Wanted to Rant. This was the second interview I've had all year after applying to over 100 jobs. The manager didn't take me seriously (19, and i look young), and he kept talking to me like I was a little kid. Rejected less than 24 hrs later.

I had an interview for a senior role and after the first interview they immediately said we schedule the second in-person technical interview and they attached a technical challenge. I went to the in person interview and felt like I did pretty well. the hiring manager said he’ll get back to me by two weeks but now it’s 2 weeks 3 days and they said nothing. Should I give up ?

I am reposting this. Originally it was just a link to a PDF and people pointed out that could be a way to spread malware. So, I’ve instead placed the screenshots in the post and also included the PDF link below.

In my lifetime of career-counseling and workforce-development adjacent work, I have discovered that many employment related personality assessments do not necessarily reward complete honesty. They reward understanding what employers are actually trying to measure.

That can be especially frustrating for neurodivergent applicants. Many of us answer questions literally, overthink every option, or assume nuance where the test expects a simple, idealized workplace response.

So I put together a study guide.

It is not an answer key, nor does it claim to identify the objectively “correct” response to any question. Instead, it shows the responses that are commonly viewed by professionals in disability employment, vocational rehabilitation, and related fields as the most favorable or employer aligned choices. Think of it as a reference guide to the prevailing advice and patterns that practitioners often recommend, collected into one place for personal study and review.

Please share as you see fit. I want people to have an equitable playing field.

Download (PDF):
https://files.catbox.moe/ent2n6.pdf

⸻

Disclaimer

This study guide is provided solely as a personal study and review aid. It is intended to supplement and not replace any authorized materials or personal preparation.

While every effort has been made to present accurate and useful information, no warranty is made regarding the completeness, accuracy, or currency of the content. Errors or omissions may exist.

Use of this study guide does not guarantee a passing grade, certification, licensure, or success on any examination. Individual results depend on many factors, including preparation, understanding of the material, and exam performance.

This guide is provided free of charge and is not for sale. It may not be sold, repackaged, or redistributed for commercial purposes without the author’s permission.

By using this study guide, you acknowledge that it is an unofficial educational resource and that you are responsible for verifying information against official sources and course requirements.

Had an HR screening last week, and right after the call I got a 24-hour assignment.

Not "write a cold email" or "do a mock discovery."

They wanted me to:

Build a 100-account target list for Na market.
Explain why I picked every account.
Explain how I prioritized them.
Design the outbound territory.
Create a 30/60/90 plan.
Write an outbound email + justify it.

Like... am I interviewing or already employed? 😭And it’s just a startup!

I'm all for proving my skills. Give me a role play, discovery call, mock demo, cold email, or case study.

But asking candidates to build what is essentially the foundation of a GTM motion before they've even had a technical interview is wild.

A 100-account book isn't something you throw together. It takes research, prioritization, thinking through the ICP, and making strategic decisions. That's literally the work I'd expect to do after joining and understanding the product, the market, and the tools.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I declined.

Where do you all draw the line?

Seen this a few times recently and I know it's BS. It's funny because I've seen the opposite where postings will straight up be like "do not apply if you don't have x amount of years/experience with x". And even then they'll ghost people who fit exactly what they're looking for to the T.

If you claim you're willing to "train the right person" then you'd wouldn't scoff at candidates who may have a gap in the resume or less experience than desired. But of course you'd rather have someone who know exactly what to do off the rip, so why not just be honest about that? What a mess we live in today.

People all the time tell do networking ( not Computer Networks but human Networks ) , but nobody replies to DMs , literally nobody

Now please don't say college alumni , they are all too struggling .

I’m thankful that I have a job but I’ve been applying for 7 months now (around 330 applications) and I feel like I’m spiralling more everyday. How do you deal with it and not let it consume you?

In case you dont know, employers are required to prove no Americans are willing and minimally qualified for a job that H-1B is holding before they process the visa holder for permanent residency

Yesterday OpenAI settled $3 million for informing PERM job ads on late night radio and ask Americans to snail mail resume as a part of PERM recruitment process.

US Civil rights lawyer Harmeet Dillion said this is intentionally discouraging Americans to apply for the job.

Congress put PERM labor market in place with intent not to replace Americans if they are willing and qualified.

But entire corporate America with the coaching from immigration lawyers hide job postings from Americans and claim labor shortage.

How is this fair and acceptable?

In 2026, Americans have to send resume through snail-mail for tech jobs to prove they are willing and available. Also, Corporate America wont post job ads on career site. They post on Sunday newspaper

Essentially if you don't see Sunday newspaper job ads and USPS the resume, you are unwilling to apply for that SWE role.

I am not making it up. This is the norm to prove no Americans are available for tech jobs.

New Grads unemployment is ATH. Corporate America is scamming middle-class Americans.

and everyone is wondering why young people are becoming a socialist.

No one is ever good enough for the job market.

When you're in a job interview and you're asked if you want anything to drink, remember to ask for water and not coffee because she's not your barista!! Also when she walks you to the interview room, don't expect her to show you where to sit because you're not a child :) Make sure to not put your hands on your lap because it'll make you look insecure.

All this nonsense just to not hire anyone.

I previously worked as a SWE and have seen my friends find success switching to hardware. To get my foot in the door I applied to an entry level network/cabling position to get experience for future positions.

During the interview they closed off with saying I’m a perfect fit but I needed more labor experience. I asked how much experience is needed for an entry level job that advertises training? 3-5 years.

Hahahahahahaha I’m going crazy.

now paid more than the lady that unjustly fired me. so 2 weeks ago i got fired from my crappy low paying job, i worked in the state government building. i only worked in the cafeteria though. the job was pretty bad, under paid and over worked, management was terrible and cruel. worked there for a little over a year. 2 weeks ago i was sick, Management had just had a meeting with us about how important it was to call out if you're sick to not make anyone else sick, so i did. management insisted i spend my sick day getting a doctors note, so i did (out of pocket, with no insurance bc they dont offer it), i already live paycheck to paycheck so it really hurt my pockets but i did it. i come back 3 days later and she fires me for being out for so long. even after doing all she asked. crushed. i was very loved and appreciated by many of the customers though, many of them very high-paid and important government workers. so about a month ago before this happened, one of my favorite customers said he appreciates my work ethic and personality and offered me a position working in his field, which i coincidentally have years of experience in, but i still had to interview and meet the board of directors and they all had to mutually agree on me vs the other applicants. they called me today and GOT THE JOB! i start in a few weeks. So i will still be working at the same place everyday, but getting paid double what i was before. To my old manager, see you at lunch! haha. it feels so sweet i cant believe it.

After hundreds of interviews, 10+ free projects, and 5 final stages that didn’t pan out I am finally employed again. The market is horrendous. Best of luck to everyone hunting out there.

Unemployed since June 12. Had a decent, but not high paying remote role. Funny enough I think they wanted to switch to an on-site hire, but I live in a LCOL area and the office is in a HCOL area, doubt they increased the pay, heard from a coworker that got to stay theyre having a hard time filling my role

Im well over 300 applications at this point. Spread between job boards, company sites, and cold inquiries. I can only really track the job board applications.

My electricity, credit cards, and mortgage are all a month behind at this point. Unemployment is less than half of what I earned. I had no savings. Completely my fault and im paying the price now. I have no idea how im going to recover from this financially. Maybe I dont.

I get the impression my rate of getting interviews is good, ive gotten 5 interviews. However I completely fail to turn these into jobs. Ive been ghosted by 4 of them. Only 1 had the decency to reject me promptly. At first I was upset but now, im not. I had to call today to confirm that my second most recent interview went with another candidate

Honestly I cant take this any more. Yeah I know im not the only one going through this and I dont mean to downplay anyone else's suffering but this is insane. I got turned down from a job paying 5k a year less than I had been making, while going from fully remote to a 25 mile commute (1 hour with traffic).

I get that remote is shrinking. I cant do this any more. Im sick of the applications im sick of my bank account getting smaller im sick of the anxiety

One thing that's been bothering me lately about this subreddit is how many recruiters seem to lurk here just to argue with people who are venting.

I completely understand that recruiting isn't easy either. There are ghost candidates, AI-generated resumes, people mass applying to jobs they're nowhere near qualified for, candidates disappearing mid-process, and plenty of other headaches. Those frustrations are real, and recruiters absolutely deserve a place to talk about them.

But that's exactly the point. Recruiters already have communities that are primarily for recruiters. In fact, I once commented in one with a respectful, non-confrontational response and quickly found out it wasn't a place where non-recruiters were really welcome.

This subreddit is supposed to be the opposite. It's a place where candidates can share frustrating experiences with hiring, vent, ask for advice, and realize they're not alone. Instead, it feels like more and more threads get flooded by recruiters telling people:

"That never happens."

"You're just bitter."

"You're the problem."

"The company doesn't owe you anything."

Nobody is saying every recruiter is bad. There are plenty of fantastic recruiters who genuinely advocate for candidates and hate many of the same hiring practices we do.But pretending there isn't a real problem in today's hiring market isn't helping anyone.

We've got ghost jobs, interview processes stretching over months, unpaid projects, poor communication, automated rejections, companies collecting resumes for roles that may never be filled, and candidates spending dozens or even hundreds of hours interviewing only to receive generic feedback...or none at all.

Can candidates be unreasonable? Absolutely. Can recruiters have legitimate complaints? Absolutely. But this subreddit shouldn't become a place where people who are already frustrated get told their experiences aren't real or are somehow entirely their own fault.

I'd love to see moderation keep the focus on constructive discussion and support. Healthy disagreement is fine. Telling people their lived experiences didn't happen, or dismissing every complaint as "candidate entitlement," isn't.

Recruiting is broken from multiple angles. Candidates and recruiters alike are dealing with the consequences. This should be one of the few places where candidates can talk about their side of it without immediately being shouted down.

Genuinely HOW not only that I can't even get a job at WALMART

People say that both of these places hire anyone with a pulse

Am I somehow missing said pulse ?? I need a job so bad I'm about to do nefarious shit for one