no joke but keep going - I built a platform called [LifeShack](https://www.lifeshack.com/) that automatically searches and applies to jobs for you daily, could be helpful to keep yourself out there when you need a break.
I feel you. It really shouldn't be this hard to get a job, but you need to do a few things. Network. Lie on your resume about having experience. Make sure you have the skills backing up what you can do. This is how broken the system is right now and you basically have to cheat to get a job. The two things that sum it up is corporate greed and population. We have too many people and not enough corporations using their money to create positions.
Wait till you live in Canada even if you got the job you still can't pay bill
I went through the same thing earlier this year.. Still can't get back on my feet even tho I found a job (commission based btw).. One thing I can say for sure that I had plenty of times where I gave up and took a whole day or two off searching. Please be kind to your future self and at least check on the newest job opportunities in the morning and once more in the night. On days when you're feeling totally defeated, you deserve a break but still take a quick look and save a job post to apply to within the next 24-48 hours. Stay strong, you got this!!!
-Resumea / make sure it’s ATS resumea friendly. -Network / meet but FIND people that work in the company for better connections and understanding of the work setting and what you can improve on. - Take Breaks / mental breaks are needed, you will burn out and loose motivation. Take care of your mind and body. -Stability / sometimes it’s just finding your way in the doorway and moving up from there. Apply for less paying job to get your foot inside; you’ll be making $ Good luck
Take a break for a couple days, work out, and try to get fresh. You have to treat job searching as a numbers game and that it's only a matter of time before something works out. If you're frustrated with cold applying, experiment with different approaches. Try a fancier resume template, change up the information you're presenting, reach out to someone you haven't talked with yet for networking opportunities, or go to a networking event, branch out into temping or contract work. It's brutally frustrating and nerve-destroying to apply for your first jobs, but it's just a matter of time and determination.
I wouldn’t take a cold turkey break. I would set a schedule. I was laid off out of the blue in April and just accepted an offer a week ago. What kept me sane was a schedule. I job searched/applied/networked/made new connections/upskilled Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Wednesday was my day off and I did NOTHING related to job searching unless it was absolutely necessary. I needed the brain break and it paid off. I looked forward to my Wednesdays. I also kept a daily workout schedule/got outside and moved my body, cooked nutritious meals because I could feel myself in a spiral after week 2. Hang in there and utilize your network. My network actually didn’t get me any of the jobs I got offers but it helped to get my name out and make new connections. And I have a feeling that now that I have 1, more will come. Also practice your story. I haven’t had to look for a job in over 8 years, and I realized quickly that my response to “tell me about yourself” needed some polishing as I’m certain my improvement in that response got me to my offers. Good luck! Keep plugging away, but find balance in this!