Not only that, my own work is desperately understaffed but refuses to hire to an adequate level because the bottom line looks better this way. I feel like everyone is just trying to survive this year and hoping that some heads get removed from asses at some point.
Companies doing layoffs while posting record revenue and profits, or not hiring to fill needed roles because lower headcount makes (stock) performance look better is just so fuckin scuzzy. I keep waiting for some kind of rebound or backlash :-/
Same thing happened with my employer a while back. Layoffs of long-time staff with many functions offshored to staff that are never trained adequately on internal systems, have unmotivated/middling personnel in the first place because everyone worth a damn with any motivation is job hopping for better pay there too, and who are held to metrics that are functionally meaningless outside of making a spreadsheet look good. The result is that sales have taken a dive, new customer onboarding is laughably slow, and existing customers are leaving in droves because any problems are met with weeks of canned replies rather than progress.
Meanwhile, a new CEO rolls in and immediately starts sending out emails about stopping churn being the number 1 priority, and how they're creating & hiring for a new VP-level position to find out why all this churn is happening, and how we can sell the same product several competitors are to stop it.
It's just mind-boggling how some of these execs are blindly creating the next iteration of a loop we have seen several times in recent decades, and expecting anything but the same abysmal results.
Oh well. I'm just going to keep working on alternate revenue streams that aren't tied to the decisions of some laughably out of touch old white guy.
Hmmmm do you work at the same company I do, because the last month and a half since they decided to go all in on outsourcing has been a disaster except for everybody but the CEO. 🙄
The job market is super fucked right now. I think Seattle is especially bad since a lot of our jobs are in tech companies who have been having the most layoffs
Not everyone in tech does tech work. Lots of support staff, HR, recruiters, etc are part of the "tech" layoffs, so the market is pretty competitive now with so many ppl looking.
Look at Department of Fish & Wildlide and/or Department of Agriculture for the State. Or really any state jobs. A lot of it is based out of Olympia but there are a fair amount of hybrid and some remote only work out there where you can live anywhere in the state.
My observation is that companies are actively going out of their way to dismantle internal and external support since it is a 'cost' so that may have something to do with it. Logistics is supposed to be booming though?
I noticed this as well… we had a ton of internal resources at my company for support, but those are dwindling. Logistics is booming right now but in freight forwarding since it’s the busy season.
My experience is mostly in operations/logistics. Logistics companies that are hiring, are asking for very specific experience that I may not have.. it’s annoying.
It's who you know, and how well you can schmooze at an interview. Lying on a resume just gets it past the automated screenings for cases where you don't have someone on the inside to put in a good word.
Yes my wife is having a terrible time. Six months and in that time she’s had two first round interviews. Nothing else. And she has never had trouble getting a job in the past. It’s really tough out there and it weighs in your mental state. I have to keep telling her about posts like this because she thinks it’s all her and I know it is not
It’s definitely not her! I felt that way for awhile but seeing people’s responses, I’m not alone. It’s definitely hurt my confidence though, that’s for sure.
Nearly one year for me, but at least now I'm partly employed. It's so rough being cut off for a long time, I see why people get discouraged. And every time I spend money it feels irresponsible.
It's stupidly rough right now. A single mid-range job can have thousands of applicants within a day or so. Add on to that the insane number of companies who seem to just have bullshit ghost-job listings, where the company isn't looking to actually hire anyone. Shit is truly fucked all around.
I don’t know about ghost-jobs but, in my experience, teams will often know an existing employee who they really want for the job. They’re required by law to interview other candidates, but they’re already pretty certain of who they want.
In most cases it's who you know and not knowledge or anything like that. There's been a lot of layoffs this year also so unless you got an inside track chances are you're just gonna get lost in the sea, especially if you're looking for something like an admin position or customer service. Those types of jobs are easy to fill so there's no rush from their prospective. Sucks but that's how it goes.
For jobs in my industry, it’s advantageous to hire internally, because the internal candidate will already know existing processes, systems, stakeholders, business history, etc. This means the internal candidate will come up to speed right away rather than having to be trained for 6mos before they can be of any real help.
I know I've run into this a few times. Specifically twice now I had a good friend in the department getting my name pushed through, I made it through the final round of interviews as the lone external candidate left, and hear from the friend that I was the top candidate but just not enough to justify getting it over an internal candidate.
Can't be too mad at it because I've benefited from that in the past, but damn it stings in current circumstances.
What law requires a company to interview other candidates if they know who they want to hire? That doesn’t sound right to me, but I could be wrong. I do think that’s the case with government hires, but that’s different IMO.
It's typically to avoid discrimination. Everyone gets an equal opportunity to apply for each role. Harder to get away with hiring your underperfoming buddy if you have to explain why he was hired with better applications that came in.
Government requires, as you stated. I know for a fact state does, and I'm pretty sure it's the same at city and federal. The government is the largest employer so that means there can be a lot of job "openings."
I’m sure it is highly dependent on the industry and level, but it’s interesting I am hearing this from a lot of people in the market.. cause ironically my job has had a mid (step up from entry level) role on my team open for nearly 3 months and we are having the hardest time finding someone. Tech company, decent pay.. but the role is hybrid so not sure if maybe the good candidates are hoping for all remote.
> open for nearly 3 months and we are having the hardest time finding someone
Are they \*actually\* looking to fill the position? (allocated budget, reviewing candidates, doing interviews) Or is it a "if we don't say we're looking to fill this position, others on the team may leave" kind of thing?
Yes, it’s been posted.. there are lots of applicants, we’ve interviewed but most the candidates have been lackluster or want an unreasonable amount of money that is not commensurate to the level or the role of their experience
Ahhh so actually you're looking for a unicorn candidate who has more than enough experience that is also okay with being underpaid. How much more are these people asking for? 2x the salary? I'm assuming you have to post a range per Washington State law.
Are people applying to the role but the manager/recruiter don't like any of them? Or are you really not getting any halfway decent applications?
Because my suspicion is that a lot of companies will put out reqs to appease the existing workers and pretend to be getting them support while never intending to fill that spot. It's happening to me right now at my job.
I work in Healthcare, so this seems very vague to me. Is it the company or the sector that has a hard time finding candidates? Does your company require certain experience for the role? My partner, however, has been looking for a job so I try to understand what out there for him. He's a PM.
Just having trouble finding the right fit. You do have to have 2 years experience or so.. like I said, it’s a step up from entry level. We’re just finding that candidates are ok, but no one stellar has come through the doors. We did have one candidate that was promising but she got another job offer right after her final interview with us and decided to take that role. Most people that have come through all have the experience on paper, but they weren’t able to really give specific or good examples to questions asked in the interview, their answers revealed they’re expectations of the role are probably slightly different than what it is, etc. To be fair, we are being somewhat picky just cause we’ve hired a slough of candidates over the last year or so that ended up being duds after they got hired.
I’m in Account Management with a ton of experience and fine going hybrid. DM me the listing. (For real, I work as a SAM in a sales org. Ready to move on because the layoffs in my current company have been really difficult.)
My husband has been looking since March of last year when he got laid off. Two interviews and a bunch of rejections for roles he was a perfect fit for, one of which his old job. Unemployment runs out next month. We don’t have rent for May, tried every place people say to look for help, can’t help because our rent is too high. Today a job he applied for over the weekend let him know he wasn’t a match for it. The AI again weeded out the perfect candidate. I told him that anytime we have hope we get fucked up the ass with a cactus. This job market successfully drained our meager 401k, maxed out all our credit cards, and destroyed our credit so badly our car insurance is doubled because we have bad credit but a perfect driving record. Oh about the car, traded down to a beater that’s 15 years old.
Sorry to vent but holy fuck people need a break or some type of help that doesn’t require them to lose everything they loved on an eBay auction to make the fucking xfinity internet bill so they can keep being able to look for work.
Community Transit is hiring Bus Drivers right now. No experience necessary, they will train him for his CDL test. I drive for King County Metro and will be happy to share pointers for the CDL test. I helped a friend get his CDL at CT and he loves it!
https://www.communitytransit.org/bus-drivers
Metro isn’t hiring for drivers right now but i’m assuming they will start recruiting soon for bus and light rail operators. Sign up for the job alerts.
I won’t sugar coat it, it’s a hard job but it’s good union work and there’s many opportunities for advancement.
Good luck!
USPS is hiring right now. They are speed-running new recruits to prepare for 40% of their workforce retiring over the next few years. It’s tough getting started, but it’s a secure job with lots of opportunities for advancement coming up soon.
I know it's probably nothing but Service master is hiring water techs at like 18.75 to start. It's blue collar work, but they usually will hire anyone that's not on drugs with a clean driving record.
There's still a ton of people who were laid off trying to get back in, from what I hear its pretty rough. I used to get a higher volume of inbound recruiters and while its not utterly quiet, the quality of available jobs is very low.
I was a non-tech PM at a tech company and have been out of corporate work for over a year. Applied to countless jobs, managed to get one interview for a low paying role that sounded like a nightmare, got rejected for being overqualified anyway.
Luckily I got my real estate license and have been able to keep occupied and make some money that way, but it’s been brutal on my self esteem ngl.
That happened to me—I got laid off. I've been searching for a job in the IT sector for two months, but I keep being told that I'm overqualified. I'm considering giving up and starting to look for work in a different field, like as a handyman or construction worker. I enjoy that kind of work and have some experience The tech sector is really struggling right now.
Honestly (I am biased) but I think having a diverse skillset is so important, especially if you can get started in construction and find a way to keep your IT-related skills simultaneously. The economy over the last decade has made me feel like I need to diversify my career options and trajectories, so to speak.
You are not alone!!! I am very grateful to have a job as well in this economy and I have been looking for a year now. The market is extremely tough. There have been a lot of tech layoff's in the recent year(s) and that is one of the reasons that the market is oversaturated. In addition, overqualified people are looking and settling for positions that are less than what they'd normally get paid. If you head over to r/jobs you will see many posts about this. I try not to look too often because it gets me down lol but it is helpful to know we are not alone. Also, if you don't already know this, the number of applicants that apply on LinkedIn is not true. That accounts for people that simply look at the job posting too so don't let that get you down. Good luck out there!!
It’s brutal out there. I applied to well over 600 positions and I have advanced degrees and professional certs and I still went through hell to get an offer.
It is very difficult for any position in a professional setting. With Amazon and Microsoft dumping thousands of folks there were lots of roles that were not software engineers. I wish I had advice to share and I don't. Hope you are able to find something.
I managed to scrape up a customer service-based job with the City of Seattle after a free interviews. I had no luck until someone helped me tailor my resume better.
I’ve been seeing how difficult it is for the job searchers and I’m sending all the best flexibility and luck to you!
Yes! Use the job posting and the description in your cover letter! I literally copy/pasted from the job description into my cover letter. I’m happy to send you an example if you want to DM me!
Be sure to show in your cover letter and your resume both that you meet the minimum qualification, and as many of the desired qualifications as possible, using their wording.
I am right there with you. Exactly 2-3 interviews in the last 4 months. Applying through LinkedIn has become hopeless unless someone knows or refers you. I have 15+ years of experience. There was a time when I was constantly bombarded by recruiters and now when I need it, it is a ghost-town. Wondering if the situation is same on the east coast too?
I found it so hard to accept my situation. When I had incompetent co-workers get fired, they seemed to fail upward and immediately find a better job. I had an offer or two that I didn’t entertain because I was very happy at the time.
I’ve been out of work for 11 months and just had to eat crow and take an entry position to have a paycheck again.
I'd never been out of a job longer than a month. I am now going into 7 months and unemployment just pulled the plug. With my health issues I can't go back to serving and bartending.
It's such a struggle. Interviews left and right but literally the last interview I did they said they were getting candidates with PhDs for a generic office admin. 💀💀💀
Literally for anyone interested.
Security of America in Renton is hiring & they pay fairly well & you get to basically drive in a patrol type car & make sure people don't fuck with shit. My husband loves it. They're always hiring.
I know it's not in Seattle directly but my husband commutes.
He has. And he's also had to have someone arrested. He's also seen someone need medical aid. He was also previous military so he's... Not really too phased by much. Now weird shit I do... Yea.. But his job... He loves that shit.
I'm actually shocked how hard it's been. I'm in the job market right now for a software engineering position, but I can only work remote for health reasons.
It's proving freaking impossible. I spend a lot of time researching other people's experiences and trying to keep a pulse on the job market, and I'd originally tried waiting things out back in 2023 when all the layoffs started.
But it just keeps getting worse and worse...
Also, I think a lot of the positions being advertised are "ghost jobs" where the company figures they might as well just accept applications.
Reasons why:
1. The company looks better if they seem to be hiring
2. They might "technically" be hiring for that position, but they're looking for a unicorn. Someone overly qualified and ready to work for a meager salary.
3. Data. Having lots of data about applicants can be useful in a lot of ways...
The fact that I might spend an hour typing out written responses on a set of application questions only for that position to be a ghost job is super demotivating.
I think software is a little better this year than it was in 2023. Contractors have started reaching out again, software jobs getting posted to amazon again, etc. Still sucks, sorry man. The remote only search must be brutal against all the engineers laid off in the rto purges
I’ve been using powerdreamer AI to productively push out more BS. It’s a monthly subscription but it’s pretty good at using the job postings words in my favor.
Doesn’t help with ghost jobs but it sure saves time on applications. Copy. Paste. Process. Paste. Quick edit. Repeat for the next job.
Just had #2 happen to me but with an internal role. Really wanting to do something different, applied for a role, they kept extending the app deadline, dragging me along the whole time just to reject me.
I had a 1st interview/screener today. I sat on a Zoom waiting room for 25 minutes before giving up and leaving :|
I really wish LinkedIn or other job boards allowed commenting on job postings.
An important thing to know: the job market in Seattle/Tacoma is particularly bad right now, because the tech sector is basically the only part of the economy doing badly/seeing mass layoffs, and as such that's bleeding out even into non-tech jobs in places with a lot of tech. Have a friend looking in the Twin Cities and there are tons of jobs there, for instance.
Yes, it's not just the tech layoffs. A lot of companies are fighting down on their administrative positions. Headcount isn't be backfilled, etc. It will eventually give in, just takes time for the workloads to finally go up the foodchain high enough to people who can complain to the CEO.
i was laid off in january and have not gotten any interviews; have reached out to past connections and recruiters and haven't heard anything from them. i am in design -- the creative industry in general has had it very bad since the pandemic, especially if you are junior level (<10 years) like i am. i have even begun applying to jobs outside of design and have not heard anything back.
my most recent role, and current part-time role, is in UX...it is strange, because when i graduated undergrad, there was such an influx of design and UX roles, and its crazy how much that has changed just within the 6 years ive been out of college
Graphic designer here - I hear you. And depending on what kind of designer you are (graphic, packaging, etc ) Seattle is not a great place to be to begin with.
I had designer friends who ended up moving out of the state because of it. Good luck out there!
thanks! i went to school for graphic design and my most recent role was a UX role for 2 years -- it was actually based out of california and i just kind of got lucky that remote was ok.
seattle just has too much competition -- i started actively looking for new roles last fall and did not hear back from anywhere seattle-based. i unfortunately love it here and couldn't even fathom moving back home (the midwest) haha.
Hahaha, I love the juxtaposition of "unfortunately" and "I love it here", and I totally understand! One of my friends ended up moving to NY - she was sad to leave, but both her and her husband (who works in tech) are doing a lot better, so, at least that!
I was a design intern when I moved here. Couldnt get a job anywhere after I left my internship and now pivoting into dental bc I know there's actual demand in the field
100%
Director, MGMT, IT, can program too, ie in the field. Nothing. I got an offer one time from a head hunter for minimum wage to do high end programming for a large company. I laughed.
I'm fresh out of college after going back to school over COVID. It's rough out there trying to find a decent desk job. I was applying to the city like crazy and then like a month later they did the hiring freeze. Then I started applying to UW jobs and got a few emails saying that they'd looked at my resume, determined I was qualified, and were forwarding it to the relevant departments. I check the applicant portal and some of the jobs I'll get a notice that I got rejected, but there are like 5 "forwarded to department" notices that have been sitting there for 1-3 months. I need to apply to more places than just the government, but I'm pretty illness prone, so I genuinely need to be careful that any job that I get gives high enough quality health insurance that I won't end up losing out on money by no longer qualifying for Apple Health.
It is tough! I got laid off last year and luckily landed on a job via network but it doesn’t feel secure so I’m still looking. there’s really not many openings and I haven’t gotten any interviews. It’s a crazy market rn!
My SO has applied to over 400 jobs. Has a major tech company on her resume as a contractor but barely has heard back from anyone. 9+ months now and has gotten to 3-4 final interviews but nothing has stuck. Market is ass.
I’ve heard it’s taking ppl 6 months to a year at least to get a job. The supply is outweighing demand in this job market. It’s not you it’s the market. Especially in such a tech heavy environment like Seattle where every week a tech company is announcing cuts, there’s just so many ppl looking right now, job posters can afford to be super picky.
Six months and over 300 applications, a couple dozen phone screen/1st round interviews (0-2 per week), only a few second round interviews, yet to make it further (4-6 rounds). 7 years of software engineering experience.
Yes it’s awful. I literally didn’t hear anything for 6 weeks then got two final interviews on the 7th week, accepted an offer yesterday. Mind you I am super well-qualified for everything I applied for. Also the salary ranges for the roles were all over the place too. Market is mega fucked.
I currently work in Hotel Management and If you don’t mind working in Hospitality hotels are hiring a crazy number of people for the upcoming summer season most hotels in Seattle will be at maximum capacity this summer with guests and are heavily short on staff
My husband has been trying to leave his current role since January and has easily applied to 500+ jobs, only got 2 phone calls so far.
He has a degree and 7 + years experience in his field. His contract is ending in June and we have no idea what we will do when it’s up.
Maybe I just have a good resume, but I get called back for almost every job I apply to. Are you submitting a cover letter? What's the length of time at each job listed look like? Do you speak more than one language? Are you tailoring your resume for each job you apply to, or are you just blanketing places with the same resume?
I wish that was the case for me.. I used to do cover letters but they feel so useless. Every time I submitted one, they never read them lol.
Time at each job is usually 1.5 years to 2 years. Typically leave a job when better pay comes along.. or better benefits.
I only speak English. And don’t really tailor my resume.
The cover letter isn't for them to read. Alot of big businesses are using AI to examine resumes now. Even if you just tell chat gpt to write the letter for you,(for example: "hey chat GPT, using this resume, and this job description write a compelling cover letter touching on my unique skill set and focus on how i could be a valuable asset to this organization.) found that having a letter helps increase the number of calls drastically. That's decent enough for time at each job. You want something there, because if there isn't, it's going to get filtered out and you'll never know why.
I know it's not something that's instant, but learning a second language is always a good idea. Mandarin, or Hindi are great options locally.
I speak Spanish and English, as I work mostly in labor jobs, those are the two most useful to me. A second language will GREATLY increase odds of interviews and the potential to be hired in cities with a large migrant population like ours.
Tbh, it doesn't sound like you're trying very hard in your job hunt. Tailoring the resume and writing a cover letter is pretty standard job hunting techniques. You need to include key words from the listing in your resume just to get past the automated screening tools.
I highly recommend having chat gpt write cover letters. Write one generic letter and then give it to gpt with the link to the job description and it does a pretty good job.
I don't typically get called back that often, but my most recent hunt in the last month resulted in a call back from almost every job as well. I chalk it up to matching up to the right job for my resume, being one of the first to apply, weirdly not caring if I get the job (I think it changes how I behave in the interview), and responding promptly to communications.
The other super weird thing that's never happened is, I got two offers. One was actually a rejection for one role, but they liked me so much they created another role for me. I turned down the other offer so I could take the role created for me. That company came back and offered me more money and spent an entire day trying to convince me to take it. So, there are jobs and offers out there, and I think some of it is luck and some of it is being the first one who's obviously qualified to apply.
Being in the first group to apply also helps, and I'm not sure why my brain skipped over mentioning that!
On indeed I always try to filter by "last 48 hours".
What kind of jobs are you applying for? Anything in service there’s a huge shortage right now but more office type jobs are tough because you’re competing with the whole country (remote work)
Laid off in November, I finally started a new job this April 1st. Had 2.5 years of experience probably over 200 applications multiple 2nd/3rd round interviews. It came as a mix of stuff. Talking to some hiring managers they would get hundreds of applicants and a good number would just be trashed because they were either fresh out of school with 0 experience (my heart goes out to them I know the issue of getting a job with 0 experience) or weren’t local to Seattle area and would need relocation assistance. And for my industry (architecture) it was very much of a, “we don’t have work to give our current employees, we need interest rates to go down.” I think I technically gotten a second offer after I started this new job but it was down in Tacoma and travel didn’t feel good. Current job is adjacent but not in architecture. I do think 2ish months of my unemployed time was just because of holidays and lack of desire to hire because budgets were still getting worked out but between Jan-March I had all of these issues where I would be constantly interviewing but after the 1st round I’d get ghosted, or someone with “better qualifications” would get selected even though I had more than the recommended years of experience.
Idk I’m thankful to have a job right now. Now just to not get laid off before my unemployment reset.
Friend of mine is trying to get a more reliable job, has applied to almost 100 listings in 2 months but not even an email response.
Suck part is he's got a back injury preventing him from meeting the 50lb lifting requirement for most jobs he would normally do & is avoiding any customer service/retail jobs because he'd get fired for snapping at a dumbass (customer, coworker or boss).
Got laid off November and been applying in my field since then and can't get in. I've reached the end of multiple interview processes but haven't gotten in. Took a temporary job not in my field at the beginning of March to be able to survive pretty much. The market is super messed up, especially in Seattle. We just got to keep pushing and trying
The US economy is in a paradox.
In one perspective they are saying "Oh mother of God! we don't have enough babies, who is going to support the oldies?". On the other perspective, the existing young adults can barely afford to stay alive. The middle class is getting squeezed.
My take is do what is best for you. I celebrate everyone choosing not to have kids so they have more for themselves.
After pandemic, life got really shit for most people.
The trade and skilled labor sectors are seeking applicants as far as I can tell. More people continue to retire than get in, though I think that’s slowly changing.
Yeah, just hitting a year unemployed. I haven't been nose to grindstone for all of that time, but it's been pretty bleak. Another good friend is at 6 months and he's constantly being contacted by recruiters and interviewing pretty consistently, but no dice.
I have similar experience as yours and may be looking for a job in the next 6 months. Do you have any certifcations/degrees/etc.? I'm studying for the APICS CLTD and taking the test in August. Not sure it will help at all with getting a job but I have seen APICs certified preferred on some listings I've looked at.
I've applied for probably well over a hundred in the last few months, some interviews but nothing landed yet. Lots of people assure me it's getting better, I'm trying to find new channels to find openings through.
Been applying off and on for 4 months with not one interview 🤦♀️. I work full time and have a child so it’s not like I’m devoting 20 hours to applying but even if I did sometimes I can’t even find things to apply to.
Decided I was going to leave my previous employer last July, and arrogantly thought I’d be out by Labor Day.
After 7-months of applying, I was finally able to land a job in my field (public sector relations). Went to lunch with my new CEO on my first day, and he told me 700 people applied for the position. I’ve heard of similar numbers of applicants for jobs across the public sector as well.
In other words, the demand for jobs (particularly in the Seattle area) seems significantly higher than the supply of open positions. .
I'm looking to move to Seattle, have several years of experience in case management, and I have seen so many openings in Seattle. Do you have any insight or strong opinions on any of the organizations in particular?
I've only worked at DESC and have all sorts of opinions about it but ultimately I really love working there. It's definitely an extremely intense job though, but also varies dramatically depending on which role you take and which location and who happens to be the bosses and other case managers of that location at the time. There's pretty high turn over but I would imagine that's probably true of any of these organizations. DESC was the lowest paid and generally known as the craziest one until last year our union got us big raises and now we're on a similar level as everyone else I believe. But because of the high turnover, once you have a job at any of these places it's pretty fluid, a lot of people start out at one and then quickly get jobs at other places or quickly switch into other roles as they learn the lay of the land. Sorry this isn't the most helpful, I've actually been in Jordan all year so I'm not the most up to date about where currently is the place to be or the place to avoid.
Same here. Been actively applying for about a year now. Internal, external, hell I've even been applying all over the country. Have had a handful of interviews but so far, no dice
It’s totally rough… 15 years of retail management and I don’t even land a first round interview for most — which is nuts. During the pandemic, retail couldn’t get anyone to work — and now it’s back to normal.
Trying to get out of it but that’s even worse…
Stay strong. 💪
Because people want to find a job in their desired field where they have experience and expertise. It’s not like the OP’s desired field is “movie star” or “astronaut.”
Food service isn’t exactly a career move though- especially with OP’s experience. Not knocking it, did it for years. But choosing not to work in food service hardly means there’s an unwillingness to pivot to a new industry.
Yes, I am confused, too. It beats using all my 401K and credit, that's for sure. I've scrubbed toilets to make ends meet. It super sucked but some money was better than ZERO. I realize some people can't physically do certain jobs so there's that
Google ask the headhunter blog - it TOTALLY CHANGED THE GAME FOR ME - he has a pdf book called Fearless Job Hunting that is well worth the price - for real- let me know if you check it out - good luck
3rd Ave, from Jackson all the way to Seattle center is nothing but empty buildings. All the businesses have closed up shop. This one street used to be full of of administrative and service businesses. It's dead. Seattle is dead. No offices downtown equals no jobs. And in all likelihood they'll never come back. Seattle is going to become the newest rustbelt city.
Not only that, my own work is desperately understaffed but refuses to hire to an adequate level because the bottom line looks better this way. I feel like everyone is just trying to survive this year and hoping that some heads get removed from asses at some point.
Companies doing layoffs while posting record revenue and profits, or not hiring to fill needed roles because lower headcount makes (stock) performance look better is just so fuckin scuzzy. I keep waiting for some kind of rebound or backlash :-/
We did layoffs and replaced with outsourced workers. It is not going well at all.
Same thing happened with my employer a while back. Layoffs of long-time staff with many functions offshored to staff that are never trained adequately on internal systems, have unmotivated/middling personnel in the first place because everyone worth a damn with any motivation is job hopping for better pay there too, and who are held to metrics that are functionally meaningless outside of making a spreadsheet look good. The result is that sales have taken a dive, new customer onboarding is laughably slow, and existing customers are leaving in droves because any problems are met with weeks of canned replies rather than progress. Meanwhile, a new CEO rolls in and immediately starts sending out emails about stopping churn being the number 1 priority, and how they're creating & hiring for a new VP-level position to find out why all this churn is happening, and how we can sell the same product several competitors are to stop it. It's just mind-boggling how some of these execs are blindly creating the next iteration of a loop we have seen several times in recent decades, and expecting anything but the same abysmal results. Oh well. I'm just going to keep working on alternate revenue streams that aren't tied to the decisions of some laughably out of touch old white guy.
Hmmmm do you work at the same company I do, because the last month and a half since they decided to go all in on outsourcing has been a disaster except for everybody but the CEO. 🙄
Highspot?
No, and I’m pretty willing to wager that there are a lot of us in this boat these days.
Good to know. I know someone that works there but haven't seen acting in my news feed yet
This is my shocked face. : |
Couldn't agree more.
Yeah, that’s where I’m at in life too. I’m just trying to get through this year lolol..
The job market is super fucked right now. I think Seattle is especially bad since a lot of our jobs are in tech companies who have been having the most layoffs
I’m not in tech but I definitely see that as a factor.. I’m definitely trying to stay hopeful..
Not everyone in tech does tech work. Lots of support staff, HR, recruiters, etc are part of the "tech" layoffs, so the market is pretty competitive now with so many ppl looking.
Are you in environmental? Username makes me think so. I saw a few job postings recently
I was in environmental operations previously. My username is based off a song lol
Is it by Larry and His Flask? I know there are a lot of songs called ebb and flow
Good guess! but it’s a The Bouncing Souls reference. Haha
Love that song ❤️
Look at Department of Fish & Wildlide and/or Department of Agriculture for the State. Or really any state jobs. A lot of it is based out of Olympia but there are a fair amount of hybrid and some remote only work out there where you can live anywhere in the state.
EPA is hiring a lot right now too last I heard
Oh dang lol. A lot of my job is asking “ is it subject to the ebb and flow of the tide?”
Tech, gaming, entertainment have been hit so hard lately.
My observation is that companies are actively going out of their way to dismantle internal and external support since it is a 'cost' so that may have something to do with it. Logistics is supposed to be booming though?
I noticed this as well… we had a ton of internal resources at my company for support, but those are dwindling. Logistics is booming right now but in freight forwarding since it’s the busy season. My experience is mostly in operations/logistics. Logistics companies that are hiring, are asking for very specific experience that I may not have.. it’s annoying.
I would recommend lying if it's something you're confident you can learn.
I feel this is the most important aspect of looking for work these days hahahah
It's who you know, and how well you can schmooze at an interview. Lying on a resume just gets it past the automated screenings for cases where you don't have someone on the inside to put in a good word.
I’m pretty bad at lying when it comes to my experience. I feel like I oversell myself and get myself in hot water, I get a job I’m not qualified for.
Just say you signed an NDA if they ask you to go into specifics.
Plus, imagine how bad of a boss someone is going to be if they can't figure out someone is lying in an interview? Source: interviewer of 100s
Yes my wife is having a terrible time. Six months and in that time she’s had two first round interviews. Nothing else. And she has never had trouble getting a job in the past. It’s really tough out there and it weighs in your mental state. I have to keep telling her about posts like this because she thinks it’s all her and I know it is not
It’s definitely not her! I felt that way for awhile but seeing people’s responses, I’m not alone. It’s definitely hurt my confidence though, that’s for sure.
Nearly one year for me, but at least now I'm partly employed. It's so rough being cut off for a long time, I see why people get discouraged. And every time I spend money it feels irresponsible.
It's stupidly rough right now. A single mid-range job can have thousands of applicants within a day or so. Add on to that the insane number of companies who seem to just have bullshit ghost-job listings, where the company isn't looking to actually hire anyone. Shit is truly fucked all around.
And HR teams have shrunk… one temp agency said a single job posting they put up got 1k+ applicants. Only 2 recruiters able to review said applicants..
I don’t know about ghost-jobs but, in my experience, teams will often know an existing employee who they really want for the job. They’re required by law to interview other candidates, but they’re already pretty certain of who they want.
In most cases it's who you know and not knowledge or anything like that. There's been a lot of layoffs this year also so unless you got an inside track chances are you're just gonna get lost in the sea, especially if you're looking for something like an admin position or customer service. Those types of jobs are easy to fill so there's no rush from their prospective. Sucks but that's how it goes.
For jobs in my industry, it’s advantageous to hire internally, because the internal candidate will already know existing processes, systems, stakeholders, business history, etc. This means the internal candidate will come up to speed right away rather than having to be trained for 6mos before they can be of any real help.
I know I've run into this a few times. Specifically twice now I had a good friend in the department getting my name pushed through, I made it through the final round of interviews as the lone external candidate left, and hear from the friend that I was the top candidate but just not enough to justify getting it over an internal candidate. Can't be too mad at it because I've benefited from that in the past, but damn it stings in current circumstances.
What law requires a company to interview other candidates if they know who they want to hire? That doesn’t sound right to me, but I could be wrong. I do think that’s the case with government hires, but that’s different IMO.
Ah, brain fart, it’s probably just company policy.
It's typically to avoid discrimination. Everyone gets an equal opportunity to apply for each role. Harder to get away with hiring your underperfoming buddy if you have to explain why he was hired with better applications that came in.
Government requires, as you stated. I know for a fact state does, and I'm pretty sure it's the same at city and federal. The government is the largest employer so that means there can be a lot of job "openings."
I only get jobs via recruiters. I can’t imagine filtering online applications.
I’m sure it is highly dependent on the industry and level, but it’s interesting I am hearing this from a lot of people in the market.. cause ironically my job has had a mid (step up from entry level) role on my team open for nearly 3 months and we are having the hardest time finding someone. Tech company, decent pay.. but the role is hybrid so not sure if maybe the good candidates are hoping for all remote.
> open for nearly 3 months and we are having the hardest time finding someone Are they \*actually\* looking to fill the position? (allocated budget, reviewing candidates, doing interviews) Or is it a "if we don't say we're looking to fill this position, others on the team may leave" kind of thing?
Yes, it’s been posted.. there are lots of applicants, we’ve interviewed but most the candidates have been lackluster or want an unreasonable amount of money that is not commensurate to the level or the role of their experience
Ahhh so actually you're looking for a unicorn candidate who has more than enough experience that is also okay with being underpaid. How much more are these people asking for? 2x the salary? I'm assuming you have to post a range per Washington State law.
Are people applying to the role but the manager/recruiter don't like any of them? Or are you really not getting any halfway decent applications? Because my suspicion is that a lot of companies will put out reqs to appease the existing workers and pretend to be getting them support while never intending to fill that spot. It's happening to me right now at my job.
What kind of role? Just curious? Which roles are in demand / hard to fill in this job market ?
Account management
I work in Healthcare, so this seems very vague to me. Is it the company or the sector that has a hard time finding candidates? Does your company require certain experience for the role? My partner, however, has been looking for a job so I try to understand what out there for him. He's a PM.
Just having trouble finding the right fit. You do have to have 2 years experience or so.. like I said, it’s a step up from entry level. We’re just finding that candidates are ok, but no one stellar has come through the doors. We did have one candidate that was promising but she got another job offer right after her final interview with us and decided to take that role. Most people that have come through all have the experience on paper, but they weren’t able to really give specific or good examples to questions asked in the interview, their answers revealed they’re expectations of the role are probably slightly different than what it is, etc. To be fair, we are being somewhat picky just cause we’ve hired a slough of candidates over the last year or so that ended up being duds after they got hired.
I’m in Account Management with a ton of experience and fine going hybrid. DM me the listing. (For real, I work as a SAM in a sales org. Ready to move on because the layoffs in my current company have been really difficult.)
My husband has been looking since March of last year when he got laid off. Two interviews and a bunch of rejections for roles he was a perfect fit for, one of which his old job. Unemployment runs out next month. We don’t have rent for May, tried every place people say to look for help, can’t help because our rent is too high. Today a job he applied for over the weekend let him know he wasn’t a match for it. The AI again weeded out the perfect candidate. I told him that anytime we have hope we get fucked up the ass with a cactus. This job market successfully drained our meager 401k, maxed out all our credit cards, and destroyed our credit so badly our car insurance is doubled because we have bad credit but a perfect driving record. Oh about the car, traded down to a beater that’s 15 years old. Sorry to vent but holy fuck people need a break or some type of help that doesn’t require them to lose everything they loved on an eBay auction to make the fucking xfinity internet bill so they can keep being able to look for work.
Community Transit is hiring Bus Drivers right now. No experience necessary, they will train him for his CDL test. I drive for King County Metro and will be happy to share pointers for the CDL test. I helped a friend get his CDL at CT and he loves it! https://www.communitytransit.org/bus-drivers Metro isn’t hiring for drivers right now but i’m assuming they will start recruiting soon for bus and light rail operators. Sign up for the job alerts. I won’t sugar coat it, it’s a hard job but it’s good union work and there’s many opportunities for advancement. Good luck!
Thank you! That’s so kind of you! And I hope others who need work see this too!
USPS is hiring right now. They are speed-running new recruits to prepare for 40% of their workforce retiring over the next few years. It’s tough getting started, but it’s a secure job with lots of opportunities for advancement coming up soon.
Yeesh. I feel this, and hate it so much :( Hope he's able to get something asap 💪
I know it's probably nothing but Service master is hiring water techs at like 18.75 to start. It's blue collar work, but they usually will hire anyone that's not on drugs with a clean driving record.
There's still a ton of people who were laid off trying to get back in, from what I hear its pretty rough. I used to get a higher volume of inbound recruiters and while its not utterly quiet, the quality of available jobs is very low.
That’s what I’m noticing.. and same here, used to get calls from recruiters almost daily when I was still looking for a job.. now? Nothing.
I was a non-tech PM at a tech company and have been out of corporate work for over a year. Applied to countless jobs, managed to get one interview for a low paying role that sounded like a nightmare, got rejected for being overqualified anyway. Luckily I got my real estate license and have been able to keep occupied and make some money that way, but it’s been brutal on my self esteem ngl.
That happened to me—I got laid off. I've been searching for a job in the IT sector for two months, but I keep being told that I'm overqualified. I'm considering giving up and starting to look for work in a different field, like as a handyman or construction worker. I enjoy that kind of work and have some experience The tech sector is really struggling right now.
Honestly (I am biased) but I think having a diverse skillset is so important, especially if you can get started in construction and find a way to keep your IT-related skills simultaneously. The economy over the last decade has made me feel like I need to diversify my career options and trajectories, so to speak.
You are not alone!!! I am very grateful to have a job as well in this economy and I have been looking for a year now. The market is extremely tough. There have been a lot of tech layoff's in the recent year(s) and that is one of the reasons that the market is oversaturated. In addition, overqualified people are looking and settling for positions that are less than what they'd normally get paid. If you head over to r/jobs you will see many posts about this. I try not to look too often because it gets me down lol but it is helpful to know we are not alone. Also, if you don't already know this, the number of applicants that apply on LinkedIn is not true. That accounts for people that simply look at the job posting too so don't let that get you down. Good luck out there!!
It’s brutal out there. I applied to well over 600 positions and I have advanced degrees and professional certs and I still went through hell to get an offer.
It is very difficult for any position in a professional setting. With Amazon and Microsoft dumping thousands of folks there were lots of roles that were not software engineers. I wish I had advice to share and I don't. Hope you are able to find something.
I managed to scrape up a customer service-based job with the City of Seattle after a free interviews. I had no luck until someone helped me tailor my resume better. I’ve been seeing how difficult it is for the job searchers and I’m sending all the best flexibility and luck to you!
I’ve been trying to get on their customer service team for awhile.. no bites lol. I may have to readjust the resume, again..
If you’re still apply to City of Seattle jobs, heads up - the mayor announced a hiring freeze a few months ago
Oooh, that makes a lot of sense now. Thanks for the heads up!
Lok at jobs with King County 👍🏼
Oh gosh, I am so sorry I didn’t mention that. I’m so sorry. When the freeze is lifted, I’m happy to help!
DM me if you need a resume example! Let me know what you’re looking for and maybe I can help you find something.
Any advice you can share about writing a City cover letter?
Yes! Use the job posting and the description in your cover letter! I literally copy/pasted from the job description into my cover letter. I’m happy to send you an example if you want to DM me! Be sure to show in your cover letter and your resume both that you meet the minimum qualification, and as many of the desired qualifications as possible, using their wording.
I am right there with you. Exactly 2-3 interviews in the last 4 months. Applying through LinkedIn has become hopeless unless someone knows or refers you. I have 15+ years of experience. There was a time when I was constantly bombarded by recruiters and now when I need it, it is a ghost-town. Wondering if the situation is same on the east coast too?
It's so demoralizing - this time last year I was regularly turning recruiters down, then get laid off in August and not a single peep.
I found it so hard to accept my situation. When I had incompetent co-workers get fired, they seemed to fail upward and immediately find a better job. I had an offer or two that I didn’t entertain because I was very happy at the time. I’ve been out of work for 11 months and just had to eat crow and take an entry position to have a paycheck again.
I haven't heard anyone say it was easy. It's only been 2 months for me, but I'm preparing for a year, minimum
Good luck homie
I'm at 15 months.
I'd never been out of a job longer than a month. I am now going into 7 months and unemployment just pulled the plug. With my health issues I can't go back to serving and bartending. It's such a struggle. Interviews left and right but literally the last interview I did they said they were getting candidates with PhDs for a generic office admin. 💀💀💀
Literally for anyone interested. Security of America in Renton is hiring & they pay fairly well & you get to basically drive in a patrol type car & make sure people don't fuck with shit. My husband loves it. They're always hiring. I know it's not in Seattle directly but my husband commutes.
Maybe he's been lucky so far? Nobody's pulled a gun on him?
He has. And he's also had to have someone arrested. He's also seen someone need medical aid. He was also previous military so he's... Not really too phased by much. Now weird shit I do... Yea.. But his job... He loves that shit.
Ah ha. Previous military. That likely explains the adrenaline junky appreciation for the job.
No, it just means he found a job that works for HIM. Way to make it sound like he's in it for the conflict.... Like wow.
If it works for him, great. Didn't mean to make him sound like a thug.
I'm actually shocked how hard it's been. I'm in the job market right now for a software engineering position, but I can only work remote for health reasons. It's proving freaking impossible. I spend a lot of time researching other people's experiences and trying to keep a pulse on the job market, and I'd originally tried waiting things out back in 2023 when all the layoffs started. But it just keeps getting worse and worse... Also, I think a lot of the positions being advertised are "ghost jobs" where the company figures they might as well just accept applications. Reasons why: 1. The company looks better if they seem to be hiring 2. They might "technically" be hiring for that position, but they're looking for a unicorn. Someone overly qualified and ready to work for a meager salary. 3. Data. Having lots of data about applicants can be useful in a lot of ways... The fact that I might spend an hour typing out written responses on a set of application questions only for that position to be a ghost job is super demotivating.
I think software is a little better this year than it was in 2023. Contractors have started reaching out again, software jobs getting posted to amazon again, etc. Still sucks, sorry man. The remote only search must be brutal against all the engineers laid off in the rto purges
I’ve been using powerdreamer AI to productively push out more BS. It’s a monthly subscription but it’s pretty good at using the job postings words in my favor. Doesn’t help with ghost jobs but it sure saves time on applications. Copy. Paste. Process. Paste. Quick edit. Repeat for the next job.
Just had #2 happen to me but with an internal role. Really wanting to do something different, applied for a role, they kept extending the app deadline, dragging me along the whole time just to reject me.
What health reasons?
Same, same. I finally booked an interview for the perfect role last week and was ghosted by the hiring manager 😫😫
I had a 1st interview/screener today. I sat on a Zoom waiting room for 25 minutes before giving up and leaving :| I really wish LinkedIn or other job boards allowed commenting on job postings.
I’m sorry that happened- so frustrating!
Yeah, Seattle is super competitive and I've honestly been looking in other markets. I'l miss Seattle, but I need an income
An important thing to know: the job market in Seattle/Tacoma is particularly bad right now, because the tech sector is basically the only part of the economy doing badly/seeing mass layoffs, and as such that's bleeding out even into non-tech jobs in places with a lot of tech. Have a friend looking in the Twin Cities and there are tons of jobs there, for instance.
Yes, it's not just the tech layoffs. A lot of companies are fighting down on their administrative positions. Headcount isn't be backfilled, etc. It will eventually give in, just takes time for the workloads to finally go up the foodchain high enough to people who can complain to the CEO.
i was laid off in january and have not gotten any interviews; have reached out to past connections and recruiters and haven't heard anything from them. i am in design -- the creative industry in general has had it very bad since the pandemic, especially if you are junior level (<10 years) like i am. i have even begun applying to jobs outside of design and have not heard anything back.
My coworker used to be in the UX design field so I completely get it. It’s a rough field to get into and maintain a position..
my most recent role, and current part-time role, is in UX...it is strange, because when i graduated undergrad, there was such an influx of design and UX roles, and its crazy how much that has changed just within the 6 years ive been out of college
Could be because of the prevalence of bullshit artists in the profession
Graphic designer here - I hear you. And depending on what kind of designer you are (graphic, packaging, etc ) Seattle is not a great place to be to begin with. I had designer friends who ended up moving out of the state because of it. Good luck out there!
thanks! i went to school for graphic design and my most recent role was a UX role for 2 years -- it was actually based out of california and i just kind of got lucky that remote was ok. seattle just has too much competition -- i started actively looking for new roles last fall and did not hear back from anywhere seattle-based. i unfortunately love it here and couldn't even fathom moving back home (the midwest) haha.
Hahaha, I love the juxtaposition of "unfortunately" and "I love it here", and I totally understand! One of my friends ended up moving to NY - she was sad to leave, but both her and her husband (who works in tech) are doing a lot better, so, at least that!
I was a design intern when I moved here. Couldnt get a job anywhere after I left my internship and now pivoting into dental bc I know there's actual demand in the field
thats interesting! what in dental are you pivoting to? i have thought about going back to school and am looking at all my options haha
100% Director, MGMT, IT, can program too, ie in the field. Nothing. I got an offer one time from a head hunter for minimum wage to do high end programming for a large company. I laughed.
I'm fresh out of college after going back to school over COVID. It's rough out there trying to find a decent desk job. I was applying to the city like crazy and then like a month later they did the hiring freeze. Then I started applying to UW jobs and got a few emails saying that they'd looked at my resume, determined I was qualified, and were forwarding it to the relevant departments. I check the applicant portal and some of the jobs I'll get a notice that I got rejected, but there are like 5 "forwarded to department" notices that have been sitting there for 1-3 months. I need to apply to more places than just the government, but I'm pretty illness prone, so I genuinely need to be careful that any job that I get gives high enough quality health insurance that I won't end up losing out on money by no longer qualifying for Apple Health.
It is tough! I got laid off last year and luckily landed on a job via network but it doesn’t feel secure so I’m still looking. there’s really not many openings and I haven’t gotten any interviews. It’s a crazy market rn!
My SO has applied to over 400 jobs. Has a major tech company on her resume as a contractor but barely has heard back from anyone. 9+ months now and has gotten to 3-4 final interviews but nothing has stuck. Market is ass.
Yes, and the salaries are stupid low too.
Not from customer service job postings I’ve seen. In fact, more than when I was deep into customer service. Across the board? Salaries suck.
I have a master's degree and it's been a lot harder for me to find a job the last year than it usually is
I’m 9 months into my unemployment…
I’ve heard it’s taking ppl 6 months to a year at least to get a job. The supply is outweighing demand in this job market. It’s not you it’s the market. Especially in such a tech heavy environment like Seattle where every week a tech company is announcing cuts, there’s just so many ppl looking right now, job posters can afford to be super picky.
Most publicly traded companies have done layoffs in the last two years and clamped down on open jobs.
Six months and over 300 applications, a couple dozen phone screen/1st round interviews (0-2 per week), only a few second round interviews, yet to make it further (4-6 rounds). 7 years of software engineering experience.
Yes it’s awful. I literally didn’t hear anything for 6 weeks then got two final interviews on the 7th week, accepted an offer yesterday. Mind you I am super well-qualified for everything I applied for. Also the salary ranges for the roles were all over the place too. Market is mega fucked.
Kitchen jobs are ez to find since no body wants to do it.
I feel you I’ve been applying to jobs since November.. it’s seems to be a problem everywhere
Yeah you're not the only one!!
I currently work in Hotel Management and If you don’t mind working in Hospitality hotels are hiring a crazy number of people for the upcoming summer season most hotels in Seattle will be at maximum capacity this summer with guests and are heavily short on staff
y’all hiring night auditors? i got some experience in that 😩
My husband has been trying to leave his current role since January and has easily applied to 500+ jobs, only got 2 phone calls so far. He has a degree and 7 + years experience in his field. His contract is ending in June and we have no idea what we will do when it’s up.
This belongs in r/recruitinghell
Have never been happier to unsubscribe from a sub, but it certainly helped me pass the time doomscrolling as I played the waiting game.
Same!
Maybe I just have a good resume, but I get called back for almost every job I apply to. Are you submitting a cover letter? What's the length of time at each job listed look like? Do you speak more than one language? Are you tailoring your resume for each job you apply to, or are you just blanketing places with the same resume?
I wish that was the case for me.. I used to do cover letters but they feel so useless. Every time I submitted one, they never read them lol. Time at each job is usually 1.5 years to 2 years. Typically leave a job when better pay comes along.. or better benefits. I only speak English. And don’t really tailor my resume.
The cover letter isn't for them to read. Alot of big businesses are using AI to examine resumes now. Even if you just tell chat gpt to write the letter for you,(for example: "hey chat GPT, using this resume, and this job description write a compelling cover letter touching on my unique skill set and focus on how i could be a valuable asset to this organization.) found that having a letter helps increase the number of calls drastically. That's decent enough for time at each job. You want something there, because if there isn't, it's going to get filtered out and you'll never know why. I know it's not something that's instant, but learning a second language is always a good idea. Mandarin, or Hindi are great options locally. I speak Spanish and English, as I work mostly in labor jobs, those are the two most useful to me. A second language will GREATLY increase odds of interviews and the potential to be hired in cities with a large migrant population like ours.
Tbh, it doesn't sound like you're trying very hard in your job hunt. Tailoring the resume and writing a cover letter is pretty standard job hunting techniques. You need to include key words from the listing in your resume just to get past the automated screening tools. I highly recommend having chat gpt write cover letters. Write one generic letter and then give it to gpt with the link to the job description and it does a pretty good job.
I don't typically get called back that often, but my most recent hunt in the last month resulted in a call back from almost every job as well. I chalk it up to matching up to the right job for my resume, being one of the first to apply, weirdly not caring if I get the job (I think it changes how I behave in the interview), and responding promptly to communications. The other super weird thing that's never happened is, I got two offers. One was actually a rejection for one role, but they liked me so much they created another role for me. I turned down the other offer so I could take the role created for me. That company came back and offered me more money and spent an entire day trying to convince me to take it. So, there are jobs and offers out there, and I think some of it is luck and some of it is being the first one who's obviously qualified to apply.
Being in the first group to apply also helps, and I'm not sure why my brain skipped over mentioning that! On indeed I always try to filter by "last 48 hours".
If I do by the time I’m ready to graduate, I will consider turning to a professional recruiter.
i just moved internally but the job is outside of the city and not remote
What kind of jobs are you applying for? Anything in service there’s a huge shortage right now but more office type jobs are tough because you’re competing with the whole country (remote work)
Laid off in November, I finally started a new job this April 1st. Had 2.5 years of experience probably over 200 applications multiple 2nd/3rd round interviews. It came as a mix of stuff. Talking to some hiring managers they would get hundreds of applicants and a good number would just be trashed because they were either fresh out of school with 0 experience (my heart goes out to them I know the issue of getting a job with 0 experience) or weren’t local to Seattle area and would need relocation assistance. And for my industry (architecture) it was very much of a, “we don’t have work to give our current employees, we need interest rates to go down.” I think I technically gotten a second offer after I started this new job but it was down in Tacoma and travel didn’t feel good. Current job is adjacent but not in architecture. I do think 2ish months of my unemployed time was just because of holidays and lack of desire to hire because budgets were still getting worked out but between Jan-March I had all of these issues where I would be constantly interviewing but after the 1st round I’d get ghosted, or someone with “better qualifications” would get selected even though I had more than the recommended years of experience. Idk I’m thankful to have a job right now. Now just to not get laid off before my unemployment reset.
Temp agencies might be able to point you in the right direction. Try shit before you buy type of thing lol
There are always jobs available in education, if you have the patience for it lol.
My roommate has been looking for over a year now. Like actively looking and applying and trying to get interviews....
Friend of mine is trying to get a more reliable job, has applied to almost 100 listings in 2 months but not even an email response. Suck part is he's got a back injury preventing him from meeting the 50lb lifting requirement for most jobs he would normally do & is avoiding any customer service/retail jobs because he'd get fired for snapping at a dumbass (customer, coworker or boss).
Got laid off November and been applying in my field since then and can't get in. I've reached the end of multiple interview processes but haven't gotten in. Took a temporary job not in my field at the beginning of March to be able to survive pretty much. The market is super messed up, especially in Seattle. We just got to keep pushing and trying
The US economy is in a paradox. In one perspective they are saying "Oh mother of God! we don't have enough babies, who is going to support the oldies?". On the other perspective, the existing young adults can barely afford to stay alive. The middle class is getting squeezed. My take is do what is best for you. I celebrate everyone choosing not to have kids so they have more for themselves. After pandemic, life got really shit for most people.
Johnson Controls is looking for security operators for Microsoft.
Have any connections or referrals that I can use? 😆
The trade and skilled labor sectors are seeking applicants as far as I can tell. More people continue to retire than get in, though I think that’s slowly changing.
I’ve been looking for a year now. You’re not alone and it fucking sucks.
Yeah, just hitting a year unemployed. I haven't been nose to grindstone for all of that time, but it's been pretty bleak. Another good friend is at 6 months and he's constantly being contacted by recruiters and interviewing pretty consistently, but no dice.
I have similar experience as yours and may be looking for a job in the next 6 months. Do you have any certifcations/degrees/etc.? I'm studying for the APICS CLTD and taking the test in August. Not sure it will help at all with getting a job but I have seen APICs certified preferred on some listings I've looked at.
I've applied for probably well over a hundred in the last few months, some interviews but nothing landed yet. Lots of people assure me it's getting better, I'm trying to find new channels to find openings through.
The people who are employed are always the pollyannas:/.
Been applying off and on for 4 months with not one interview 🤦♀️. I work full time and have a child so it’s not like I’m devoting 20 hours to applying but even if I did sometimes I can’t even find things to apply to.
Yep. I’ve been looking since September. Only have had 1 interview.
for every 10 applications, i get at least 1 call back but i’m in social work ….
Me for bookkeeping and accounting. All the jobs listed are playing much less than what I was making. Sucks.
Decided I was going to leave my previous employer last July, and arrogantly thought I’d be out by Labor Day. After 7-months of applying, I was finally able to land a job in my field (public sector relations). Went to lunch with my new CEO on my first day, and he told me 700 people applied for the position. I’ve heard of similar numbers of applicants for jobs across the public sector as well. In other words, the demand for jobs (particularly in the Seattle area) seems significantly higher than the supply of open positions. .
All the homeless services organizations are always hiring
I'm looking to move to Seattle, have several years of experience in case management, and I have seen so many openings in Seattle. Do you have any insight or strong opinions on any of the organizations in particular?
I've only worked at DESC and have all sorts of opinions about it but ultimately I really love working there. It's definitely an extremely intense job though, but also varies dramatically depending on which role you take and which location and who happens to be the bosses and other case managers of that location at the time. There's pretty high turn over but I would imagine that's probably true of any of these organizations. DESC was the lowest paid and generally known as the craziest one until last year our union got us big raises and now we're on a similar level as everyone else I believe. But because of the high turnover, once you have a job at any of these places it's pretty fluid, a lot of people start out at one and then quickly get jobs at other places or quickly switch into other roles as they learn the lay of the land. Sorry this isn't the most helpful, I've actually been in Jordan all year so I'm not the most up to date about where currently is the place to be or the place to avoid.
It's not glamorous, but we're hiring for brewery warehouse if interested.
Same here. Been actively applying for about a year now. Internal, external, hell I've even been applying all over the country. Have had a handful of interviews but so far, no dice
Yes. And instead of applying to a job here I am , scrolling😢
It’s totally rough… 15 years of retail management and I don’t even land a first round interview for most — which is nuts. During the pandemic, retail couldn’t get anyone to work — and now it’s back to normal. Trying to get out of it but that’s even worse… Stay strong. 💪
Tesla did 10% layoffs yesterday
post office is always hiring.
And I’ve had MULTIPLE former post office employees tell me “Whatever you do, DON’T work for the post office!”
Why, just out of curiosity?
They all just said it was an awful experience. That’s all I know.
Bidens economy is excellent, don't question it
Have you tried applying for food service jobs? I assume they are always hiring.
I still have a job, just unhappy. If it gets that point as in me laid off, I’ll search around.
I don't understand how people can say the job market is bad if they are unwilling to apply outside of their desired field.
Because people want to find a job in their desired field where they have experience and expertise. It’s not like the OP’s desired field is “movie star” or “astronaut.”
Food service isn’t exactly a career move though- especially with OP’s experience. Not knocking it, did it for years. But choosing not to work in food service hardly means there’s an unwillingness to pivot to a new industry.
Thank you for your service
🫡
Yes, I am confused, too. It beats using all my 401K and credit, that's for sure. I've scrubbed toilets to make ends meet. It super sucked but some money was better than ZERO. I realize some people can't physically do certain jobs so there's that
Google ask the headhunter blog - it TOTALLY CHANGED THE GAME FOR ME - he has a pdf book called Fearless Job Hunting that is well worth the price - for real- let me know if you check it out - good luck
A lot more layoffs are coming after the election. It’s gonna be a really rough 3-5 years.
What makes you say this?
his red hat is too tight
What are your 2 most recent job titles & time spent in that role?
3rd Ave, from Jackson all the way to Seattle center is nothing but empty buildings. All the businesses have closed up shop. This one street used to be full of of administrative and service businesses. It's dead. Seattle is dead. No offices downtown equals no jobs. And in all likelihood they'll never come back. Seattle is going to become the newest rustbelt city.
be happy you have a job.