In a scathing and painfully accurate rant about the state of the job market, a senior professional with over 20 years of experience revealed that he has been unemployed for 15 months—having difficulty landing a single interview—despite previously holding high-level roles as a VP and director.
"I have never seen it this bad before. I'm a former VP & Director level professional at multiple large companies as well as start-up and consulting firms. I'm currently in the 15th month of my job hunt, and I'm just utterly exhausted and dejected," the 42-year-old wrote in a Reddit post.
Blaming his untimely layoff and Trump imposed tariffs, he said that earlier he was able to secure a steady stream of interviews and he would only turn them down because of the location or compensation.
But the situation had changed completely now with no interviews lined up for him.
‘I am exhausted’
"Now I'm lucky to get a freaking rejection email, let alone an interview request. I'm still 20 years away from retirement, and I have kids who will be in college in a few years. I'm losing hope that I will even get a chance to retire and that I will disappoint my kids by not being able to help them get ahead as they move into the next phase of their lives," he said.
Even though he added that his family was on his side, the constant rejection was taking a toll on him. "I'm exhausted and utterly clueless about what I should do next. This job market is utterly a mess, and employers have lost the plot. Recruiters are the bain of my existence, and I wish I could do something else completely unrelated to what I've built and done in the last 20 years of my professional life," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Even though he added that his family was on his side, the constant rejection was taking a toll on him. "I'm exhausted and utterly clueless about what I should do next. This job market is utterly a mess, and employers have lost the plot. Recruiters are the bain of my existence, and I wish I could do something else completely unrelated to what I've built and done in the last 20 years of my professional life," he said.
{{/usCountry}}The post gained attention and several users sympathised with the man's struggles. "Job hunting is so tough. I went through it from Nov 2023-Mar 2024. I have PTSD from that and am always so scared to lose a job again. Praying you land somewhere soon," said one of them.
Another user said, "I work in big tech and was laid off. Took 15 months to find something better than my previous role. The experience changed me forever and I’m still dealing with the anxiety and trauma. But time will heal all."
(Also read: 'Finish this by 4 or you’re fired’: Techie shares toxic workplace ordeal, quits job after 45 days)