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Applying for jobs is exhausting and soul-crushing

ngower

Member
My master's program issues stipends on an eight-month basis, so I received my last check yesterday. Trying to find work while also wrapping up papers and grading final exams is so stressful it's beyond comprehension. Hoping to find time to get to a temp agency to work with them on some stuff, but good lord I'm going to lose my hair if I don't find work soon.
 
I remember that post. Glad it worked out for you.

Hey thanks!

Re-reading that old post, I realized I did an awful job of explaining what I was doing. But hey, it all worked out. Crazy to think a 2-year degree from a community college is going to do more for me than my 4-year from OU.
 

Flux

Member
My master's program issues stipends on an eight-month basis, so I received my last check yesterday. Trying to find work while also wrapping up papers and grading final exams is so stressful it's beyond comprehension. Hoping to find time to get to a temp agency to work with them on some stuff, but good lord I'm going to lose my hair if I don't find work soon.
Was right there about 8 months ago. I honestly couldn't manage both and didn't end up going on a serious job hunt until after I was unemployed and had no responsibilities.

Putting yourself put their via a temp agency is not a bad plan to give yourself some breathing room and a possible job at least. What field are you in or hoping to get into?
 

ngower

Member
Was right there about 8 months ago. I honestly couldn't manage both and didn't end up going on a serious job hunt until after I was unemployed and had no responsibilities.

Putting yourself put their via a temp agency is not a bad plan to give yourself some breathing room and a possible job at least. What field are you in or hoping to get into?

Leasing jobs mostly, as that's what I have experience in and you can usually find summer work *at least* if not something permanent.

As for my program, it's in history.
 
You know the worst thing about job searching is when your own mother doesn't give you positive attitude about you finding a job you know it's perfect for you but yet you keep getting told no.
 

Flux

Member
Leasing jobs mostly, as that's what I have experience in and you can usually find summer work *at least* if not something permanent.

As for my program, it's in history.
Well it sounds like you have a plan in mind. Good luck, reach out if you need any help or just an outsiders perspective.



I've been dealing with such a toxic work environment that I've decided to go back on the full press job hunt. It hasn't been long, but I just know this isn't a healthy behaviour and my mental stress can only take so much. I was slowly reaching out here and there earlier, but with no improvement in sight, I just have to bolt when I get the chance.

Trying my best to tough it out to maintain the steady pay at the very least.
 

Sapiens

Member
Only now do I understand the thread title. Goddamn it really is soul-crushing isn't it?

It really really is. Sometimes, I think some people interview because they get a kick out of crushing spirits.

You can't let it get you down. These people know nothing about you.


As for me - after two years of searching and a three month interview process, I finally landed a new job with a better company.
 

beasty

Member
Its pretty weird how you go from no interviews, call backs, or even rejection letters for months to having possibly 4 job interviews in one week. Makes me scratch my head.
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
Its pretty weird how you go from no interviews, call backs, or even rejection letters for months to having possibly 4 job interviews in one week. Makes me scratch my head.

It is really weird how that seems to happen like that for some reason. I was not getting any interest for months, to possibly having 4 offers in one week. It may be a case of me sharpening my resume and/or targeting the type of job I apply for, or some crazy algorithm that made the job search sites to put my resume at the top of results for employers.
 

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
In just the last 3 months I've had in person interviews for 6 different roles and 5 phone interviews for accounting roles. Total interview count since moving to St Louis (9/16) has been 12 in person and 7 phone interviews. Zero offers.

Shit is depressing and the gap since my last job (Nov 15) is just getting bigger. At least I'm not scaring them off and still getting a look but damn. I've got more interviews lined up but it's hard to go in with a positive attitude.

Anyone ever do one of these video interviews where you record yourself answering questions? I'm working on it right now and it's kinda weird.
 

dukeoflegs

Member
I recently did the free resume review on glassdoor and have started getting more email responses, but the response is usually along the lines of "while your resume is impressive it doesn't quite match what we are looking for". I guess it is good that I am getting responses back, I get excited when I see a new email, but that excitement is whipped away once I read it. I haven't been applying for anything really outside of my skill and experience levels so that is another punch in the gut.
 

Corbec

Neo Member
Crashed a phone interview today. First time as the interviewee rather than the interviewer in years, and it showed (but not in a good way) :/
 

entremet

Member
In just the last 3 months I've had in person interviews for 6 different roles and 5 phone interviews for accounting roles. Total interview count since moving to St Louis (9/16) has been 12 in person and 7 phone interviews. Zero offers.

Shit is depressing and the gap since my last job (Nov 15) is just getting bigger. At least I'm not scaring them off and still getting a look but damn. I've got more interviews lined up but it's hard to go in with a positive attitude.

Anyone ever do one of these video interviews where you record yourself answering questions? I'm working on it right now and it's kinda weird.
Get any job. Don't worry about the prestige. Looks better than nothing. Trust me. It will also boost your confidence.

You can always bounce once you get a big boy job.
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
Crashed a phone interview today. First time as the interviewee rather than the interviewer in years, and it showed (but not in a good way) :/

I did that earlier this week. I feel like I completely spazzed out and went on a few rambling tangents. I feel as though I completely crashed, but it was obvious that the manager didn't have a complete idea of what he needed either. So felt like I had to try to check as many boxes as I could.


3 hour interview tomorrow. 2 Sr managers and a VP - half hour each. Then 1.5 hr lunch with 3 more sr managers....

I absolutely hate those. But the middle of the day you are getting tired, by the end of the day your mind is completely mush and you just want it over with. Good luck though!


Get any job. Don't worry about the prestige. Looks better than nothing. Trust me. It will also boost your confidence.

You can always bounce once you get a big boy job.

Unless you have a huge nest egg that you don't mind burning through, this is the best advice. Just get A job that has income coming in. Looks so much better on resumes and you are much more relaxed when talking to a company if you know you don't NEED the job.


In just the last 3 months I've had in person interviews for 6 different roles and 5 phone interviews for accounting roles. Total interview count since moving to St Louis (9/16) has been 12 in person and 7 phone interviews. Zero offers.

Shit is depressing and the gap since my last job (Nov 15) is just getting bigger. At least I'm not scaring them off and still getting a look but damn. I've got more interviews lined up but it's hard to go in with a positive attitude.

Anyone ever do one of these video interviews where you record yourself answering questions? I'm working on it right now and it's kinda weird.

11 interviews in 3 months is alot Is there a common thread to what is happening? Is there an education or experience that is lacking? Have you adjusted your personality or responses? For me, I was getting alot of phone interviews, with no in-person follow ups. I narrowed what I was looking for and was alot less formal in interviews. It worked for me.

I have done one of those video interviews answering questions. It was so unnatural that I completely bombed it. I didn't really prepare adequately either. I just was not ready to be talking into a camera.
 

beasty

Member
3 hour interview tomorrow. 2 Sr managers and a VP - half hour each. Then 1.5 hr lunch with 3 more sr managers....

I had a 3 hour interview before, I was on autopilot mode by hour 2. I remember having to sleep immediately after the interview because I was just exhausted.Good luck.
 
I absolutely hate those. But the middle of the day you are getting tired, by the end of the day your mind is completely mush and you just want it over with. Good luck though!

I had a 3 hour interview before, I was on autopilot mode by hour 2. I remember having to sleep immediately after the interview because I was just exhausted.Good luck.

Last night they scheduled another interview by phone with another VP today. They also sent over a benefits guide and reconfirmed my salary request. Hoping it all goes well.
 
Had my first interview on Friday. Had to travel very far and stay overnight for it. Got rejected today with no explanation or tips.

Solid thumbs up from me.
 
Sounds like a cultural fit test.

Put on your best extroverted face and kill it :p

Thanks bruh.

The call with the VP today went well. The recruiter called me a couple hours later and said "No more interviews! We're gonna continue with your candidacy. I'll have your offer letter ready tomorrow. Your tentative start date is May 22nd. The next step is the background check. It should take about 5 days. Your manager is over-the-moon thrilled! Time to celebrate!"

What was adulation turned to worry. The background check. Ugh. I haven't been shy about my past here on GAF. In fact I had a pretty epic thread in October 2015 discussing my past. That was before I paid my debt to society. I came home in Feb. of this year.

Now I'm worried the background check will derail what is an awesome opportunity. When I filled out the background check, the only services listed were "Education Verification - lvl1 and Employment Verification - lvl1". I just hope the F doesn't come up. If it does, I will of course discuss it and highlight my recovery and rehabilitation honestly.

It seems they will be doing the criminal background check. When they call with the offer today, I'm going to talk to them about it. Depressing - It's the opportunity of a lifetime.
 

Talents

Banned
Start my first ever job on Friday and I'm nervous as fuck. The company and the people seem extremely nice though and really really chill. The company specialises in marketing and being a brand ambassador for multiple charities/companies. The salary is based on how much effort you actually put in, if you put it really good effort the salary can be insane for someone my age. I'm 20 and can potentially earn up to £40k. Anyone got any experience and can give me some advice for this kind of work?
 
Has anyone had any luck finding part time work that you can do online or remotely?

I am giving up my current job to move abroad with my wife who will be working full time. Her income is enough for us to be comfortable but I really want to find something to do with my time that can give us some savings.

I can't really look locally until I get there but I won't speak the language very well so would be limited to looking for jobs in English which I suspect will make things difficult.

My only other thought was to take up something like web development and basically have year off and try doing that full time but I wouldn't even know where to start.

It's quite daunting as I've been employed since I was 16 (34 now) and I don't want to be jobless.
 

NandoGip

Member
Has anyone had any luck finding part time work that you can do online or remotely?

I am giving up my current job to move abroad with my wife who will be working full time. Her income is enough for us to be comfortable but I really want to find something to do with my time that can give us some savings.

I can't really look locally until I get there but I won't speak the language very well so would be limited to looking for jobs in English which I suspect will make things difficult.

My only other thought was to take up something like web development and basically have year off and try doing that full time but I wouldn't even know where to start.

It's quite daunting as I've been employed since I was 16 (34 now) and I don't want to be jobless.

e-commerce
 

Bacon

Member
Start my first ever job on Friday and I'm nervous as fuck. The company and the people seem extremely nice though and really really chill. The company specialises in marketing and being a brand ambassador for multiple charities/companies. The salary is based on how much effort you actually put in, if you put it really good effort the salary can be insane for someone my age. I'm 20 and can potentially earn up to £40k. Anyone got any experience and can give me some advice for this kind of work?

The alarm bells are going crazy in my head. Salary based on effort? How in the world is that measured?
 
Start my first ever job on Friday and I'm nervous as fuck. The company and the people seem extremely nice though and really really chill. The company specialises in marketing and being a brand ambassador for multiple charities/companies. The salary is based on how much effort you actually put in, if you put it really good effort the salary can be insane for someone my age. I'm 20 and can potentially earn up to £40k. Anyone got any experience and can give me some advice for this kind of work?

The alarm bells are going crazy in my head. Salary based on effort? How in the world is that measured?

Maybe he just means it's commission-based? Hate to be a naysayer, but it sounds like it could be a too-good-to-be-true Cutco-like MLM. Hope that's not the case.
 

Talents

Banned
The alarm bells are going crazy in my head. Salary based on effort? How in the world is that measured?

Maybe he just means it's commission-based? Hate to be a naysayer, but it sounds like it could be a too-good-to-be-true Cutco-like MLM. Hope that's not the case.

Yeah it's basically a commission based job. The more clients/donors you get, the more you earn. Obviously there's a set base salary with it as well.
 
Yeah it's basically a commission based job. The more clients/donors you get, the more you earn. Obviously there's a set base salary with it as well.

Had a friend who took a job like that, was great for a while and he was making some good money, but then his superiors kept expecting him to work more and more and bring in more business, to the point he was working/on the road for 80+ hours a week. If you don't mind the lifestyle for a while (or just need something to bring in income) it's probably not a bad gig, but might be hard to keep at over the long term.
 
Got a quick question on behalf of my fiancé. How long after an interview should one follow-up, and how should they follow-up?

I'll elaborate. Last wednesday she had an interview at the University I also work at, but in a different department. It seemed to go really well. They said they'd be in touch with her very soon. It's now been a week and a day, and she hasn't heard back. This was likely due to the fact that the University's commencement was this past weekend, and the office she was interviewing at is integral to that. How her interview went, is that an HR person made the initial contact with her to schedule it, she went to HR to take a Word and Excel exam, and was then escorted to the actual office the position is located in and interviewed with the person who would be her direct manager, and then the department head.

Should she follow-up now? Should it be via phone or email? should she contact the HR person, the direct manager person, or the department head? She was never given an email or phone number for anyone other than the HR person who reached out to her, but the University has a public database of emails and phone numbers for each employee on their website. Would it be uncouth for her to use that database to contact one of those interviewers directly?
 
Got a quick question on behalf of my fiancé. How long after an interview should one follow-up, and how should they follow-up?

I'll elaborate. Last wednesday she had an interview at the University I also work at, but in a different department. It seemed to go really well. They said they'd be in touch with her very soon. It's now been a week and a day, and she hasn't heard back. This was likely due to the fact that the University's commencement was this past weekend, and the office she was interviewing at is integral to that. How her interview went, is that an HR person made the initial contact with her to schedule it, she went to HR to take a Word and Excel exam, and was then escorted to the actual office the position is located in and interviewed with the person who would be her direct manager, and then the department head.

Should she follow-up now? Should it be via phone or email? should she contact the HR person, the direct manager person, or the department head? She was never given an email or phone number for anyone other than the HR person who reached out to her, but the University has a public database of emails and phone numbers for each employee on their website. Would it be uncouth for her to use that database to contact one of those interviewers directly?

Did she send thank you email within 48 hrs to those that interviewed her? You should always do that. If not, that could be the guise for a follow up email.

A week is a good time to reach out and see if there's still interest. Phone or email shouldn't matter. I see no problem in her using the company database either. Good luck to you both!
 
Got a quick question on behalf of my fiancé. How long after an interview should one follow-up, and how should they follow-up?

I'll elaborate. Last wednesday she had an interview at the University I also work at, but in a different department. It seemed to go really well. They said they'd be in touch with her very soon. It's now been a week and a day, and she hasn't heard back. This was likely due to the fact that the University's commencement was this past weekend, and the office she was interviewing at is integral to that. How her interview went, is that an HR person made the initial contact with her to schedule it, she went to HR to take a Word and Excel exam, and was then escorted to the actual office the position is located in and interviewed with the person who would be her direct manager, and then the department head.

Should she follow-up now? Should it be via phone or email? should she contact the HR person, the direct manager person, or the department head? She was never given an email or phone number for anyone other than the HR person who reached out to her, but the University has a public database of emails and phone numbers for each employee on their website. Would it be uncouth for her to use that database to contact one of those interviewers directly?

Did they give a more exact time frame, or just "soon"? Typically when I have interviews they specify "you'll hear from us within one week, two weeks" etc. If they just said "soon" then it's hard to say. It would also depend on whether they asked for references up front - then they might be doing the pre-employment/reference checks before getting back to her. That can easily take a week or two.

All that said, if all they told her was "soon" and it's been over a week, I think she'd be safe to contact the HR person. Don't contact one of the other interviewers, as if there is an actual HR department then that should be the point of contact for anything related to the hiring. The other interviewers might not even know where things are at if HR is checking references etc.
 
So the place I was interviewing at just informed me that management already filled the position. They did this without consulting the manager of the place or apparently HR. At least the manager called me to let me know and apologize for wasting my time

Its frustrating because the manager told me I had the job once the background check had finished. I even went in earlier today to fill out the relevant paperwork.
 

Flux

Member
Got an interview for two weeks from now. Involves a test set presentation and an interview for a data management position. Took time off work with a doctor's appointment excuse.

Going to be spending time brushing up as much as I can to be ready. No clue what is expected but basically kind of treating it like a test/exam.
 

Escargo

Member
Had an interview on Thursday. Felt very confident and the interviewers also seemed impressed. Got rejected. Happens again and again.
 

Theandrin

Member
I can finally add a happy post for everyone to keep at it. I was offered the job with Amazon to work in their HR department. Over the last 7-8 months I had quite a few face-to-face interviews and I kept getting turned down in favor of another candidates. It was really disheartening.

I now join Amazon in 3 weeks. What is a little funny to me about this is that after being turned down by so many other companies, this offer with Amazon is more than I would have gotten paid with anyone else. The persistence paid off.
 
I can finally add a happy post for everyone to keep at it. I was offered the job with Amazon to work in their HR department. Over the last 7-8 months I had quite a few face-to-face interviews and I kept getting turned down in favor of another candidates. It was really disheartening.

I now join Amazon in 3 weeks. What is a little funny to me about this is that after being turned down by so many other companies, this offer with Amazon is more than I would have gotten paid with anyone else. The persistence paid off.

Awesome dude, congrats!
 
So after doing my manager's job for 6 months after he left, applying for it (when they finally got around to actually hiring for it), interviewing for it, and failing to get it, I think I'm going to get an offer for a one-year secondment to a higher position that I interviewed for last week. Excited to make a bit of a change and try something new for a little while!
 

jehuty

Member
I quit a job with a Bank last summer (It was transfer agent position) and shortly after I went to a temp agency and got hired via them to a mortgage software company. After about a year (no benefits but it paid really well and I basically did my travels during the weekend) they finally hired me on. Pay is much better (plus now I can schedule my trip to Spain/Europe this fall) and i'm doing the same thing I was before.

My suggestion to a lot of you guys who are having trouble getting employed is going the temp agency route. A good temp agency recruits will bust themselves getting you a job because their commissions/salary count on it. I went with an agency that was known to place people with Financial/Banking/Technical backgrounds in a position. All the places they wanted to put me in offered about 22.50+. I even got offers of temp to hire positions in NYC and Miami (it helps that i'm bilingual and have my bachelors degree). Just saying guys, you seem to get job offers more when you are actually employed, and a lot of employers like to test people out before offering them a full time position. Happy Hunting!!!
 

Flux

Member
I can finally add a happy post for everyone to keep at it. I was offered the job with Amazon to work in their HR department. Over the last 7-8 months I had quite a few face-to-face interviews and I kept getting turned down in favor of another candidates. It was really disheartening.

I now join Amazon in 3 weeks. What is a little funny to me about this is that after being turned down by so many other companies, this offer with Amazon is more than I would have gotten paid with anyone else. The persistence paid off.
Congratulations, glad to hear about your dedication. Keep it up going into the job! You can know breathe a little easier for 3 weeks, it sounds like a great offer all thing s considered.
 
Got a quick question on behalf of my fiancé. How long after an interview should one follow-up, and how should they follow-up?

Should she follow-up now? Should it be via phone or email? should she contact the HR person, the direct manager person, or the department head? She was never given an email or phone number for anyone other than the HR person who reached out to her, but the University has a public database of emails and phone numbers for each employee on their website. Would it be uncouth for her to use that database to contact one of those interviewers directly?

My general rule is to wait one week before reaching out. Don't contact one of the managers or deans directly. Its HRs job to manage contact between them and the applicants. Bypassing them would likely not be viewed positively.
 

Kittygirl

Member
I've been job searching for a long while. A local retailer retailer had a sign on the door saying they are hiring, and to apply online only. After you create an account to do so, they ask for your SS#, among other things.

My last name is stupidly unique, and my first name kinda is, so any Googling will show my birth date/ personal information i;e, my birthday, mother, and grandparents. Is this normal? I think it's a good way to open me up to identity theft.

I was at my last job 16 years, so I don't know if this is normal, since it's been so long since I job-hunted.

Entry level job.
 

Cth

Member
Got an offer last week, put in two week notice, finished my background check, drug test, and employment verification.

Waiting to hear back if I can start a week earlier or not at this point. Just waiting on HR to give the go ahead.
 

daffy

Banned
MilennialGAF assemble.

What are the top tier minimum wage jobs? Thinking about spreading my talents at arbys for abit but I've heard the Hilton has a comprehensive benefits package. Don't really want to work in a theatre or in a retail shop. I'm not above it just want something different. I work at a hotel now and its meh but I don't mind it too much. Any recommendations? Potentially with international reach.
 

Flux

Member
MilennialGAF assemble.

What are the top tier minimum wage jobs? Thinking about spreading my talents at arbys for abit but I've heard the Hilton has a comprehensive benefits package. Don't really want to work in a theatre or in a retail shop. I'm not above it just want something different. I work at a hotel now and its meh but I don't mind it too much. Any recommendations? Potentially with international reach.
Costco for retail. Get paid a little above minimum, small benefits, room to grow if you so choose.

Auto dealerships as for lot maintenance. Good deals if need be.

Don't really have much experience there. My minimum wage years were all at Future shop / Best Buy.
 
I would like some advice. I just graduated from university and searching for a graphic design job in my city and in my country is very soul crushing like the title of the thread says. I'm trying to search for something to do since March and I feel that I'm not going to find a good offer, because of that I think that a remote job is my better option.

I wanted to try some sites like Fiverr and Upwork for a little income and make a better portfolio but I don't have any luck there. I would love to make something relationed to illustration because that's what I think I can do better but I've been trying to learn more about motion graphics.

What I can do?
 
Costco for retail. Get paid a little above minimum, small benefits, room to grow if you so choose.

Auto dealerships as for lot maintenance. Good deals if need be.

Don't really have much experience there. My minimum wage years were all at Future shop / Best Buy.

I don't have personal experience with it, but I've always heard really great things about Costco as an employer. You get the sense that they treat their employees pretty well. Maybe that's on a relative scale with other minimum wage employers like Walmart and others will call me crazy, but I haven't really heard anything negative about how they treat staff.
 

Bacon

Member
I'm a little biased since I work there part time while I go to school but Trader Joe's is also really awesome. Great benefits and they treat their employees tremendously well. 2 raises per year based on performance and the cap on earnings is 25 dollars an hour for a regular crew member. Obviously it would take a while until you made that much but the opportunity is there.
 
I would like some advice. I just graduated from university and searching for a graphic design job in my city and in my country is very soul crushing like the title of the thread says. I'm trying to search for something to do since March and I feel that I'm not going to find a good offer, because of that I think that a remote job is my better option.

I wanted to try some sites like Fiverr and Upwork for a little income and make a better portfolio but I don't have any luck there. I would love to make something relationed to illustration because that's what I think I can do better but I've been trying to learn more about motion graphics.

What I can do?

Have you tried virtualvocations.com?
 
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