I spent three months drowning in job boards, burning entire Saturdays building free marketing plans and spreadsheets for companies that sent automated rejections twenty minutes later. It felt like running on a hamster wheel with broken glass at the bottom.

after the fifth company asked for an "unpaid 8-hour trial project" before I had even spoken with an actual hiring manager, I snapped. I started replying with a short template: "I’d love to walk through how I solve these exact problems using my existing portfolio over a quick call, but I dont do custom uncompensated work prior to team interviews."

I thought I would get blacklisted instantly. Instead, two crazy things happened.

About 70% of them ghosted with ZERO explanation, which proved they were just farming free labor or posting ghost listings to show fake growth. But the other 30%? They apologized, waived the assignment entirely, and put me straight through to the director. One recruiter even admitted it showed I value my own time.

Why are we letting hiring managers treat job seekers like free consultancy agencies before we even have a phone screen?

Need a referral or new job in India WF

Somebody please tell me where can i apply for jobs where they actually reply back. I’ve applied on Naukri, Internshala, LinkedIn, company career pages. No response nothing. Am i not enough? Is my degree not enough? Guys pls help.

I work in operations and it's been 3 yrs at the company but my career is stuck at the same level. I'm thinking of applying for roles in other companies which can move me up the career ladder. Should i just target roles by title or how exactly do I make my resume stand out? btw I don't see a future at my current company. I'm not getting fired but neither am I going to get promoted. So yea, I need to make a case before it's too late and companies start thinking of me as an underperformer for being in the same role for over 3 yrs. Appreciate your input. Don't worry about sugarcoating it, be brutal if you have to as long as what you say makes sense.

Say something needs to get done, if you hired a professional they would have to be licensed, but you get appropriate training and do it yourself.

In my case there's a medication I need injected and it's not available in a consumer-friendly pen format. I have to draw it from a multiple dose vial and was trained on aseptic technique, sharps disposal, etc.

Now I'm applying to entry-level healthcare (phlebotomy train-to-hire) and my few hundred injections are relevant experience.

I'm calling it a "household occupation" and writing up job duties as if I needed to hire someone to do it for me. But does someone have a better idea for a keyword or not a keyword? It doesn't seem like "self-employed" because that requires a license, and "DIY" sounds like I don't have medical superivision.

Any input is greatly appreciated 🙏

Earlier this year, I applied for a position with a large manufacturing/distribution company. A recruiter contacted me and we did an initial phone interview/screening where I answered several questions about my experience and availability. After that, they scheduled me for a final/in-person interview about four days later.

Before that interview happened, I was offered another job that was much closer to me. I emailed the recruiter and let her know that I needed to cancel the upcoming interview because I had accepted another job opportunity. I did not no-show.

Now, months later, I’m interested in a different position that has opened up at the original company. I’ve applied for it and I’m available to start immediately.

My job search lately has honestly been pretty discouraging. I’ve applied to a lot of places, including regular retail and entry-level positions, and I’ve been getting rejected or not hearing anything back. I really need steady work right now, which is why I’m wondering if I should be more proactive instead of just submitting applications and waiting.

I still have the email address of the recruiter who originally interviewed/screened me over the phone and scheduled my final interview. Would it be appropriate to email her directly, tell her that I recently applied for another position with the company, and ask if I could possibly be considered for another interview?

I’m worried that withdrawing from the previous interview might have hurt my chances, even though I gave notice and explained that I had accepted another job closer to home.

For anyone who works in HR/recruiting: Would you recommend reaching back out to the previous recruiter, or should I just wait and go through the normal application process?

I found a job post, I hunted for a person to refer me. Now when I am applying, there is no field/section to put his name or contact. How will the HR know that I am being referred by this person??

There is so much job search advice online that it is hard to tell what actually works.What is one thing you did that genuinely helped you get more interviews or land a job?

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

I usually go to linkdin and search for jobs , When I find the job that I 'm interested I'll change my resume according to the JD and add projects from git hub that are relevant to the JD . I'll push this in my git and create a new resume and ask for referal . I have asked so many people and sometimes some of them will agree to refer me and forget me and sometimes they will actually refer me but I won't even get a interview call? . I'm i doing something wrong ? Please help me .

Let's say a job requires a license/certification (or anything else) that you don't have, nor desire to obtain, but the role is in your industry, even in a dept similar to what you've done/you're doing. You have 80%-90% of those qualifications, and know other dept positions must be similar to yours.

Have you applied with a cover letter or headline/summary saying basically "Hey, I know I'm not what you're asking for right now, but look at my resume and if a role opens up (or they create one) please keep me in mind?"

EDIT: Just to clarify. I'm asking for the purpose of visibility to be considered for OTHER dept adjacent roles. Either currently not posted, or future adjacent roles, (or creating another role, which has been done before) IN LIEU OF the posted role.

Ex: Say the role is in the "Happy Dept" which you've worked in similar jobs before. The posted Job is for Director of Smiles, so I know there are other similar positions, like "Director of Jokes", "Director of Laughs," "Director of Memes", etc.

I want to be considered for "Director of Laughs". This role isn't posted, or possibly they don't even have one yet, and need to create it.

Ex Headline/Opening Line: (Not exactly this but similar) I see that you have a "Smiles Director" role, which intrigued me since I have experience and interest working in a "Happy Dept" role. I wanted to share my resume in consideration for similar adjacent roles, such as "Laughs Director" which you may have a need for currently or in the future. Thanks for reviewing.

i’m 17 and live in the UK and have been consistently applying to jobs for about 6 months now with no success (i don’t have any experience just some volunteer work), i had one trial shift at a cafe where they told me they couldn’t hire me because i wasn’t 18 and had a trial shift set up in a pub kitchen which they never got back to me about (they said it was fine that i was 17, their next job ad said you had to be 18 so).

i desperately need money because i feel horrifically guilty about asking my parents for any as they already do so much for me and are helping me pay for my very expensive driving lessons. my friends (who have jobs) tell me to ditch indeed but i literally don’t know what else to do as going into most retail stores / cafes and asking if they are hiring results in them saying to apply online which i’ve had no success with. I have an “informal chat” to be a potwash at a pub this week which i don’t have high hopes for as they say they’ve had loads of interest in the role despite the job ad being up on facebook for only a day.

hopefully i’ll have more luck when stores like tesco start hiring seasonal temps but i just feel so defeated about my whole job search and my family aren’t being nice to me about it either.

if anyone has any advice i’d appreciate it so much

This has worked an embarrassing number of times for me.

You find a decent-looking listing from a staffing agency:

"Confidential client"

"Leading technology company"

"Our client, a rapidly growing organization..."

Instead of applying immediately, copy one sentence from the middle of the job description that sounds specific.

Not the generic "excellent communication skills" stuff.

Something like:

"coordinate quarterly capacity planning across regional fulfillment teams"

Put the whole sentence into Google in quotation marks.

I've found the original employer's careers page this way, because recruiters often copy huge chunks of the actual job description almost word for word.

Sometimes you also find:

- the same role with the real company name

- an older version with a salary range

- the employer's direct application

- three agencies advertising the exact same opening

- a posting that disappeared from LinkedIn but is still live on the company site

My favorite was a "confidential SaaS client" where one quoted sentence immediately led to the company's own Greenhouse posting.

Same responsibilities. Same typos. $18k higher salary range than the agency listed.

Takes maybe 30 seconds and now I do it anytime a posting feels oddly anonymous.

Job descriptions have fingerprints.

Have you ever used a business card you collected over time to ask about a job opportunity? If yes, how did you go about it? 👀

I am interested in learning from your experiences. Have you ever been unemployed for two years after graduation? How did you go about addressing the problem especially if you lacked the network in your field?

Genuinely interested in learning and understanding the causes of the problem and how to proactively address it.

I accidentally discovered this during my last search.

I made it through a recruiter screen and one hiring-manager interview for a role I really wanted, then got rejected because they chose someone with more direct experience.

Normally that would've been the end.

But while closing all my tabs I noticed the same company had posted another position two days earlier.

Different team, same general function, probably 70-80% overlap with my background.

Instead of starting from zero, I replied directly to the recruiter who rejected me:

"Thanks again for letting me know. I noticed the [other role] was just posted and it actually looks close to my background as well. Since you've already spoken with me, do you think I'd be worth considering for that team? Happy to apply formally if so."

She replied about an hour later:

"Actually, yes."

She forwarded my resume internally.

I still had to submit the application, but I completely skipped the initial recruiter screen and went straight to the hiring manager.

I didn't end up taking that job, but I've used the same move twice since.

One went nowhere.

The other got me another interview.

It made me realize something embarrassingly obvious:

If you've already interviewed, the company has spent time deciding you're at least plausible.

A rejection often means "not the best person for THIS seat," not "please erase yourself from our database."

So now whenever I get rejected after actually speaking to someone, I spend five minutes checking that company's careers page before replying.

If there's another genuinely relevant role, I mention ONE.

Not five jobs.

Not "please keep me in mind for anything."

Not a desperate paragraph.

Just:

"I saw X. Does my background make sense for it?"

Worst case, they ignore it.

Best case, you turn a rejection email into a warm introduction without restarting the whole job search from applicant #347.

I've started doing something with my job applications that I haven't seen discussed much here, so I'm curious what other job seekers and especially recruiters or hiring managers think about it.

I have four meaningful LinkedIn recommendations from current and previous senior level management and an HRBP. They aren't generic "great person to work with" recommendations either. They speak specifically to my work ethic, leadership, dedication, character, and the type of employee I was while working with them.

I went on LinkedIn desktop, captured each recommendation, combined them into a Word document, converted it to a PDF, and named it FirstName LastName Recommendations.

Now I upload that PDF whenever an application gives me the opportunity.

If there is an "additional attachments" section, it goes there. If there is a place for a cover letter and I'm not submitting one, I sometimes upload it there instead.

My thought process is pretty simple:

My resume tells you what I've done and what I'm capable of doing.

The recommendations tell you what it was actually like to work with me while I was doing those things.

I also keep printed copies. Depending on how an in person interview goes, I may give the hiring manager a packet containing my resume followed by the recommendations and briefly point out that they're included.

I can't honestly tell you this has directly gotten me an interview or an offer. There's no real way for me to measure that. I see it more as an additional piece of evidence supporting the story my resume and interview are already telling.

For people who don't have LinkedIn recommendations, I think a similar approach could work by asking a few former managers, senior leaders, HR partners, or trusted colleagues for a short written recommendation or personal statement and combining the strongest ones into a clean one or two page PDF.

The important part, in my opinion, is credibility. I wouldn't include a recommendation from anyone I wouldn't also feel comfortable listing as an actual professional reference.

Has anyone else tried something similar? And for any recruiters or hiring managers here, would you actually look at an attachment like this, or is it unlikely to influence your decision?

I (f38) recently figured it out that I'm not good at making money but I'm talented (since I was 10) with managing money.

I'm a freelancer now but I'm not enjoying it and I'm not making that much money.

I don't like solo jobs

I like working in a team with other people

And I don't like big organizations.

How to find out what's my dream job?

How to know where do I belong to?

Hello everyone, I’m currently in Pakistan and looking for a genuine job opportunity in Greece.

I have 6 years of work experience in Oman, including delivery driving, warehouse work, loading/unloading, packing, and team supervision. I’m hardworking, reliable, and ready to work full-time.

I’m looking for an employer who can legally hire workers from Pakistan and provide the necessary work visa/work permit sponsorship.

If anyone knows of a genuine employer, company, or recruitment opportunity in Greece, I would really appreciate your guidance.

Thank you for reading and for any help you can offer.

Hey everyone I am 29(M) and in need for WORK. I used to work but i left the job recently. If anyone need any help with development role anything any job I can do that. Will be grateful. My resume attached.