Why You Get Rejected From Jobs You "Perfectly" Qualify For.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

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[@LowGrowl]

I emailed you on your website a month or so ago and never got a response. I also reached out to connect with you on LinkedIn with no response either. I'm sure you get a ton but thought I'd mention it.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

@@LowGrowl I get 100s of questions emailed to me each day and I've found myself getting burned out in the past trying to keep up with them all. So to maintain my own mental health, I rarely check emails on LinkedIn. If you submitted a coaching request through my site and my team hasn't gotten back to you, I'll look into that though. Please resubmit and I'll make sure they follow up.

[@LowGrowl]

@@ALifeAfterLayoff I understand. Not a problem.

[@suprizeSideACA]

Is there anything about being mistaken for a kid because of my voice or youthful look when I can enter a bar with my id

[@jackcarraway4707]

Jobs believe it or not have little to nothing to do with "qualifications"; it mostly boils down to whether the interviewer likes you or not.

[@johnpastore7685]

Yes, that is true

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

Qualifications get you in the door. How well you interview determines if you land the offer.

[@overtremendouslyblah]

No it has to do with with who you know before even going to an interview. The easiest way to get a job is to know people in power

[@johnpastore7685]

Sometimes it is

[@johnpastore7685]

@@overtremendouslyblah Maybe, but not always the case

[@szczurman83]

I remember laughing really hard reading a story of a man who applied for some sort of software development job or whatnot. The hiring manager demanded that they have someone with 5-10 years of experience in a specific development process. The man who was applying was the one who created and patented said process 2 years before. He was rejected. It's awesome dealing with hiring staff who have zero knowledge about what things they're hiring for.

[@elizabethclarke4981]

yep, thats one of the main issues of the hiring process, makes you wonder how they themselves got the job

[@joshw5559]

I applied for a job managing a specific project, I had a PhD from developing a similar process and experience of teaching how to do these processes to individuals. Hit every requirement. I was in the middle of the salary band for the role. Just really wanted to work at this company. I didn’t even get a call back, didn’t make the basic screening. Honestly no idea who they had better 😂.

[@sarrjel]

Most of the time the HR people don't know what they're looking for to hire someone. I re-applied at a lawncare company and I was friends with a co-worker who became the leading manager in charge of the employee and hiring . I learned later he wasn't in charge of the hiring and that the company itself decided to put two 20 year old girls in charge of hiring employees and they have no experience in lawncare or the process of pushing a 80 pound spreader or 250 pound aerator and just advertised that you'll have to lift 50 pound bags of granular. The whole interviewing process was a circus. I had to download a software on my tablet called members because I had a flip phone that couldn't download the program because the company only hires people that have I-phones that can do video calls. I complained to the manager about what was going on and that I was turned down for the job and I wasn't given a reason and I told her that I had 3 years of lawncare experience and I was still turned down and he was shocked and upset and I apologized because I wanted to help and wanted to come back. I left on good terms but apparently that wasn't good enough.

[@ebinrock]

If someone creates and patents something, screw job seeking! That person should be running a business.

[@ShikokuFoodForest]

@@sarrjel If I we’re you, don’t waste your time looking for work as an under-paid employee - start your own business!

[@TwoP-o8q]

It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know that gets you the job. Sad, but true.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

100% accurate. Especially in today's job market. (hint: work on your targeted networking!)

[@johnpastore7685]

@@ALifeAfterLayoff Sometimes

[@interestedbystander196]

Well that is certainly true earlier in your career. "It's not _what_ you know; it's _who_ you know" and all that. But then once your career is established and you have a track record and reputation, it becomes less about who _you_ know. It is more about who knows _you..._

[@grygaming5519]

@@ALifeAfterLayoff Whatever happen to meritocracy, it died as soon as some VP's son needed a job in order "to stay out of trouble".

[@DidiGrooves]

Who you know and who you allow to penetrate your body cavities.

[@BridgetsAnimalHouse]

The crazy thing is if hiring managers were looking for a job and there’s unrealistic “wish lists” they would be frustrated. People have no compassion. Landing a job these days is literally winning the lottery. I recently applied for a job and I was a perfect fit. I received an automated rejection within two hours. Absolutely ridiculous!

[@LathropLdST]

They already have the person, and it's not you.

[@overtremendouslyblah]

​@@LathropLdSTyeah it's probably a relative of theirs

[@jennifertarin4707]

I've received automated rejections literal minutes after applying

[@kamilb1729]

It's the Luciferian Ai beast system. You're a good human. Can't have that around. Need drones.

[@dhenderson1810]

​@@timah9420 I think some employers and hiring managers have a God complex and get off on making candidates jump through hoops and like that they hold people's futures in their hands.

[@dhenderson1810]

I am now at the stage where I no longer expect to get any job. I just keep applying and hope for the best.

[@TheGoodShepherd117]

Hang in there we are in the same boat my friend.

[@ebinrock]

At this rate, society should probably move to a moneyless state a la Star Trek, but it'll never happen...

[@picklerix6162]

I expect to get rejected for every job but sometimes the guy interviewing you is smarter than the average bear and he sees something that others don’t. That’s how I got my last job and my new employer is very happy with my work.

[@ebinrock]

@@picklerix6162 And sometimes you're the 2nd choice after the 1st person turns down the offer for paying too low or for another reason. This happened to me twice, but being informed of that by coworkers is quite demoralizing.

[@Anthonyk747]

I feel ya man. I'm 32 and I've never in my life had a W2 job. Not Part-Time, not Temporary, not Full-Time. Contract/1099? Yes. W2? No. The worst part is that if you explain your job history, for some reason, they frown (sometimes literally) upon the idea of someone working odd jobs, being a Freelance/1099 Contract worker, and then I don't get the W2 Full-Time, Consistent, Reliable job that I applied for. It's a total catch-22.

[@mattbross6517]

Applied for a job five weeks ago, got the rejection email today after zero interviews. And I will not dole out any more money to career coaches and consultants like yourself when the recruiting process is broken beyond repair. Good qualified people should not have to exercise acts of futility trying to adapt to a broken and corrupt system.

[@ericcarson342]

Exactly. So many of these career coaches every where. I am not forking over any more money either. Crazy.

[@user-cc5od3zk4p]

I never have and never will. Being unemployed means no extra money to give.

[@LBio2]

Great points! However, I still think companies are extremely rude when not responding with a letter of denial. That's the least they should do so applicants don't have to wait o on baited breath

[@dhenderson1810]

They could just send a group e-mail.

[@DrunkenUFOPilot]

Companies that tell me they're going with other candidates go on my "good" list. I may send another resume for some other position later. If I never hear from a company I've applied to (directly not via Indeed or anything) they go on my "bad" list and I won't apply to them again even if they have a great job opening next year.

[@TheNeXTGUI]

There is a reason for this. Employers are avoiding any scenario where someone could make a claim for hiring discrimination.

[@jtowensbyiii6018]

@@TheNeXTGUI fuck them, they need sued and removed, shit needs to be dealt with not swept under the rug

[@MrBrewman95]

1. Internal applicant is selected. 2. Req is cancelled because they no longer need it. 3. Department is scaling back on headcount and that is a common early sign of a layoff.

[@vl4n7684zt]

4. The candidate is not the same demographic as the hiring manager.

[@Keri1986]

@@vl4n7684zthappened to me. And it was demoralizing

[@shermanngjazz]

I endured the fake job postings twice. I went through those interviews (multiple rounds btw) yet after those 2nd/3rd round interviews those companies ghosted me. A month later, those companies said they suspended those job postings.

[@emdumont]

What you are describing about managers is one of the greatest issues in business today: managers who were never trained to recruit, hire, manage and develop humans. Recent studies put the number of managers not trained or prepared to manage people at around 70%. This leads to the kind of ridiculaous narrow hiring practice that you described.

[@phoenixmythics]

these pipeline reqs...when people are looking for job, they need the job now.... not 6 months later, a year later...

[@gothgirlatheart3545]

This is the worst feeling wver

[@JohnDretired]

They already know who they want and the "hiring process" is just for show.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

In some cases, yes.

[@scottybones]

Gf has been getting emails "you're not qualified" emails MINS after applying so you knows it's an bullshit job, and they just stole your data

[@earthwormscrawl]

I've been "due diligence" in the past when they had someone else already decided to get the job. I've also been the one who is already decided to get the job, but was outright told that they need to hold off while they interview the required three other people.

[@PaulH581]

@@earthwormscrawl A high profile hospital administrator position in my area became vacant years ago. It was common knowledge that they were going to hire an internal employee to the position. This large teaching hospital not only went through the process of interviewing other candidates, they flew in multiple out of state candidates to interview knowing the entire time they weren’t going to hire them. They hired that internal guy after all of this interviewing. It was a complete waste of time and resources. It’s embarrassing.

[@attorneycarissa]

@@JohnDretired this.

[@sarrjel]

When I worked in a coupler factory I talked to a guy who used to be a manager and he told me that he spent about a year and a half to almost two years interviewing 1,183 candidates for a machine operator job and passed over that many people just to find that one person who ended up quitting a year later to find a better paying job. These games that employers play to find that 'one' specific guy or girl that knows that skill or software on the computer are painting them in a corner of incompetence. There's skill sets that are transferable and software isn't that difficult to learn if you apply yourself to it. It sounds like a lot of screwing around and wasting time to hire someone who is smart enough and versatile to do the job and is willing to learn new skills. All they're doing is costing the company money by not getting talented people in the door.

[@obgfoster]

@sarrjel it would have been more efficient to let him go and hire a training manager.

[@dhenderson1810]

One way to do things is, apply for temporary jobs or contract jobs as well. The temporary job might not be a full solution, but you are more likely to be hired (less people want them and there is less risk to the employer) and it gives you industry experience and some money in the meantime. Also, they can be another reference. I have done this a couple of times and it gets your foot in the door and builds contacts for when a more permanent position comes along.

[@tinafae8644]

I’ll push back a little bit here and share the times I’ve submitted targeted resumes related to my experience in a particular industry. I worked other roles between those over several years. So I was interviewing and only included that relevant industry experience, which was more than qualified. The hiring manager started grilling me about “gaps”. I explained that there were no gaps. I just didn’t want to bog down the resume with a bunch of irrelevant experience. He asked for an additional resume showing those experiences. There is no winning with some of these people.

[@Krlowanigu-mg6eg]

Even if you had gaps, what is normal with todays job market, if you fit you fit. That manager was against hiring you so it wouldnt be a good idea to hand him a full version of your CV. I had the same problem btw, them looking for gaps, looking for your flaws to discard you. And i really needed to shorten my cv.

[@pisceanbeauty2503]

Did you title that section with something like “Relevant Experience”? That may have helped.

[@eugenb9017]

The "unrealistic expectation" where they are "willing to wait a long time" is simply bullsh*t. They DON'T need somebody, they just are trying to see if they find an VERY VERY good deal. It's like somebody who "wants" to buy a car, they want a brand new Ferrari, but they only have 5000$, they are "willing" to wait. It's simple, they don't need a car, if they would REALLY need a car, they would buy a car at a real price.

[@saralist1200]

“Must be willing to work 80 hours a week for pizza parties and hot dogs.” 🤣🤣

[@suniskys78]

When layoffs happen recruiters / hr folks are usually cut first. Most job listings are ghosts jobs as they need to show they are doing something. AI will eliminate many of these jobs within next 5-10 yrs. Folks need to go back to the way things were. Be your own boss. Find a skill you’re good at and sell it. Stop applying to these companies that you are just a number and will cut you loose when they need to show a profit. They collect our data and sell it while you get no job and they get paid. The days of loyalty are long gone. Again, be your own boss! We all have a talent / skill worth selling. Do some soul searching and find yours! You will be so much happier.

[@horizonskyfpvrc6152]

WWE( World Wrestling Entertainment) is a perfect example of it. They always do massive layoffs each year or two.

[@dhenderson1810]

​@@horizonskyfpvrc6152Yet they make millions and aren't struggling financially.

[@jenniferburchill3658]

If only it were that easy.

[@nukemall3678]

My old boss would post jobs just to get the phone numbers and social media of attractive women. There was never any intention of hiring because the opening didn't even exist.

[@jackcarraway4707]

That guy is a sexual harrassment case just waiting to happen.

[@AI-cp1jg]

The applicants had to submit their social media profiles?

[@shermanngjazz]

@@AI-cp1jg Maybe LinkedIn profiles?

[@nukemall3678]

@@AI-cp1jgThey weren't required, but I work in tech, so applicants often include their LinkedIn, Twitter, GitHub, etc.

[@jyashin]

@@AI-cp1jg Probably their linkedIn profile, which (unfortunately) is pretty much a requirement these days.

[@TheMusicFan1297]

After receiving another rejection today, I was starting to doubt myself, it is somehow calming to see my situation is not that rare. Thank you for the video, very helpful and nicely explained!

[@Astral_Dusk]

Had a unicorn candidate posting asking candidates to build an app with a 40 page manual of design requirements that could easily take 2 weeks, along with 500+ applicants on the LinkedIn statistics for the role. This was just to land a "first" interview. Part of me thinks this might have even been a crummy way to get free development ideas from the most likely recorded Zoom demos.

[@Astral_Dusk]

The demo request came after the initial application submission.

[@PinkiePi]

There are so many videos about why you're not getting the job, how to game the system, etc. But very few videos talking about the nearly endless flaws in the system we have in place and how we should be pushing for legislature to correct it.

[@obgfoster]

@@PinkiePi and employers should be addressing their own flaws.

[@saulreed5286]

There is one reason that you didn’t mention. Employers could be nervous that a candidate who is “overqualified” for the job is highly sought after by competitors, and therefore could easily quit and find a new job as soon as a better offer comes along or they no longer like your company.

[@dhenderson1810]

Then maybe the employer needs to up his game and offer more to keep you. Make your employees remain loyal by treating them well.

[@DrunkenUFOPilot]

Does those employers know what an employment contract is? Have everyone involved in employing such a candidate sign a paper saying they'll stick with the job for x months/years and don't worry about it. Problem solved! Unless I'm missing something... I usually am!

[@joepiekl]

​@@DrunkenUFOPilot I'm not sure that sort of thing is legal, especially when it's not specifically linked to some sort of costs that the company has entailed. For example, my employer will do this kind of thing if they're paying for qualifications for candidates, or in my case, flying me to another country. You sign a 2-year contract, and if you leave before that, you have to pay back the costs (on a pro rata basis in my case). I've never heard of it being a standard thing in a contract though, other than something extremely highly paid like a professional footballer.

[@michael567jober]

then they need to pay the best that will keep that employee

[@dhenderson1810]

@@joepiekl There is contract work.

[@DataRae-AIEngineer]

There's a weird mathy law out there that I always consider... there's only a 37% chance that they choose the most qualified candidate for the job.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

I can believe that.

[@mikew7171]

They've done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time ;)

[@Real-Name..Maqavoy]

@@mikew7171 They've also done studies on folks like you. Wanna know what they call 'em? *No?* Than don't bother commenting on baseless arguement.

[@mikew7171]

@@Real-Name..Maqavoy too bad it was a quote from Anchorman. Go outside and touch that lawn you won’t let anyone on.

[@ebinrock]

Don't worry, AI will fix all that LOL

[@karnez05]

I’ve got denied from so many jobs, i applied for internships that im over qualified for and still didn’t get the job

[@phoenixmythics]

impossible wishlist unrealistic expectations and all bullet points checked off, still never good enough and always candidate in mind and destroying rapport with external prospects

[@kamilb1729]

Maybe lie a little? Get a rainbow hair job and post a profile in grinder.

[@obgfoster]

Bogus job listings are rampant in university job listings (non-faculty). There is often a candidate lined up for it and the weirdly specific description describes that person, who may already be doing the job. I have been in committee interviews for jobs that were totally sewed up for one internal candidate, but then occasionally we really were considering externals. For non-professional jobs, they may get 100 applicants, interview 2, and pick the one they always wanted.

[@Puccinidb]

Not to mention many positions are given to faculty spouses because more and more often that is a condition of a faculty member accepting a job offer. These hires often have ZERO experience but are given cushy salary jobs anyway. The system is rotten.

[@StarcoreLabs]

Please make a video about the history of the recruiting industry. It would help people understand that recruiters don't work for job seekers.

[@gregjohnson4321]

You missed one. I applied to a company and interviewed with them. The position/industry was IDENTICAL to a job I had held for over 3 years at another identical company. I'm convinced that the problem was, I knew more about the industry and the job than the woman I would be reporting to. So, she viewed me as a threat. Once again this was another interview where I found out I didn't get the job by the sound of crickets. These companies can be so rude.

[@lg3103]

It amazes me after the inflation we have been through, the low salary for many roles.

[@dhenderson1810]

The fact is, there are too many cooks. The recruiter, the hiring manager, the boss. I had an on-the-spot interview at a shoe store, when I handed the manager my resume. She loved me and wanted to hire me. But then the other shoe fell. All hirings went through head office. I got rejected at the head office stage, even though the person I spoke to was keen on me. I often apply at small businesses where the boss themselves does the interview and you get to know him or her. They are going to work with you everyday and pay you so it is good that they be the one to interview you.

[@ghostiulian1]

I get rejected simply because they notice I can't be manipulated

[@targetegrat]

Lets be honest for those that don't know. If the job posting is actually for a vacancy that needs to be filled. There is already an internal candidate the company has in mind. Companies still interview externally to have a backup. Sometimes at the last minute the internal candidate will keep their current job. When this happens the company has a few people to select from outside the company. When applying for job. If the job has been posted for over 3 days and you don't have an internal employee from that company referring you. You are wasting your time with that application.

[@danielr7599]

I would add, sometimes they do more interview to keep themself fit, mostly when company not really hiring, they will keep looking into people + testing them, as they dont have anything else, and just waste everyone time. (but they getting paid will the candidate is not)

[@targetegrat]

@@danielr7599 Wow. Never thought about it from that perspective.

[@DrunkenUFOPilot]

Sometimes you're actually hired only to be not hired. One time about six or seven years ago, I interviewed a with a company through an engineering staffing firm, was told yes, filled in the forms I-9, W4, contract etc. and was told the start date was not determined yet. It remained undetermined for a long time - long enough for me to land an entirely different job at Intel, then move to Montana, and life goes on. Never did hear back on that one ghost job.

[@dammar117]

Did you sign a contract? If so, couldn't you have sued them? If not, maybe there was some age discrimination once you filled out the HR forms and they found out your age?

[@nicklowe_]

I use to follow you 3-4 years ago when you just started. I left a comment saying you would definitely blow up. Congrats!

[@zachmaruda7397]

HR may already have someone lined up for the position and the job opening is simply a formality to make it a “fair” process, but they never were interested in any other candidate in the first place. This was a good video, thank you.

[@MannyLoxx2010]

Great video, Bryan!! This has happened to me dozens and dozens and dozens of times in my 20+ years career! Jobs I was 95%-100% fit or perfect fit for! I never apply for a job if I don't fit 80% of what they're looking for!

[@Oddesteidolon]

Timing is SUCH a huge one. The only way I got hired for my last two roles is because I happened to apply within a day or so of the req being posted. Late applications can be a killer.

[@dammar117]

I'm not sure about applying early... I like applying at the last minute so that I'm on top of the pile.

[@istvantoth7431]

Corporate recruitment must be *LOT MORE* regulated. This "maybe this, maybe that" is absolute bollocks, sometimes straight-up sickening.

[@DrunkenUFOPilot]

At least outlaw fake job postings, and make it harder for managers to reject candidates for being "overqualified" or not having super-exact matches like knowing Spiffyware XYZ version 5.4.3a but they want to hire someone with exactly only Spiffyware XYZ version 5.4.3b

[@donaldcodes]

I have an easier time dating than I do job hunting. And dating is difficult in itself.

[@ExoticGTRX]

@@donaldcodes u been married before?

[@terrywert6587]

I have to disagree there. Landing a job was always easier than finding a date for me. Only was successful once, with one woman. Thankfully, that date eventually became my wife. ❤ Never need to look around for a new date ever again!

[@funteav3437]

Ghost Job Ads - HR Gathering data or Talent pool or pretend company doing well by showing off able to support multiple new roles

[@kamilb1729]

True. I applied for a job I had no business trying for. They kept my application lije it was treasure.

[@dhenderson1810]

​@@kamilb1729Have they ever contacted you about other opportunities?

[@nicholasrosen6342]

I could imagine some candidates in a job interview the hiring manager could literally say "you're hired" only to be ghosted the next day and when they try calling them they hear a recording say "the number you are trying to reach is out of service, goodbye" or that they blocked their number.

[@interestedbystander196]

Recruiters sometimes don't even see your application, as it first gets filtered out by some automated process. I once got an automated response saying that my experience didn't fit the requirements of the role. Fair enough, you might think. However, the role I was applying for is one that I had actually created at the company in question. I had set it up as a consultant and had been doing the role for about 18 months until about a year previously. The person who took over from me couldn't do the job and was let go after about a year, and they went out to market. I was applying to do the role on a permanent basis. But apparently i didn't have the right experience to do the role I had created and done for 18 months at that very same company... 😮

[@novadhd]

There were probably other reasons

[@interestedbystander196]

@novadhd If there were "other reasons", I wouldn't have been 18 months in the role, don't you think?

[@novadhd]

@@interestedbystander196 well maybe someone didnt want you back who knows. Some people can be A## holes

[@interestedbystander196]

@novadhd I get what you're saying, but there's more info I didn't put. They did offer me the job when I queried it. The hiring manager hadn't even known I had applied. I turned it down in the end because the money didn't work. The point of my original post was that sometimes applications get filtered out (By software? By HR?) before a decision maker even sees it. I know it's about lightening the load in the recruitment process, but it isn't always done intelligently.

[@JohnSmith-qe6fb]

I had a Security position in which I met with the Building Manager, trained for the position, and was told I had the job. A couple days later, I was driving to the post and got a call from the Security company to tell me they went with someone else. I was the epitome of a perfect candidate. The Industry as a whole is a joke.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Don't move to FL. That happens often. A mgr will spend 20-30min saying how strict and important your site, uniform, post is. You start & deal with 19yr olds who never worked ANY job, wear 👟 . Have no skills, do not understand basic security functions.

[@homehere9817]

😮

[@chibiusa]

I've never understood the idea that job applicants must apply up to five days after a new job opening is posted to increase the chances of their resume getting seen. It's literally impossible to apply early if multiple jobs you want to apply to requires a cover letter. What's more, many job postings don't list the posting date, especially on the company's careers page. I wish more HR people would leave a bigger window of time for applicants or, you know, specify a cut-off date so that people don't waste their time. Providing a deadline to apply to a job would help save a lot of time. Some job listings stay up for months, so it's hard to gauge whether it's worthwhile to apply or not.

[@gerardsloan1593]

I was recently unsuccessful with two promotions at work. I accept I wasn't their first choice but strongly believe a decision was made about a candidate before interviews even started. Opinions are my own. Have a good day reader

[@adamf.8564]

There is no perfect fit! Wanting specific competencies are one thing. Getting them is another. I get rejections and unfortunatelly at this time we are not moving...About 20 to 25 on a daily. Recruiters and hiring managers hould not be allowed to use help from ATS or AI. What is also frustrating is that they ask irrelevant questions once you upload your resume and they make you fill out every line one by one. There is just no hope. Also there are tons of fake job posts out there.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

You're right - there's no absolutely perfect fit.

[@dianadialga3955]

They already have someone in mind, they just have to go through the song and dance (aka waste people’s time and money) before they hire their family or friend.

[@user-cc5od3zk4p]

Just had that occur.

[@CodHumors]

The difficult thing for me to come to grips with is the requirement of industry experience with industry (enterprise) tools for entry level jobs. "Entry level job listing: We are seeking a candidate who has a B.A./B.S. in one of the relevant fields listed. They must have 3+ years of experience. And experience using this one tool that's used in 2 other companies." It's irritating because they believe it can take years to be qualified to use their 'special' tool, in reality it takes a couple weeks.

[@elizabethclarke4981]

chances are those people making those requirements actually have no idea about the job

[@silverfoxfinance]

Keeping a postings up just in case someone quits or goes on leave. What a crock Is applying to jobs early to mid of the year better than end of the year as far as budgets?

[@olencone4005]

YMMV, but I'd say you get better results in the 4th quarter -- almost every job I've ever had has been one where I applied early in the 4th quarter and was hired towards the end of the quarter, putting the cost of my salary and benefits into the 1st quarter of the new fiscal year.

[@silverfoxfinance]

@@olencone4005 interesting, thanks!

[@beltingtokra]

Had this a lot recently, including with departments i have interviewed well at. And they don't give feedback if you don't get an interview so i have no idea what was missing, so frustrating 😢

[@Sky-bx9mn]

If you do get an interview they give you fake (boilerplate) feedback so. >.

[@occupationalhazard]

This used to happen to me all the time. Less often recently. I don't know why a hiring manager would be hiding requirements. We may have that experience, yet we might not emphasize it if it is not on the job description.

[@davidl.995]

Yes, God forbid we actually put our requirements in the job description.

[@Alex-de8kd]

The hiring has become no longer about technical background, but a culture fit most of all even in tech. This sucks for those of us who are not into jumping on a gang wagon and trash taking.

[@vl4n7684zt]

When they get at least a dozen people who can easily perform the job, then demographics (age, gender, ethnicity) come into play, masked under the 'culture fit' catch-all so not as obvious.

[@johnbell1810]

They are not rejecting me. I am rejecting them.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

When you're in control, this is the case more often than not.

[@kamilb1729]

Not willing to participate in beast system either.

[@nuclear_n3465]

I don't know what you did instead, but well done, man. It's really hard out here.

[@TheNinjaman85]

this explains exactly why last time i got laid off around 2018. i applied to 20 plus jobs that i qualified for. i was stubborn and refused to do temp agencies and i applied directly to companies. so i eventually broke down and went to a staffing agency. they wanted to send me into a places where i applied and got no response from. i refused those possible assignments based on those companies falsely listing a job they didn't want to fill. my recruiter showed me a list of like 7 other places that they could send me to the following week. 3 of those places i applied to and got rejected. even when my app was a spot on match the advertised role. thats how i ended up where i am now 5 years later. thank you for this video it answered a puzzling question.

[@nicholasrosen6342]

I've had many job interviews where they rejected me even though I have education and work experience about good enough for the job. Sometimes I worry if my college years were a waste of time, even with getting a job linear with my degree where such jobs gave me extremely low pay on top of being treated poorly by management and patrons.

[@elizabethclarke4981]

I feel ya, what makes it worse is that they charge u on arm n leg for school meanwhile half if not all these jobs dont even pay enough to cover all the cost so now ur stuck with debt, hence one of the reasons I didnt jump right into grad school right away

[@picklerix6162]

Normally, it’s Human Resources that will reject you, not the hiring manager. I got turned down for a position by HR because I only had three years experience with Python and five years were needed. Most of the work was in C and Python was needed for testing. Recruiters have contacted me about jobs that required the knowledge of three engineers so I always reject those jobs. I always tell the recruiters that the hiring manager did not have realistic expectations and it looked like he expects one engineer to do the work of three engineers.

[@dhenderson1810]

Tell them that if they want you to do the job ouf three engineers then they need to pay you triple. That will put them back in their box.

[@dmitripogosian5084]

@@dhenderson1810 Sure, they will just go an hire somewhere else

[@picklerix6162]

@@dhenderson1810 - The pay is usually below market rate on those unrealistic job titles. The company is usually run by a penny pincher. That’s why they only want to hire one engineer rather than three.

[@dhenderson1810]

@@dmitripogosian5084 Well, you don't want to work there anyway.

[@123lowp]

PMs and recruiters generally know next to nothing about software engineering.

[@GDNM502]

Right now, companies are getting more than 1000 applications for any decent job. A candidate might think they are a perfect fit but the employer might think one of the other 999 candidates are a better fit.

[@dhenderson1810]

Then companies need to put all the pros and cons of the job in the ad. Tell us everything. No nasty little surprises. This may cause many to drop off if they don't fit some of the requirements. Those who still really need or want the job will apply anyway.

[@saralist1200]

That would be true for jobs where the post goes up and isn’t posted again, it we see the same jobs with pretty basic criteria posted over and over for months on end. Either the manager is a gutless wonder who is terrified of making decisions or (more likely) it’s a fake job posted to make current employees think they might get some help so they can work them to exhaustion and whine that “nobody wants to work”….except those 1000 applicants.

[@GDNM502]

@@dhenderson1810Seriously, that is a fantastic idea. Unfortunately companies feel they need to sell (lie about) positions.

[@ierik]

I have given up. Literally no hope left to find a job.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

Why? Learn and adapt. You're just making it easier for your competition.

[@marianar2948]

@@ierik sorry to hear that, your sentiment is perfectly normal ❤ but don't lose hope, you'll get your spot in the sun eventually!

[@brianviktor8212]

Of the ~50 jobs I applied for (C# developer), there was one (one of the last ones) that was a perfect fit. I mean I was a 70-90% fit for all others, but that one was a 99%. They looked for someone coding game server communication for games, and I happen to work on exactly that at the time, and I was almost finished (it took me 2 months). It was also unprecedented peak technology done in record time, and I was very peculiar on that specific thing I made. I had ALL the skills and way more. I can do EVERYTHING they'd ever need. And I got the standard macro response aka "oh you are not what we are looking for, but it looks promising blabla." Highest quality work in the lowest time possible for some meager wage. And they just wanted something standard anyway. Which was way, way beneath what I already did. But it was different, so even then I could have learned from doing it which could have been useful for the future.

[@pamelamays4186]

I've seen the same posting for the same daycare position for years.

[@jtowensbyiii6018]

Report it every time you see it, get that shit removed from society

[@gregs6424]

On top of all this frustration, add having to "Create an account with us" just to apply for a job in a second pool of applicants whose applications will never be looked at, and the only response is a rejection letter. Recruiters have to do better than this. Thank you for your honesty.

[@Ethergirl]

Actually your resume can be perfectly fit, but if you happen to apply even a few hours after the job is posted on Linkedin or Indeed, etc. it's unlikely that you will get a response from the recruiter or HR person. This is because ( depending on the person collecting the resumes) once there are more than say 40 or 50 ( probably even fewer in some cases) apps/resumes in, that's it. They stop reviewing them at all. And depending on the job, you could accumulate that many apps in half a work day. The job ad might stay up for weeks or days and you might see that 250 apps have been made in the previous week, but the majority of them will NOT be viewed. The company will just pick someone from that first early batch. If the hiring mgr genuinely cannot accept anyone from that early batch, they will decide "there's no one out there that's right" for the moment and put the whole search aside for months. So if you really need a job you will have to put in a certain amount of time every day to scour Linkedin etc and hope you can apply to a job within an hour of the ad dropping.

[@neil2546]

That's the thing though. I get rejected for jobs that I'm an exact fit for, years of experience, and specific types of ERP and accounting software the companies are looking for.

[@CharityDiary]

It's literally just online dating -- a seller's market with infinite choice. You might be the perfect candidate, but the hiring manager knows this other guy that makes her feel a certain type of way. Just like dating, you don't get the job by being the perfect match, you get the job by getting them excited in the short-term.

[@Swanzo]

One problem I ran into are secret requirements they don't tell you about.

[@Sky-bx9mn]

I ran into that one! Well, one time that I know of--idk how many other times without finding out. The one time, I had friends in the company familiar with the project who were able to tell me. They secretly required experience with specialized equipment, which I could only have gotten if I already worked there or under incredibly specific circumstances when I was still at school.

[@davidthedeaf]

I got a perfect job match a few months ago, but no interview. I was so disappointed. Same place had a perfect job match two weeks ago, and I applied, nearly same job. I followed up with the same HR I had asked questions the time before. I had also improved my resume to show how I have what they want. I got an email for an interview yesterday, and it will be tomorrow. I consider that a win. They agreed I look like what they want. I am what they want. I hope I get hired. Oh and I hope I do well on the interview, three people interviewing me in ASL.

[@jameskerrigan2997]

They already have a friend or family member figured out. Applied to state job, I have 20 years equipment operating experience. Kid was there that didn't know what he was doing on the loader testing. They hired him told me to not bother testing they have made their choice already. Who's your daddy?

[@raincie802]

Very few of these are actionable. It would help if recruiters would put a time limit on the job application

[@bcase5328]

Too many doesn't even contact you to give you an answer of "no".

[@billnotice9957]

Lots of jobs. The only problem is they are all McJob's. My advice is to spend the 150 bucks and had a third party call you former employer for a reference. I did that. Found out my former employer said I was fired for cause. (Not true. My position was eliminated.) CHA CHING!!!!! Got some additional severance.

[@heytony12345]

I definitely ran into the first reason in interviews. Sometimes the hiring manager is laser focused on a specific skill and will reject an applicant because that skill isn’t proficient.

[@kingof3GB]

i wake up every morning to rejection emails from employers its becoming very discouraging i really wanna just give tf up man seriously i got laid off 2 months ago and i have yet to find anything i apply for stuff i know i should get and i dont

[@charlesjohnson6645]

Most times they already have a candidate picked before they make the posting. Leadership and HR are just posting the job to seem impartial.

[@novadhd]

Yep or they can promote internally for much less

[@Refactor-ig9sc]

Here’s another one: I personally value thinking ability over specific skills. However, I opened a job for the first time ever (a freelance project I got needed a team). I got over 400 applications for the frontend and over 200 for the backend… in less than 3 days! All of these applicants seemed to be a good fit. However, I couldn’t critically evaluate each and every resume in depth like I wanted to. I had to get stricter about specific skills and years of experience in order to filter down to a more manageable number of resumes… even though I hated doing so. At the very least, I’m going to try to construct some rejection letters encouraging the applicants to keep their eyes open for future projects. Overall, the entire process was overwhelming.

[@Krlowanigu-mg6eg]

I have applied with online form at 3 am. At 3:04 i received thank you blah blah blah email. Surely that my cv was reviewed by a human at that time.

[@LowkeyHundo]

I recently interviewed 3 rounds with a Fortune 500 for a digital experience CMS role. Each time they said I did great. On paper I was exactly what they were looking for. I got a rejection email stating that they were looking for someone with more “design experience” but they never asked me anything about my design experience in any of the interviews. It was all technical. I’ve been a web designer and CMS manager for almost 3 years and sent them my portfolio but they never even bothered to ask about it, and drug me through 3 rounds of interviews and false hope.

[@dhenderson1810]

Do recruiters or hiring managers get paid regardless of performance? Because I wonder if they truly care if the job is filled or not, if they get paid anyway.

[@dammar117]

Has anyone been interviewed by a panel that included the potential boss and a potential colleague, where the boss seemed to like you, but the colleague perceived you as a threat?

[@meadowrose100]

Brian, I really appreciate how you give advice from a recruiter's perspective. That's especially helpful. I hope you and your precious family have a wonderful 4th of July!

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

I appreciate that!

[@seanshetler]

I am seeing a lot of ghost jobs, reposts, and purple squirrel 🐿️ jobs

[@mardirosekshian5330]

Recently applied to two jobs I was well qualified for. One of them required an assessment that took a few hours altogether. Interestingly, I was rejected within a few minutes of submitting both my apps. Might I add, I have over a decade of experience. Go figure..

[@fizzy1550]

Thing that sucks is, they tell me my resume is awesome, and the when I am done with the interview, or my disability is brought up... they just reject or ghost me. I have 2 jobs lined up right now, so... we'll have to see how things go...

[@mehlover]

I feel like they shouldn't ask you about your disability. Or they shouldn't reject you because of it. I thought that's what the ADA is for

[@Sky-bx9mn]

I was reading a review of job search research studies recently and apparently disclosure of disability at start of interview has better results than disclosure at end/after interview or nondisclosure. Seemed odd to me but I guess that's what the data says.

[@fizzy1550]

@mehlover LMAO the amount of companies who couldn't give a f*** about the ADA... Not to mention the time and money it would cost to sue them, it's sadly so not worth it =/

[@fizzy1550]

@Sky-bx9mn I've had tons of interviews, and learned that disclosing my outright is immediate denial. Especially for the jobs I was looking for (that I went to technical schools to get certificates for...). So it's really just hit or miss, unfortunately.

[@Schreibaby]

Hey Brian, not sure if you missed one, but have you seen fake job postings from companies that are only posting positions just to get a PPP loan forgiveness? Like they’ll say they’re hiring but actually not hire because they’re purposefully understaffed and they’re trying to get money to keep their business going.

[@kelechin.1977]

It’s over bro😢. I just give up

[@actuariallurker9650]

This why NO senior jobs should EVER be sent to HR by a Hiring Manager. i have my own firm NOW for 10+ years but when I was still working in industry, no matter which company I was with, we NEVER hired anyone for an executive role through HR. We either had people we KNEW that we reached out to ourselves OR we used headhunters to FIND people sop that we would NOT let competitor firms know that we were either expanding into something new OR that we were down a person for some reason so that others would NOT be tipped off about our new business plans that we were vulnerable. In one instance our competitor was having financial trouble in Division A unrelated to our business and we knew that the people in Division B (which was our business) might be looking and we interviewed THREE people in that department and basically hired away half their best staff in one week. If you are in a competitive field that is LITERALLY how ruthless hiring can be and why you are NOT likely to see decent SENIOR jobs at VP or higher levels posted ANYWHERE

[@avivagodfrey]

I've made it to interviews for jobs I was literally the picture-perfect candidate for. Years of experience AND formal education in all of their required proficiencies. One of them I know for a fact denied me because of my age (I was barely even mid-twenties, but they wanted someone even younger). The other hired me and then fired me after three days while saying "I don't see any potential" - after I worked myself to the limit trying to chase down things to learn when they weren't teaching. I feel like "perfect fit jobs" are jinxed now because they've gone so poorly.

[@luckyjayakody]

It could be: 1) The job posting & the interview is for the compliance sake. Actually they are going to promote someone internally or hire someone pre-selected. 2) The interviewer didn't like you (your look, your vibe, your attire, your smell etc.) 3) The vacancy was there at the time of the interview, however suddenly management has decided to freeze recruitments or to eliminate the position which was published from the carder. 4) It's a fake job posting followed with a bogus interview.

[@paulhornbogen980]

B. Sir, as always top quality information. I would rather know specifically what the employer is looking for. Thanks again sir for being blunt and truthful. Thank you.

[@kyleroode5217]

I think the "we already have someone in mind this is just a formality" happened to me with a promotion I applied for. Me vs the other guy: 8 years in company; 6 months in company Has every skill mentioned in the post; past experience in completely unrelated field On top of that the people interviewing me spent the half the time talking about how good of a job I do and how I can essentially step into this new job without much training; which is true, because I designed and authored the SOPs the job follows!

[@Sky-bx9mn]

I wish more companies would label their Evergreens. It's fine to have if it's disclosed--I know a university that always has short-term work popping up for specific projects so they just keep Evergreen pools around listed by project category. They're clear about what it is when you put your application in, and it basically acts like a single-organization temp agency. It's not as good as a currently-open long-term employee role, but it's miles better than lying to applicants about whether it's a currently-open long-term employee role.

[@jasonmims5057]

Something else to add that ive seen in workplaces is that the volume of work may have changed so they don't see a reason to bring another person on if a once high volume has gone down. Companies tend to operate in a sense of urgency type way to conflict if volume is high they panic and quickly bring more people on, the minute it drops they stop hiring

[@lorenzbroll101]

Good analysis, but there is something else here. I am certainly NOT a narcissist, but a very good-looking 6 foot tall blond male. You would think that I might be first in line, but not at all. I was told I would be 'disruptive' to my team for some reason. Being plain looking is certainly an advantage.

[@ALifeAfterLayoff]

Interesting perspective. And a bit shocking an employer would actually say that to you!

[@lorenzbroll101]

@@ALifeAfterLayoff Not nice is it. I nwever even think about the fact - seriously.. No way can I alter the way I look nor will I.

[@dhenderson1810]

I do think attractive women certainly have an advantage when it comes to job hiring.

[@lorenzbroll101]

@@dhenderson1810 Depends on whose hiring them?

[@chibiusa]

@@dhenderson1810 I think it really depends. Being an attractive woman can also work against you, if the interviewer has a bias against women who are attractive.

[@SenorSiesta]

Most of these highly skilled people would master the needs in the role without specific experience with just a few days on job training.

[@sifelaver]

my old boss’s philosophy was we can train anyone on tools, it’s personality that counts

[@Residentevilfan1989]

That happens to me, alot. Thank you for letting me know.

[@Ownedyou]

Wierder things still are when you get that "shoe-in" post, apply, get rejected with a clearly hand written letter (typos and mention of skills from my CV) and the posting goes back up next week.

[@anonymousemail5648]

@@Ownedyou weirder… not “wierd” sic!

[@A_Hard_Carry_OSRS]

@ALifeAfterLayoff, for your SAP specific version example, mentioned around 3:15, did you reach out to candidates who were using the software at a point in time when the requested version was the "most current version"? For instance, would it help recruiters if we put the full range of versions of software we have worked in on our resume? I feel like this would make resumes incredibly bloated, and I personally would not want to read a resume for a potential hire that lists every version of every software they have experience for. Alternatively, for candidates which are excellent fits but there was ambiguity about the particular version, did some candidates at least get a screening call at some point asking about this detail, or was doing something like this impractical? I'm sure if the job posting is explicitly clear about the version requirement and communicates this need for experience with that particular version then perhaps it might make more sense. Was the expectation that candidates explicitly list one version on a resume made and that newer versions were not acceptable from the job posting in this case? I feel like this employer likely lost out on a lot of excellent candidates in addition to creating a frustrating/more expensive recruiting process

[@marcbittner]

While I get what you are saying, the root cause is really that jd's do not reflect actual requirements. I've hired hundreds of people - there are many reasons this may be true but it's a failure regardless.