Support thread for job hunters...anyone else losing their mind?!

[Wiggle975]

As the title says, is anyone else worn out, and starting to lose their mind through job applications and interviews?

I am exhausted and starting to get very fed up with it all. The wasting of time.

Very true. I've been given at least four very senior roles, including the one I'm doing now, off the back of places I've worked before and a 30 min chat. Contracting roles but still. It's worked in my favour.

Some movement here, I've had 3 interviews in the past week.

1. Is really promising, best interview I've ever had. The work sounds really interesting and they said the role they were interviewing for is too junior for me but have a more senior role in mind. They said they will call me for a second interview but that it won't be for a week or two. No news yet.

1. Called of the interview in the first 5 mins when she realised I was too senior for the role. Why don't people put the salary on the advert so we can decide if it is worth applying?

1. After 10 minutes he decided I would be a better fit for another role in a different department, which he wasn't the manager for. So he couldn't tell me much about the job and I couldn't ask the questions I wanted. But he still spent another 40 minutes showing me around and explaining what they do. (On a Friday evening after most people had gone home)

Clearly I am applying for roles under my abilities, but when I apply for more senior roles I get nothing. And the junior roles are still paid more than I'm on now. I looked at the advert for job 3's other role and I would never have applied for it as they are looking for experience in things (like robotics) that I simply don't have.

I'm keeping everything crossed for job 1

best of luck for number 1 @Definitelylivedin

I too have found the dilemma of being too senior for the junior roles but not enough recent experience for the senior roles - I struggled to get to the 'next level' in the first place but it doesn't seem any easier even with a few years experience at the more senior levels - clearly not quite enough experience for what can seem like very fussy hiring managers in a tough market! Doesn't help that most of the roles available in my sector currently are at the more junior level.

Heard back from the interview last week that I nearly pulled out of due to nerves. Didn't get it - the feedback was quite vague and bullshitty and seemed a bit of an identikit response they may give to all the candidates they didn't like. I'm open to feedback but I was scratching my head on this one and couldn't really agree with it - something about they had fluid processes and I'd come from a more structured environment (I haven't at all!)

John Lees who has written a lot of career coaching/ interview prep books says that most feedback is code for 'we found someone better - get over it'

I think I'll try and read his excelled book 'knockout interview' again this weekend. I have used it in the past and found it really good.

Does anyone else have any recommendations for interview coaching resources?

Good luck to everyone waiting over the weekend for a response

Still nothing here. I have one application in the pipeline but the closing date is not until the end of July.

One of the roles I applied for last November is still being advertised! They obviously don't know exactly what they want as I met all the criteria back then, but when the recruiter finally got in touch the skillset they were actually looking for wasn't a good match for me.

Keep getting approached for unsuitable roles. I don't know whether it's AI or just recruiters not understanding what's on my cv.

So, e.g. my cv might mention senior, widget and developer in different places and they want to hire me for Senior Widget Developer jobs, when in fact my cv says I'm a Gizmo Developer with experience of working with widgets and have previously been a senior analyst.

Agreed the agency should vet the temps.

I work in tech. It's because some HR/recruiters have no fundamental idea that comparing coding language is like comparing Chinese to English and assuming if you can do one you can do another. But mainly it's just laziness !

Drives me crackers

Well - this morning I heard back from the job where I had a not nice interviewer, apparently they liked me but going with someone with more experience. I just don't think she liked me...

Then another 6 month contract where I'd have to commute 1.5 hours every day. No thanks.

No response from an interview I had last Thursday.

I might have bite the bullet and do something completely different like bar/cafe/shop work.

Am out of work for the last 2 years, been to bootcamp and it doesn't help in succeeding but gives some hope. anyone in jobhunt with python skillset?

Spoke to a recruiter today and I'm looking at a 10k plus pay cut just to stay in work. My contract ends in 2 weeks then I'm unemployed.

Salaries going truly backwards here!

What's worse is I'll probably end up taking a role on this salary to stay in work/ stay current as the alternative is worse.

Luckily we only have a small mortgage, and other sources of income, my heart goes out to anyone out of work who does not.

I've got an interview lined up for a role that sounds interesting. However, I've broke my rule about not interviewing for anything without knowing salary range first...

That sounds okay InfoCometif you're happy to walk away if the pay doesn't work for you.

Good luck.

IDontHateRainbows yes, it's shit isn't it? I feel incredibly frustrated that I don't seem to be able to do anything to increase my income, despite my best efforts, and to be frank, my skills and talents are going to waste as I can't find a job paying me what I'm worth ( or would be worth if I had less experience and was 20 years younger).

@Trumpetoftheswan2
"and to be frank, my skills and talents are going to waste as I can't find a job paying me what I'm worth ( or would be worth if I had less experience and was 20 years younger)."

Yes, this is exactly me! If I had less experience I would have found a job months ago, but I keep being told that I'm too qualified/experienced and would be bored.

Yes I'd be bored, but I'm bored now on a much lower wage. It's coming up for a year now that I've been looking. The exciting prospect I had in the pipeline have gone quiet on me. I sent an email at the beginning of the week but no reply yet.

In the meantime I've had 2 more telephone interviews that have lasted about 5 minutes when they realise that I am well qualified and am not going to work for minimum wage.

Definitelylivedin sorry to hear that. It's such a tedious slog, isn't it?

Keep going all!

It took me over 6 months. I did a lot of training, linkedIn, paydrop to what I was getting a good few years ago in a junior permanent role.

The market's sh#t.
If you get an offer, grab it!

The very best of luck 🤞 🙏🤞

The one good thing about recruiters, it avoids having to have money talks directly with the client. The only time i've ever been any good at that is when i really wasn't that keen on the job so asked for something i considered ridiculous and then they agreed!

Well I didn't get the job I was really hoping for. The company have gone into partnership with an Indian engineering company and have decided that the project management should be done from the India office.

I don't really know what to do now. 1 year of trying to get a new job. My current job doesn't stretch me and doesn't pay enough. I'm finding my boss difficult and it is affecting the rest of my life.

I am sorry to hear this DefinitelyLivedIn.

What can you to to help yourself survive?
Asking this as the market for my role is dire.

My role is less than ideal,.rolewise, and paywise. So I understand

Well, I seem to have been ghosted after my interview. How hard is it to send a thanks but no thanks message?

I'm very sorry to hear this Definitelylivedin and InfoComet. It's so hard when you've got your hopes up and being ghosted is truly horrible.

Woo hoo, finally!

Was offered a contact role last week and I'm starting on Monday

Great news! Well done - hope it goes well for you

Going to be a shock to the system after not working for 7 months!

Great news @InfoComet

Congratulations InfoComet! You are an inspiration!

As for me I had a 'flying blind' interview today, didn't know anything about the company until today as agency had failed to send through the spec or even confirm who it was with - it was just an initial phone chat but still had some meaty questions. I was convinced I was punching above my weight but they have called me back for round 2 (it's a 3 stager)

I have had a severe case of 'jobhunter's block/can't be bothered anymore-itis' so if nothing else I can feel the block beginning to clear as I start to get more engaged with the whole job hunting process again after many many let downs and disappointments. Although I feel ever so rusty I do seem able to pull out examples from the past although I definitely need to develop them - helps that I always email myself any significant work I've done before i leave a job so I have been raking through those emails and trying to recall the details of thing I did. It's shocking how easy it is to forget everything after a few months have passed.

Had two more recruiters speak to me this week and put me forward for roles so I can only conclude that it is like buses - never any for ages then suddenly all at once!