People On The Job Hunt Right Now Are Sharing What It's Actually Like — And It's Absolutely Brutal

Lately, it feels similar everyplace you look, idiosyncratic is talking astir however unsmooth the occupation marketplace is — layoffs, hiring freezes, ghosted applications, and endless rounds of interviews that spell nowhere. So we asked the BuzzFeed Community, "If you're connected the occupation hunt close now, what is it really like?" The responses came pouring in. People shared stories of sending hundreds of applications without proceeding back, wage cuts, dealing with ageism, burning done savings, and watching their intelligence wellness erode successful existent time. Some are recently unemployed. Others person been searching for years. Here's what radical had to accidental astir trying to find enactment close now:

1. "I've been retired of enactment for astir 2 years, and retired of each the resumes I've submitted, I've had zero interviews. I've revised my resume template truthful galore times. I'm applying for roles that are 50% little successful wage than my past role, and inactive nothing. My inheritance is successful objective research, and the existent medication has blown up the field. I'm moving retired of recognition and americium successful indebtedness to the tune of $35,000. I'm hoping I tin marque rent adjacent month. I utilized to person my prime of offers, and present I can't adjacent look to interruption done to speaking with an existent recruiter. Also, the magnitude of spammy, scammy radical who effort to instrumentality maine into providing my idiosyncratic accusation arsenic a 'requirement for application' is ridiculous. There are nary agleam spots connected the horizon, and I'm decidedly feeling the defeat, similar I'm irrelevant."

2. "I've been doing it for truthful long, I've fundamentally fixed up present and accepted semipermanent unemployment."

—radiantsorcerer534

3. "Fucking sucks. I've mislaid number of however galore applications I've sent, and implicit fractional of them conscionable ghost."

—marvelousskull35

4. "It took maine 22 months to find the occupation I person now. I experienced homelessness for 20 of those months. I person a master's grade and implicit 4 years of acquisition successful my industry. It's perfectly abysmal retired here. If you're speechmaking this, I'm truthful sorry, and I judge successful you. You are not the problem. The strategy is."

—thisismyidea

5. "It perfectly sucks. Either the wage is downright insulting, oregon the deficiency of benefits is disappointing and discouraging."

—maggpie87

6. "One interrogation per month. Round 1 and 2 of three, past ghosted, oregon a rejection letter. More rejection emails than interviews."

—Anonymous, 65, Male, Virginia

7. "I person done everything I'm expected to. I've applied for jobs successful antithetic lines of work, including retail, food, and manufacturing. I use for things beneath the wage I really need. I travel up with emails and telephone calls conscionable to beryllium ignored. Indeed is simply a racket, and I hatred it. Most postings look to beryllium shade postings that are not listed connected existent institution sites, which is ridiculous. But hey, 'no 1 wants to enactment anymore.'"

8. "It's been truly difficult, demoralizing, and dejecting. I had the accidental to spell backmost to schoolhouse and get my master's grade astatine a truly top-tier school. I did good successful my programme and financially supported myself passim the full process. I thought this grade would wage disconnected and acceptable maine isolated from different applicants, and possibly it will. Since graduating this past summer, I person applied to astir 500 jobs and inactive haven't landed one. I'm struggling to wage my bills and pupil indebtedness payments with a per diem position. I adjacent applied to beryllium a cart pusher and an overnight stocker astatine section stores. I ne'er would person thought that astatine my property I would beryllium surviving with my parents. Every time I conflict to support my self-esteem and intelligence health, and I person to springiness myself regular pep talks astir perseverance and resiliency."

—Anonymous, 39, Female

9. "Honestly, I haven't experienced thing antithetic connected the occupation hunt beforehand than what it was similar successful 2019 erstwhile I joined my existent company. Recruiters are inactive arsenic stalky arsenic they've ever been. Offers scope from ridiculous to beauteous decent. Companies inactive usage the aforesaid annoying portals wherever you upload your CV and past re-enter each the aforesaid information. I perceive backmost from some, not all, and those that bash respond usually instrumentality astir 2 weeks to put each interview. The wage brackets are wide and inactive negotiable. I'm successful sales. The jobs expect a lot, the descriptions are mostly nonsense, and the compensation packages alteration by company. They are each hiring and anxious to vie for candidates."

—Anonymous, 31, Female, United Kingdom

10. "I person spent the past fewer months looking. I've applied to implicit 100 jobs crossed each occupation boards. It's precise tough. I had 1 third-round interrogation and americium inactive waiting to perceive back. This occupation marketplace is perfectly chaotic successful a atrocious way. I bring important experience, but it does not look to substance anywhere. This is terrifying. This is an honorable review. Anybody else? Seriously, this twelvemonth could beryllium precise atrocious for occupation seekers."

—Anonymous, 34, Male, Florida

11. "I was fto spell from my occupation of much than 21 years successful January 2023 and person fundamentally been unemployed since then. I've astir apt applied to implicit 1,500 jobs. I've reached retired to my connections, networked similar mad, gone to manufacture events for endowment acquisition professionals, and nothing. The immense bulk of my applications person been ignored oregon ghosted. When I bash get interviews, it's usually with idiosyncratic successful their 20s who seems threatened by the information that I person truthful overmuch much acquisition than they do. The ageism is real. Since I was successful a elder relation before, determination are less opportunities for maine to modulation into. I've had my resume and LinkedIn redone, hired a reverse recruiter, and been flat-out ghosted by alleged professionals. Recently, I was told that my acquisition wasn't 'current' enough, arsenic if it were my responsibility I'd been looking for truthful long. I honestly don't cognize what to bash anymore."

12. "I person been sending my CV for 1 year. No 1 wants to prosecute maine due to the fact that I person a child."

—Anonymous, 30, Female, Switzerland

13. "I person a master's grade and hardly got hired into a beauteous bully retail job. People with little acquisition and little enactment ethic were promoted to enactment positions due to the fact that absorption did not privation to 'lose maine connected the floor,' since I was their champion performer with the highest sales. It took 3 years to get retired of retail and into a nonrecreational role. It took much than 500 applications, dozens of interviews, tons of ghosting, and a ridiculous magnitude of luck, but I did it. I americium 1 of the fortunate ones, and I punctual myself of that each day. A erstwhile workfellow erstwhile asked wherefore I didn't hold for a much prestigious offer, and I conscionable stared astatine him. I yet asked, 'Do you cognize what this occupation marketplace is similar close now?' He graduated from Harvard with manufacture connections and ne'er had to struggle. I'm inactive clocking successful from 9 to 5 due to the fact that determination is nary specified happening arsenic occupation information anymore."

—Anonymous

14. "The past twelvemonth has been perfectly horrible for occupation searching. I've tracked everything and sent implicit 800 applications. Some were Easy Apply, which feels similar shouting into the void, but astir progressive afloat applications and screen letters. Employers expect tremendous effort and past ne'er respond. Almost 50% of my applications were ghosted. About 20% resulted successful generic rejection emails that came excessively rapidly for anyone to person really reviewed my materials. I'm fortunate that I'm underemployed and not afloat unemployed, due to the fact that different this would beryllium devastating."

—Anonymous, 39, Male, California

15. "Am I excessively aged to beryllium hired? I'm a graphic decorator with a batch of experience, and present each plan occupation besides requires societal media, video editing, and coding. Even erstwhile a occupation is simply a cleanable fit, I use and get ghosted. I've been unfastened to caller enactment since 2023. At my existent occupation of 10 years, which I cognize I'm fortunate to have, I'm not paid capable to care. The occupation hunt feels useless."

—Anonymous, 55, Female, California

16. "I person friends who graduated from assemblage successful April 2025 and are inactive looking for jobs. I'm not looking guardant to starting the process erstwhile I postgraduate this summer."

17. "I graduated successful May with my BA successful Culture and Media and person been struggling to onshore my archetypal full-time job. I worked part-time aft graduation until I was laid off, and present I'm backmost to part-time enactment again. I applied to implicit 150 jobs past twelvemonth and got ghosted 70% of the time. I cognize New York City is tough, but I did not expect this. I'm trying to enactment strong, but it's getting harder to warrant my decisions. I truly bash not privation to determination backmost to the suburbs."

—Anonymous, 23, Female, New York

18. "I've been hunting since August. I was diagnosed with a wellness condition, and my occupation was not supportive. I've cycled done 3 positions since then, 2 of which were not arsenic advertised. I person a process scheduled soon and tried to find distant enactment to recover, but thing has worked out. I'm astir apt going backmost to retail. I enactment disconnected continuing my acquisition to rise my kids, and present it feels impossible."

—Anonymous, 41, Female, South Carolina

19. "I've been unemployed for a year. I person 15-plus years successful selling and elder enactment experience. I've applied to implicit 500 jobs and americium either overqualified oregon underqualified for everything. The manufacture has imploded. Clients chopped advertisement spend, which means less jobs and much experienced radical competing. Many of my friends are successful the aforesaid position. It's incredibly depressing."

—Anonymous, 37, Female, Michigan

20. "I finished grad schoolhouse astir 3 years agone and inactive enactment the aforesaid retail occupation I had portion studying. After zero responses successful my field, I benignant of gave up. It's hard to enactment each time and past use to jobs that volition ne'er get a reply. I'm doing good compared to others, but uncovering information to support trying is exhausting."

—Anonymous, 28, Washington

21. "It's horrible close now. Everything is AI-driven, which fundamentally means my resume volition ne'er scope an existent human."

What bash you think? If you're speechmaking this and feeling seen, you're not alone. If you're presently occupation hunting — oregon person been done it precocious — we privation to perceive from you. Share your acquisition successful the comments below.

Whether you're frustrated, burned out, cautiously hopeful, oregon determination successful between, your communicative matters. And if you're not looking close now, see checking successful connected the radical who are. This marketplace is taking a existent toll, and sometimes conscionable being heard helps much than radical realize.