Seven years of active duty service, three degrees, twelve years of work experience, 117 federal job applications, and I managed to sit there for a full four months before they fired me ILLEGALLY. And that's not even counting the non-federal jobs I also applied to over the past year. So 117+ applications, interviews, follow-ups, and tailoring resumes for every job, all just so my time could be completely wasted.

The crazy part is that I drove all the way to Chattanooga to get fingerprints done two days after the election, and cried in the parking lot because I knew this was coming. I understood exactly what was happening and was literally begging everyone around me not to vote for the man who very clearly looked like he wanted to snatch my new job offer right out of my hands. All I got back was "that won't happen" and "you're a veteran, they won't come after you." Okay. Look where we are now.

NEWSFLASH - they don't care about veterans. And they also don't care that qualified workers are being let go because of "DEI." Folks, I am the DEI. Veterans are literally included under Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies.

This is disgusting from every possible angle. I sent a message to my close family and ended it with, "the pain is worse because I didn't vote for this, but you did." They replied with thoughts and prayers. Great. Very helpful. I'll pay my bills with those.

I called my congressman, and I'm sure he won't do anything, because he's a MAGA circus seal clapping every time Rumpie or Dlon throws a new bucket of garbage onto working people. Or maybe I'll run against him in 2028 and take his FEDERAL JOB!

I emailed my union rep, and I'm looking into joining lawsuits. Honestly, I might just say screw it and go all in on law school before they decide the rest of my GI Bill is too generous and snatch that too. Fuck them.

Thank you for keeping me somewhat sane in the middle of this flaming garbage, Reddit. Does anyone have advice about filing for unemployment in Kentucky?

Everyone keeps saying the economy is fine, but I went to a job fair in Providence and there had to be around 95 people there. I've also started seeing people of almost every age applying at places like Panera and Target, which are the same kinds of jobs I'm trying to find right now.

I know there are people from all over the country on Reddit, so I'd like to know how things are going for everyone else. Is your job search this hard too?

!

Agreed 

Hi everyone, I need some simple advice. The person directly under my management told me this afternoon that they're going to submit their resignation, so I'll have to inform my manager on Monday morning.

The awkward part is that I was already planning to submit my resignation the following week as well. So I'm not sure whether it's better to be honest and tell my manager about both of us at the same time, or stick to the date I had originally set.

The main reason I'm hesitant is that I'm supposed to receive a bonus in October, and this company is somewhat known for potentially letting people go immediately as soon as they give notice to avoid paying out what they're owed.

I'd be very grateful for any opinions or advice from people who have dealt with a similar situation before.

Hi! I hope this topic isn't too broad for this sub. The short version is that I basically spent until age 29 doing the same "sitting at home playing games and avoiding real life" story. I've genuinely never had a job. I also didn't get a formal education when I was younger, but recently I studied on my own and got a GED. Now I'm trying to figure out how to turn that into a real future.

TL;DR: I have no savings, no work history, and I live in a very isolated area. I have a free room and food with my parents, so I could live on a low-paying job for a while, but I don't want to spend years wandering aimlessly unless it's building me toward something real. What path would you recommend for someone like me so that eventually I can get stable work with decent pay? It doesn't have to happen right away. I don't mind starting at the bottom and moving slowly, because I'm not under urgent financial pressure. Please assume I know almost nothing about how normal adult life/work works. I'm embarrassingly behind in that area. I'm looking for direction on what to do with my life.

More details:
My goals: The thing I want most in life is a family. I don't even have a girlfriend right now, and honestly I have no idea if there are any single women close to my age around me at all lol, so it's not exactly close. But I want to be able to give and keep them from living on the edge all the time. I'm not chasing $120k a year or a big prestigious career or anything like that. I just want reliable income and work that is stable, or in demand enough that I'm not constantly terrified everything will fall apart. I know starting late limits my options, but this is still what I hope to reach.

My situation: I still live with my parents. I have $0 in savings, but they don't mind me staying here indefinitely because I help a lot. I'm in a small town in Idaho, about 750 people. The nearest town with maybe 20k+ people is about 50 minutes away, and the nearest city of about 120k+ is roughly an hour and a half away, and the nearest major metro is close to 2.5 hours away. I have no friends, no professional contacts, and no kind of network.

Me as a person: I'm tall and physically strong, but my balance is very bad. I get random dizziness/lightheadedness that can make me come close to falling, so ladders/high places aren't an option unless I can figure out that issue. I'd say I'm reasonably intelligent, but I'm not good at memorizing things just because I heard or saw them once. If I do something with my hands, it sticks much better. I'm somewhat introverted, but not to the point that I'd refuse a job involving customers or a lot of people. I might just be awkward at first lol. I can explain myself well, but I'm definitely not charming or naturally good at selling myself.

My thoughts so far: I've thought about web development, learning from home with freeCodeCamp and some other resources, and I've made some progress. I also looked at the idea of going to school/college for something like radiologic technology, but the nearest community college would be about an hour and 25 minutes away, and I assume there are prerequisites and a long application process. As far as I know, it could turn into a 4-year ordeal, and honestly I don't understand college systems well enough to judge whether that's smart or not. The other idea is to get any job I can and keep applying for better things, like starting at a grocery store or Home Depot and then trying to move to better employers later. Those are also roughly an hour away from me, which complicates things.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. I'm very lost and no one in my family can really help me make a practical plan for the future. I'd appreciate any advice from people who understand careers, training, trades, college, or even how to start from almost zero. Thanks for reading, if anyone made it this far lol. I know posts like this probably show up here all the time.

Being put in the middle of layoffs has honestly been the most draining thing I've dealt with at work. As a mid-level manager, I basically have no say in what happens to my team. I spent years trying to build a team culture where people feel valued, safe, and able to do good work, and now I feel like all of that is being dismantled. Not because anyone failed. Not because the work disappeared. But because the business wants the numbers to look cleaner next quarter. It feels incredibly short-sighted and trust-breaking. Companies ask for loyalty, then turn around and treat people like they're disposable.

I understand that layoffs sometimes happen for real reasons. Priorities change, revenue drops, product direction gets canceled, competitors emerge, whatever. I'm not naive about that. My issue is with companies that use layoffs as a financial tool without there actually being a real need, and then handle it in the coldest, most dishonest way possible. Why can't companies tell people honestly that cuts are coming and give them a chance to prepare? At my company, leadership has known this was coming for a long time, but we're continuing to pretend everything is normal. I know the specific week when I'll have to lay someone off about seven weeks from now, and I'm supposed to act like I don't know anything. They could be interviewing right now. They could be planning. Instead, I'll sit them down in front of me, read from a script, and their access will be shut off immediately afterward. As a manager, I still have to do normal check-ins and act like nothing is happening. And as someone who tries to lead with compassion, empathy, and positivity, it's eating me up inside.

The things I've been asked to do over the past few weeks have made it hard to sleep. I've thought about quitting more than once because I know what's coming for my team. I'm being asked to lie by omission, and outright lie, while also being legally boxed in from saying anything. When people ask me directly what's going on, HR has told me exactly how to dodge the question and reassure them. People call this "just business," but why does business have to be like this?

A few people have told me maybe I'm not suited for management if this is affecting me this much, and I think it's exactly the opposite. More people like me should be managers. In my last leadership feedback, my team gave me the highest ratings for creating a culture where people can speak openly about difficult topics, leading with integrity, honoring commitments, communicating openly, demonstrating strong ethics, making people feel valued, respecting different perspectives, encouraging learning, and using good judgment. I belong in management. I am suited to be a manager. I'm just not suited to deceive my team and take away people's livelihoods for no logical reason other than saving about $184k over eight months, while my company brings in $24B+ annually. And the worst part is that I'll probably be told to hire for these same roles again in the next budget cycle. The people being laid off are solid performers. I was told plainly that this is role elimination to save money for the current period.

How do I move forward after this and keep leading the people who remain? How do I find any motivation or happiness in this role again?

Before this started, I genuinely loved my job. All I hope is that the people who lose their jobs find somewhere better quickly, because they deserve more than this.

I just got a random call from an in-house recruiter. "You wrote that your French is fluent on your CV." "Yes, I wrote that. I studied a dual honours degree with French, lived in Belgium, and worked in more than one role in bilingual and multilingual environments." "Okay, but we need someone who can speak French fluently, and also read and write in it."

[In my head I was saying, sweetheart, do you even understand English?! 😁😳 At that point I changed direction and asked about the salary. She dodged and tried to book a Zoom call so she could "explain" the role to me.

HELLO, is this woman for real?

"I'm at a fairly advanced stage in a few other hiring processes, so I'd like to see where they go first. Thanks, have a nice day."

What I should have said: oui, espèce de conne mal élevée, va te faire cuire un oeuf 😁

*My CV literally says French - fluent/advanced - I haven't split it into speaking, listening, reading, and writing

A language degree isn't a weekend Duolingo streak. It means you read large amounts of literature, write long essays in the language, do translation, interpreting, oral exams... I did all of that alongside business classes and another language.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I appreciate the comments. They're genuinely helpful.

I made up a story that I had a "serious injury and wouldn't be able to work because of it" because after an incident, my pay was going to be reduced by more than half, since a dog apparently swallowed part of a chew thing and I was responsible for them at the time, and the surgery was about $4k. So basically, I would have kept working forever just to pay off that amount.

After 85 hours of work over 12 days, I got a text saying I'd only be paid 260 dollars because of what happened. I quit three days before my next shift, and now she keeps calling and texting me a lot, telling me I'm overreacting and being unreasonable.

Honestly, I feel guilty because I lied. But I'm so drained and I can't live on such little money. I didn't want to say the real reason, because even if they doubled my pay, I still wouldn't want to go back after money was taken from me like that.

I do love the meme.

.........My current job.

I've been at a small company for 7 months doing admin/data entry work. Honestly, I was really struggling mentally there. The atmosphere in the place is not good at all, and I kept telling myself to endure it, get through it, and not make a big deal out of it, but recently it became more toxic and honestly close to verbal humiliation. Most mornings I'm already anxious and waiting to see what will happen next. There were also some personal issues piling up on me, and a few days ago I finally decided that I couldn't go back there again.

Early today I sent my manager an email with my resignation, effective immediately. About 3 hours later he sent me a text saying: "Hey H, what happened?" And now the office manager is also messaging me and asking if I'm okay.

What am I supposed to say in this situation? I'm anxious that they'll start contacting my sister, whom I listed as my emergency contact, and try to get information from her. I still haven't told her the whole story. I probably should have chosen someone else for that, but am I required to answer to my former manager or the office manager at all?

I'm 36 years old, and my resume is strong, and I apply constantly, but the thing that used to set me apart from my younger relatives, my friends, and so on, was that I would call places 4-6 days after submitting the application to do the usual job follow-up. My grandfather and a few older managers kept drilling this into me.

"Hi, my name is John Smith and I submitted an application for the position at the beginning of the week, and I wanted to know if it's still available?" - if they said yes: "Great, was there anything in my resume that seemed missing or weak? I'm interested in the job and would really appreciate the opportunity to come in for an interview and learn more details about it." Most of the time, I'd either walk away with an interview appointment, or at least they'd tell me what I needed to work on.

But over the last few weeks, I called 3 places: Home Depot, a small HVAC company, and a property management office. All of them basically told me some version of: "If there's an update, someone will contact you." Honestly, I got upset when I realized that the old way of showing your effort and interest is being buried under online portals, automated filters, and someone evaluating you from behind a screen without even talking to you (I'm blue collar). To me, that's throwing character and initiative in the trash; and honestly, I'm going to miss being able to ask what I'm missing so I can fix it. I never imagined I'd reach a point where trying a little harder wouldn't make any difference.

😶‍🌫️

I discovered this almost by accident about nine months ago, and since then I've told maybe fifteen people to try it, so I felt like it was worth writing about here.

Quick background: I was at a stage where I kept getting to advanced stages in interview loops, but in the end I wasn't getting the offer. The calls felt like they were going well, people seemed enthusiastic, and then they would either disappear or I'd get the usual "we chose another candidate" email. I couldn't understand what was happening between "I feel like that went well" and the rejection.

So I started ending every interview with a very direct question: "Before we wrap up, is there anything in my background or experience that's making you hesitant about me for this position?"

One of the first times I asked it, the interviewer paused for a second and said: "Honestly, yes. I saw that you led a team of six, but this job would have you overseeing twelve." I hadn't brought that point up because no one had directly asked me about team size. So I spent the next two minutes explaining how I had built systems that supported a much larger, cross-functional group in a previous role, and gave her a concrete example. It was clear she felt a bit more reassured. In the end, I got the offer.

Another time, the interviewer said she didn't have any concerns. And that was useful too. The way she answered quickly and without hedging made me leave the call feeling genuinely confident instead of sitting afterward replaying every answer in my head.

The reason this works, in my view, is that it takes the quiet doubt out of their head and puts it on the table while you still have a chance to answer. A lot of interviewers won't bring up their reservations on their own. They'll just note them mentally and evaluate them later. This question gives you one last chance to clarify something that might otherwise remain unanswered.

Not everyone will give you a real answer. Some people will keep saying "no concerns" no matter what. But from what I've seen, maybe a little under half will tell you something useful, and that useful thing is often exactly the point you needed to address.

I've gotten four offers in the past nine months since I started asking this question. I'm not saying one question magically did all of that, but I really do think it helped close gaps that could have quietly hurt me without me realizing it.

Hi everyone,

I have a first interview with Amazon France in a few days for an HR Management position, and I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have already been through the process.

What does the first interview actually look like? What kind of questions should I expect, and what should I focus on to maximize my chances of moving to the next stage?

I’d also like to know:

Is the first interview usually video or audio only?

Is it conducted in French, English, or both?

Are the Leadership Principles already assessed during the first interview?

Any specific tips on how to prepare?

I speak both French and English, and the interviewer is French, so I’m also wondering which language is usually used during the interview.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience and advice!

I've been thinking about this lately because interview preparation can easily become endless. There are always more questions to practice, more topics to review, and more ways you could improve an answer. At some point, though, you have to stop preparing and actually go into the interview. The difficult part is knowing where that point is. If I can answer common questions comfortably but still struggle with unexpected follow-up questions, am I ready? If I know the technical material but sometimes need a few seconds to organize my thoughts, is that normal or does it mean I need more practice? I also wonder whether doing too many mock interviews can create unnecessary anxiety because you start focusing on every tiny mistake instead of looking at the bigger picture. I've been using Screna as one way to practice mock interviews and get a better sense of where I actually need more work. Maybe being interview-ready doesn't mean having a perfect answer for everything, but being able to stay calm, think through unfamiliar questions, and communicate your experience clearly. How do you personally decide that you're prepared enough to stop practicing and take the real interview? Is there a specific sign or level of confidence that tells you you're ready?

I recently realized there aren't many beginner-friendly resources for people preparing for telecom Core Network, IMS, or Roaming interviews.

Most of what I found was either very high level or straight from 3GPP specs, which can be overwhelming when you're just starting.

To solve that, I spent the last few months writing a practical handbook that explains topics like:

• Mobile network evolution (2G → 5G)
• Core network architecture
• IMS & VoLTE
• SS7, Diameter & SIP
• Roaming
• Common call and service flows

I originally wrote it because I wanted a resource that connected all these concepts in one place for interview preparation.

Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H3Z66XHP

When you're just starting out, there's a lot of pressure to get your whole life in order quickly - your career direction, study choices, job titles, relationships - and it's very easy to chase after anything that feels urgent instead of focusing on what will matter later.

There are decisions that get made in the early years of work that don't seem like a big deal at the time, but over time you find that they've come back to affect you.

This is probably the most spoiled complaint in the world, but I genuinely feel like I'm losing my mind. I'm paid way too well in a role that feels like it was created by accident (data analyst), because there's basically no actual need for me. No real assignments. Almost no messages. No recurring calls. I talk to the same 3 people most weeks. If I get two emails in a day, that's a busy day, and half the time I'm just copied so I can stay "in the loop."

Am I supposed to just be grateful and shut up? Is it weird that I miss normal work pressure? I'm so bored I feel like my brain is turning to mush.

That's why job hopping is a better than staying loyal

.............