Feeling

I have my first virtual interview coming up soon, and I'm feeling a mix of excitement and nerves. I'm reaching out to gather some advice on how to prepare effectively. Any tips on what to expect during the interview or how to present myself well would be greatly appreciated!

I have been unemployed since early December 2025, despite holding a master's degree and having over 8 years of experience. My last job lasted 6.5 years, and I thought I was finally turning a corner when a prospective employer told me during the final interview that they loved me and wanted to hire me. They described the exciting projects I would be involved in and how my versatile skill set would fit perfectly within the company. However, weeks later, I received a rejection, with the excuse that my technical skills were too advanced for the strict contract requirements they had. They mentioned they might consider me for a future position and suggested I follow them on LinkedIn. This was my fourth rejection in just one week, and I suspect there are more out there since I haven't heard back from several other applications. Financially, I'm in ruins, relying on my Amex credit card to get by, and to make matters worse, they recently lowered my credit limit by $9,000. It's been a tough journey, and I'm feeling pretty defeated.

I'm currently on month 3 of unemployment in Oregon. I recently applied for a job that seemed like a decent fit and was contacted for a phone interview. However, after experiencing some rude behavior from the recruiter and doing more research on the company, I realized it wouldn't be the best fit for me. I'm considering withdrawing my application, but I'm concerned about whether this would be seen as a refusal of work by the unemployment department. I've been getting some good traction with a few other opportunities, and I don't want to waste anyone's time for a job I'm not interested in. I just want to make sure I'm not jeopardizing my unemployment benefits.

I’m currently in the process of interviewing for various Analyst positions, and I’m facing a major hurdle: references. I’ve used up all my older references multiple times, and I don’t have a way to reach out to my previous supervisors. Unfortunately, I left my last two jobs on bad terms, resigning without giving the full two weeks' notice, which makes me hesitant to contact them for a reference. I know the common advice is to use friends as references, but most of my friends aren’t suitable for a finance job, especially since some of them have lifestyles that wouldn’t reflect well on me. I had an interview today, and they asked me to fill out a references form ahead of my second interview next week. I’m starting to feel really stressed about this situation.

Today, I had my first HackerRank interview for a Data Engineering role, and I completely flopped. I felt so embarrassed throughout the process. I was unfamiliar with the coding environment, which made it really difficult to identify the bug in my code. When I finally did find the bug, I completely blanked on how to write a simple try/except block. It was such a frustrating experience that I honestly wanted to just end the interview early. I can't believe how poorly it went.

I've been on a relentless job search for nearly a year now, applying to positions almost every day. Despite my efforts, I only manage to secure 1-3 interviews each month, and none have led to a job offer. I feel like I’m doing everything right—preparing thoroughly, practicing my responses, and even embellishing my qualifications a bit to appear more appealing. Yet, after each interview, I either receive a rejection shortly after or get ghosted, even when I thought the interview went well. It feels as though there's an invisible sign on me that says "DO NOT HIRE" that only hiring managers can see. This situation is driving me to the brink. I find myself obsessing over every interview, analyzing every detail and spiraling into despair if I think I didn’t perform perfectly. The emotional toll is exhausting, and it’s disheartening when friends or acquaintances suggest that the lack of success is somehow my fault.

I recently applied for a position with a company called CDS, thinking it was directly with Costco. It turns out that CDS is just a contractor working inside Costco. I've been in communication with them via email for about a week and a half now. They had me go through a lot of onboarding processes, including watching videos and obtaining a food safety certification. However, despite all of this, they still haven't provided me with a start date for work. I'm feeling a bit frustrated and uncertain about the situation.

I recently went through a lengthy interview process for a position at a company where I interned a few months ago. I'm a 21-year-old female, and this would be my first salaried job after college, so the anxiety is real. Over the past five months, I participated in four rounds of interviews, and I felt I performed well in each one. During the last meeting, which felt a bit awkward since I was just given a tour of the facility and a rundown of the job (all familiar territory from my internship), HR informed me that they started with 225 applicants and I'm now in the final two candidates. They mentioned they would have an internal meeting to decide and would get back to me next week. While I'm grateful to have made it this far, I'm unsure if I should temper my expectations since they were upfront about having another finalist. Should I be worried that this means I'm not the top choice?

I'm currently facing a tough decision between two job offers. I've been a contractor at a large healthcare company for three years, and I've been pushing for a permanent role to gain benefits like PTO and sick days. Just as I received an offer for a full-time position with a smaller healthcare company, my current manager informed me that I would finally be offered a permanent role at my current job. The dilemma is that while my current job offers stability and potential for internal mobility, I've found it monotonous and feel like just a number. On the other hand, the new job is with a smaller team where I can take on varied tasks and challenge myself, but I worry about the lack of career advancement opportunities and the homogeneity of the team. I've started training at the new job, and they seem excited to have me, which makes it hard to consider leaving them. Both positions offer the same pay and benefits, so I'm weighing the long-term implications of each choice. I’d love to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation—how did you decide, and do you have any regrets?

Today, I received the disappointing news that the company I interviewed with on Wednesday is not moving forward with my application. The president had mentioned multiple times during the interview that I would be coming back, which made this rejection feel even more disheartening. I have a solid background with 17 years of experience at two different EPC companies, so I don't consider myself a job hopper. My last position was with a publicly traded EPC firm, but they have been undergoing restructuring for over a year, which led to many of us in Business Development losing our jobs. Now, 16 months later, I'm still struggling to find a new opportunity. Financially, things are tight, and I feel overwhelmed and numb. I can't shake the feeling of failure, especially when I think about my family relying on me. It's a tough situation, and I feel like I'm being punished for circumstances beyond my control.

I recently went through a challenging job search experience that left me feeling disheartened. I applied for a B2B sales account specialist position back in early May, confident in my background for the role. The job posting advertised a salary range of $68k-$84k with full-time hours and good benefits, which sounded promising. After four interviews with HR and various team members, I felt I had nailed the in-person interview. The interviewer even complimented my preparation, which made me hopeful for a job offer. However, when I received the final call from HR, I was devastated to learn that the role had changed to part-time with a pay of only $15.00 per hour, limiting me to a maximum of 24 hours a week. It felt like a huge letdown, especially since the position had so much potential. I also interviewed for another job with a different company that I applied for in early April. I made it to the final interview right after the Fourth of July weekend. Similar to the first experience, they had advertised a reasonable pay range. However, when we discussed salary expectations, I was hit with a lowball offer. The interviewer claimed that with overtime and meeting sales goals, I might see around $55k, which is far from what I was expecting. Living in an area with a high cost of living makes these low offers even more frustrating. It’s disheartening to see companies advertise decent pay only to offer much less during negotiations. As I reflect on this experience, I can’t help but feel that the job market is tough right now.

I recently decided to quit my job in California due to a significant change in my position. For the past three years, I have been working in an administrative role, but my employer moved me to a front desk customer-facing position without any change in pay. While my job duties remained somewhat similar, I was now expected to handle both front desk responsibilities and my usual administrative tasks. This shift was not part of my original job description when I signed my contract, and despite expressing my concerns about managing both roles, my employer insisted that it made the most sense for me to be at the front desk. I am now questioning whether I would be eligible for unemployment benefits after quitting due to these changing job duties.

I had my first interview today after a year of job searching and being unemployed, and I'm feeling uncertain about how it went. The position is at a restaurant, and I arrived just in time, but my hair was slightly damp because I had to wash it last minute. I had planned to be there 10 minutes early, but my little sister made a mess right before I left, which threw me off a bit. I walked in at 4:59 PM for a 5 PM interview and was well-prepared with all my legal documents, even though I didn’t need them since everything is digital now. The interview started off with some casual conversation about my previous jobs, including my time at Taco Bell, which turned out to be a good icebreaker since the interviewer had managed a Taco Bell a couple of years ago. I struggled a bit with maintaining eye contact and staying on track due to my ADHD, and I found myself giggling nervously at times. We talked about the working conditions at the restaurant, and she explained that I would start as a busser and then move up to a server. She mentioned that she 'really liked me' and would be in touch about the hiring decision, even going over the onboarding process if I got the job. She even offered me a drink during the interview, which I took as a positive sign. However, I haven’t received any follow-up email yet, and it’s making me anxious. My brother had a similar experience when he interviewed there; he was told he got the job on the spot and received an email shortly after. I'm left wondering if her kindness was genuine or just polite. Are these good signs that I might get the job?

Today, I received two job offers, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed about which one to choose. One is from a tech startup where I would be working as a software engineer, and the other is from a well-established company in the finance sector for a similar role. Both positions have their pros and cons, like salary differences and company culture. I'm trying to weigh my options carefully and figure out which opportunity aligns better with my long-term career goals.

I interviewed for a position recently and was told I would receive a call today regarding the orientation schedule. However, the call never came, and I'm feeling uncertain about what to do next. My background check has already been completed, so I thought I would hear back. Should I reach out to them today to inquire about the status, or would it be better to wait until Monday? I'm eager to get started but don't want to seem too pushy.

Today, I received a job offer from Shake Shack for $15 an hour. Finding employment has been quite challenging for me, especially since I have a felony on my record. I've been searching for about three months now. I previously worked in insurance sales but didn't meet my weekly goals and was let go. Before my felony, I had a better job, but I’ve never worked in fast food before. I accepted the Shake Shack offer, but I’m also considering an inbound call center sales position at Hilton Grand Vacations, as they want to schedule an interview with me. I feel like there could be more earning potential and opportunities with Hilton, but I'm unsure about what to do next. I’ve read that Shake Shack might offer more stability, but I’m worried about the commission-based nature of the sales job at Hilton. I just received the interview text from Hilton right after I got home from the Shake Shack meeting, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to weigh my options.

I recently had an interview that left me feeling uneasy due to several pink flags and one glaring red flag. This was the final interview after three others with different team members, and for the first time in the process, I felt uncomfortable about the role. I had been on vacation and had a packed schedule, so I decided to skip sending a thank you note for this last interview, even though I had sent one for the previous interviews. Now, three days later, I finally have some time, but I’m unsure if sending a late thank you would be more detrimental than not sending one at all. I’m considering writing a thank you email that also includes some clarifying questions about the vague aspects of the interview. I worry about how it might look to the hiring committee if everyone else received a thank you except for the big boss. Thank you notes are fairly standard in my industry, so it could come off as a snub. The whole hiring process has been quite strange. The final interview was only 45 minutes long, and I felt that wasn’t enough time to gauge if we could work well together. I had previously met with each team member for 30 minutes, and then had this last interview with the prospective boss. The interviewer was late and even asked for five minutes to finish something before we started. There were also several miscommunications during the interview, and it seemed there was confusion about the role I was applying for. Having been on the hiring side myself many times, I found it surprising how unprepared the interviewer seemed. I’m also facing potential restructuring in my current job, which adds to my uncertainty. While I have reservations about this new role, I want to keep my options open in this challenging job market.

I recently had a video interview for a position at a large company, and I thought it went really well. The interviewer and I had a conversational style, which made it feel like we were equals. We started with a clear hour set aside, and the conversation flowed naturally, with no awkward pauses. I stumbled over my words a couple of times but managed to recover, and we easily filled the time with engaging dialogue. However, at the end of the interview, the interviewer mentioned that they weren't sure about the hiring timeline and that the recruiter would be in touch. I had expected some clarity about the next steps, especially since I’ve read that they typically conduct a third in-person round, but that was never mentioned. Now I'm left wondering if the lack of information about the next steps is a bad sign. I thought they might have shared more if they were truly interested in me as a candidate. I'm trying to gauge whether I'm reading too much into the way the interview ended.

I recently went through a final stage interview for a position that I was really excited about. The company had great employee reviews and a reputation for low turnover, which made it seem like a fantastic opportunity. I even checked out the team on LinkedIn, and I noticed that many of them had been with the company for over three years, with some even sticking around for 15 to 20 years. It all looked perfect on paper. Unfortunately, I didn’t perform well in the interview and ended up failing to secure the position. It’s really disheartening because I felt like the team was a great fit, and I could see myself thriving there. This experience got me thinking about how sometimes jobs can seem amazing before you start, only to turn out to be a nightmare once you’re actually in the role. I wonder if others have had similar experiences where they were excited about a job, only to be disappointed after starting. What happened in your case?

I recently completed a phone screening for a high-level technical position as I near the end of my PhD. This was my first interview of this nature, and I was feeling a bit anxious about it. I had prepared a list of questions regarding the job's specifics, deliverables, and the technology I'd be working with. However, when I inquired about the technology, the recruiter admitted they didn't have that information and suggested I ask the hiring manager if I progressed to the next stage. This threw me off, and I struggled to come up with further questions since the job posting was quite vague yet technical. I ended up explaining my background and motivations, but the interview wrapped up in just 18 minutes, which felt abrupt. The recruiter seemed surprised that I didn't have more questions. I'm left wondering if I messed up by not being able to engage further when the recruiter couldn't provide details. How do you handle situations like this when the recruiter lacks knowledge about the role?