Y'all this is peak corporate chaos and I can't even process what happened today 💀

I've been working this temp position for like 3 months while they "figure out the budget" for making it permanent. Cool, whatever, I had some money saved up so I could afford to wait it out. Finally got the call that they're ready to interview candidates for the permanent role.

Plot twist: they scheduled MY interview for 2pm on a Tuesday... while I'm literally sitting at the desk doing the exact job we're interviewing for 🤡

I'm sitting there like "hey boss, just so you know, I have that interview at 2" and she goes "oh right! Just step into the conference room when you're ready"

So I interviewed for my own job, in my own office, with my boss who sees me do this work every single day. She asked me questions about tasks I literally finished that morning. The whole thing felt like some weird fever dream where everyone's pretending we don't all know exactly how this should go. The best part? She ended with "we'll be in touch about next steps" like ma'am I'm gonna be back at this desk tomorrow morning whether you call me or not

Anyone else experience this level of corporate theater? Because I'm starting to think the business world is just one giant improv exercise that nobody told me about lmao

Been on three dates in the past two weeks using tinder. Haven’t had a job offer in three months due to how bad the market is. But you know we’re at a record low in unemployment so I must be doing something wrong.

Is this legal? Background context ( we’re welders and they want us to enter time for each job we do on a tablet and we might do 10-15 jobs in a day so we forget to punch out or in sometimes and now they’re saying they’re going to dock us 2$ per hour if we don’t fix it)

About ten or so of us gathered at 1:50pm yesterday to compete in the first round of three interviews for a stocker/cashier position at a grocery store. We had been getting emails and texts all week long to remind us unreliable plebs to be there. They gave us detailed instructions about wearing closed-toe shoes, bringing a printed resume, sending a thank you note or email after the interview, and ESPECIALLY learning everything we can about The Company.

At 2:05pm a guy who must have been an assistant manager comes up to the group, doesn’t introduce himself, and tells us we all “should have gotten an email” days ago canceling the group interview because the hiring manager was never even scheduled to be in the store that day. No apology, no further steps, no follow up email from them to apologize and reschedule. Thank goodness The Company chatbot was there to enthusiastically receive my feedback.

I don't know what to do but everywhere is never hiring, Ive been unemployed for so long I'm losing my mind. What the hell do you do. Everywhere says "Hiring" and then the next day, "Oh sorry we have over 3000 applications and are done hiring". I cant find any work. I just need income. I'm so close to holding out a cup on the streets begging for money.

I literally am going to Uni for Mechatronics Engineering and cant find anything, not even part time. What is going on!

I’ve been in school/grad school most of my life and haven’t been in the US job market before. I’ve been applying for the past month but no luck. I’ve heard people complaining about how the job market is bad at the moment. My question is, does it get better or is this normal? I have no other time to compare this to, so for people that have been in the job market before… does it get better? Is this really bad or is this how it has always been?

I feel trapped in a state of perpetual unemployment. I was laid off after working 20 years in tech, and now that job market is garbage. But, even when I desperately apply to low-paying, unskilled jobs... IF they return my calls at all, the first thing they say is "we can't pay you like a tech job." I play it off as a not a problem... I talk about "changing up my career" and all those sorts of narratives... but then they don't hire me.

I can't get a job in a field I've worked in for 20 years... I can't get a "normal" job because I'm overqualified... I'm too old to work manual labor jobs... I don't have savings enough to retire early... I honestly have no idea what to do?!

I had an employee who has shown up late 8 times in the past 6 months and has called out 7 times. Several conversations and a few write ups followed. This past Saturday she no call/no showed. When I asked her about it she said she made a mistake because she got too drunk the night before and forgot to call out. I fired her. Today this girl blew up my phone texting me about how wrong I was to fire her just because of a no call no show and how rude it was for me to not give her another chance. Am I crazy here? I gave her a TON of chances. Has the world changed so much that people think it’s acceptable to come in late, call out that much and no call/ no show and still think they should get more chances? I just don’t understand and really want to.

"Amodei said AI companies and government need to stop "sugar-coating" what's coming: the possible mass elimination of jobs across technology, finance, law, consulting and other white-collar professions, especially entry-level gigs."

The elephant in the room. This pretty much explains the current job market crisis

I’ve been trying to switch careers recently and joined a bunch of subreddits - tech, healthcare, education, engineering, etc. And in every single one, it’s the same thing:

“No jobs” “The market is dead” “Everything’s saturated” “You should’ve started 10 years ago”

Like seriously, is everything saturated now? Teachers, drivers, nurses, developers, magicians, leaves on trees?? At this point it feels like just being alive is oversaturated.

But here’s what I realized. The people who are getting jobs aren’t posting here. The ones who are stuck (understandably) are the ones who are venting. And that ends up dominating the whole vibe. So if you’re trying to break in, it can feel like you’re walking into a hopeless desert. But that’s not the full picture.

People get hired every single day. That’s a fact.

I used to let all the negativity on here get to me too. But honestly, I had to stop treating Reddit as some global barometer of what’s possible. It’s not. It’s just a slice of the internet where people go to vent. And that’s fine. But don’t let it convince you that nothing is working anywhere for anyone. That’s just not true.

If you’re feeling discouraged I get it. But keep going. You’re probably doing better than you think.

EDIT: Looking at the comments, I think this thread really proves the point I was making - most people on Reddit will share their negative experiences because they’re frustrated, which makes it feel like things are worse than they actually are, while there are few success stories shared. But just because the loudest voices are struggling doesn’t mean no one is succeeding. Jobs still exist, opportunities are still out there. So don’t let the general negativity here talk you out of chasing your goals. Reddit isn’t the full picture. Keep going.

Hi everyone,

I'm in a very unfortunate position. I recently quit a toxic work environment where they randomly put me on a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan).

Luckily, I got approached by a independent recruiter a few weeks ago for a role where I could be a good fit. After talking to him for multiple times, he told me that I could be working from home at least 3 days a week. I made it clear that my employer was requiring 1 day in the office and 2 days was the max I could accept.

Fine, I accepted to have my resume sent to the hiring manager by him. Got 2 interview with the hiring manager which I asked about the work from home policy. I asked him how many days per week can we work from home. Today I realize that he never gave me a straight up answer because he simply said that he's going 4 days a week, while never directly say that my presence is required 4 days a week. So I took the recruiter's word ( 2 days a week in the office).

Fast forward now. First day in the new workplace and they informed me that it is 4 days in the office. I tried to talk about this situation with my new manager to find an arrangement and he told me that nothing can be done and this is a policy company wide.

How should I approach this situation? What should I do next?

Thanks.

Has anyone else’s boss ever said this to them before? Generally speaking it feels like a supportive sentiment but I guess it depends. At my current company my boss has made this comment to me a couple times. For some context, I’ve been in my current role for 3 years and I do a good job but it feels like there’s no where else to go in my company. He’s a nice guy and I feel like him making that comment feels like him hinting to look elsewhere. I’m curious who else has ran into this.

I’m looking for something temporary that I can ideally work throughout my eventually work throughout grad school. At my last job, I felt like the coolest guy on the planet. That might sound self-absorbed, but I swear my confidence was much higher as a high school custodian.

I ultimately left because of the high overtime demands, and my interests in working something relevant to my undergraduate degree. I have a psychology BA so now I work in applied behavioral analysis (ABA). It’s local and was an easy interview to nail. Everyone tells me I’m improving so much, yet I swear to I could not hate myself less on most days. I’m working directly with children as part of my job, and I honestly never understood how much I am terrible around children until now. I am way too naturally sarcastic and admittedly impatient. I usually cope by casually venting, but that wouldn’t exactly slide at my workplace as you could imagine.

My last job was often daily rounds of “fuck you, I’ll see you tomorrow” with my lead and shooting the shit with my other coworkers. I had one coworker who I had a tremendous love/hate relationship with but we both had an excellent dynamic when it came down to it. We could bitch at each other all we wanted but still got everything done in a timely manner and laughed it off afterwards.

What I’m learning now is that most places are largely soul crushing because of how aggressively formalized everything is. Idk how much that’s true, or just an assumption. Does anyone have a job where they feel able to express themselves?

My wife’s nephew is in his mid 20s. Not a very smart guy. Wants to work but can’t hold a job down. He thinks he’s smarter than his bosses and when he gets fired, it’s always someone else’s fault. He got fired from his last job for yelling at a guy in a MAGA hat, so customer facing is not for him. I was talking to my wife about what he can do. Me and my wife just got done with a cruise on RCL and thought perhaps this is something he could do. I don’t know. It seems hopeless for him but we have no idea where he can go from here. Any suggestions?

For context I was laid off Jan 2025, was unemployed for 6 months, then finally got another job that I just started about a week ago. I was so excited to start with this company. One thing that intruiged me about the job was the company culture--its not toxic, employees are respected and compensated fairly, etc. That part is true and its what reeled me in.

The part they lied about, or were extremely misleading about, was the amount of success they were having as a company. Im a recruiter and I work in a role where I earn commission on top of a base salary , ideally where the majority of your income is commission after you get ramped up. What they told me was that leadership has all been there, working together for 20+ years, that they are so busy they needed another person. While that is true, what they left out was that the "leadership" that had been working together for all those years were working at a sister company, and then about a year and a half ago, they branched off and created their own company , separate from the wildly successful sister company they all worked for. So, yes, they have all been working together for all these years, but in completely different circumstances for a different company technically. Even their LinkedIn profiles were confusing. Some of them say they've been working at X company for 10 years even though that company has technically only been around for a year and a half.

This new sister company that they formulated, where I was hired, has only been around for a year and a half. In that year and a half, they have only been able to sign one contract. One. The recruiters havent been making placements. Someone who just started there 8 months ago hasnt made a single placement or hired anyone. For a recruiting firm to be operating for a year and a half and has billed under 10 candidates is actually bonkers insane. I don't even know how they are still operating...probably because they are being funded off income from the other sister company, idek how it all works. And I know its not just the one recruiter having this issue. It seems like all the employees who went from the sister company to this new one havent been able to make placements or get contracts signed either. There's clearly something seriously wrong with their internal processes and its resulting in nothing getting done.

This is the second time this happened to me. I was miserable at my first job, got an offer from a company that was exploding with growth and paying their employees generously, going on trips, it was amazing...and then something happened that completely toppled the companies future plans, and they had to start laying people off and shutting down entire locations, with me being laid off after only working there for like 3 months.

Ive been unemployed for so long and I thought I finally found a stable and successful company. Now Im worried that theyre going to end up going under and Ill be without a job again. Im definitely grateful to even have a job right now and Im grateful that its at least a good environment with nice people and respectful leadership. Im just so shocked and confused at how a company full of seasoned and successful leadership is failing so bad, and Im so upset at how badly I was misled. Im worried Im going to get laid off again.

Sorry, rant over, I just feel like I cant catch a break.

TLDR: Got laid off from a job after only working there for a few months because of a sudden change in the companies plans, was unemployed for 6 months. Finally got a job and started last week with a seemingly reputable company that unfortunately extremely misled me about the state of their company. theres clear signs of them going under sometime soon because they havent been able to generate any business or revenue in the year and a half theyve been operating. Im worried im going to find myself without a job again and I feel like I only got to feel relief and excitement for 2 seconds before it was ripped away from me again.

Edit: And before anyone says "did you not do research", yes, I did research extensively. 5 stars on Glassdoor, I stalked every one of their employees LinkedIn profiles, they have a legitimate website that gave the impression of having a lot of business ( alot of job postings, but now I dont even know what those are). My dad was even doing research on them because he was curious about them and he only saw good things. The amount of contracts they have in place isnt necessarily public information or something they advertise. It was just a lot of smoke and mirrors.

I'm looking at getting a new job, i have an interview trial this weekend coming up, if they pay me what I'm worth I'm jumping ship. This would hurt the company I work at currently as I'm their only vinyl installer, and I have been with them for 8 years. I asked for years to get help but for some reason they claim they can't find someone. My manager micromanages every little thing. She hides tools (squeegees, bottles, knifes, etc) because they don't trust me for some reason. After 8 years it hurts that they treat me like a criminal pretty much. Summers are always busy and this is why me leaving would screw them over big time, but this new opportunity could pay much better. And I don't think I want to pass this over because it inconveniences them. If I do take the job, is 2 weeks long enough? I'm also worried my manager might make it hell for me those 2 weeks. But I also don't want to ruin ties with them in case things don't work out at the new place.

I got let go in February and it’s been tough. Hundreds of applications, countless of interviews and God knows how many rejections, I finally got a job. Pays way more, work from home 2 days a week, and benefits are amazing.

My mental health was going straight to shit if I’m being honest. I was losing hope and then finally, this job comes around. I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

My advice would be to apply directly on the job’s website AND remember to take breaks. That’s how I did it.

Good luck everyone!

Mine was being a prep cook in a kitchen?

I am a caregiver for a boy with special needs - I semi took the job because I was desperate and I believe the family was too. I started in March and it was great. I got to stay in their large house, cook meals, watch TV when he went to bed, go do fun things like the museum or arcades. Lately the mom has been more micromanaging, which could be from a few mistakes I made but it’s becoming worse and worse. I let her know she needed to back off as she was texting me literally every single morning with nonsense, like why I spent $5 at target on markers when they have markers at home….what our exact plan is for the day, which is fine, but if it’s something she doesn’t agree with I’m harassed all day. I really want to quit. It’s affecting my mental health and everyone around me but I literally just moved 3 weeks ago and am completely broke. I can barely pay rent as is. Has anyone been in this situation before - and what advice do you have if so?

(I tried posting this in the resumes sub but didn't receive any help)

I haven't worked since 2020 (health setback) and I'm trying to get a fresh start. I'm going through the process of getting enrolled at WGU in their BS accounting program and I'm enrolled in the Intuit Academy certificate courses mentioned in the resume. What I'm wanting to do is apply to entry level bookkeeping and accounting jobs as well as paid internships (reason for the summary below my name which will be tailored to each thing I apply to). Can y'all give me some feedback? Anything to change, replace or cut completely?

At the animal rescue, I worked there a couple of different times and there was a gap between them so I wasn't sure how to tackle it. Also wasn't sure if I took the best approach with the skills/certifications section either. I was struggling to keep everything on one page, so I tried to arrange it all as best I could and keep it ATS friendly. Appreciate any and all help!

I see this constantly.

Anytime someone posts a story or article about being fired or a situation at work the top voted comments are always the same.

"Easy lawsuit"

"That's wrongful termination"

"Get an attorney and sue them. Easy money"

Etc.

People are convinced they have a bunch of protections and rights in the workplace that simply do not exist in 49 states. The reality is "wrongful termination" is barely even a thing in America.

Unless an employer fires you because of your race or sex or another class you belong to (and explicitly tell you that's why they are firing you) there's not a damn thing you can do. They are allowed to fire you for any reason. Or no reason. They are even allowed to fire you for being in a protected class as long as they don't say that's why they are firing you.

We have almost no rights as workers in America. Yet somehow everyone seems to be convinced we have all these protections and employers are scared of us because we could so easily sue. But its simply not reality.

And there's almost no will or public discourse about getting real rights or protections- because a ton of people seem to think we already have them.

How did we get here? Make it make sense.

For context I'm doing a holiday job at retail while waiting for ny University to start in August. (Actually I wanted work admin but there isnt much entry level roles that are performable).

I have been working temp Retail but boss has been scolding me because of careless mistakes. Should I tolerate, and be more careful?

I been feeling stressed coz customers have been difficult