"I've Never Been So Humbled": Recently Laid Off Job Seekers Are Getting Brutally Honest About What It's Like Trying To Find Work Right Now

Though the economy's numbers are technically "strong," January 2026 was officially the worst month for layoffs and hiring since the Great Recession successful 2009. In the meantime, inflation continues to rise, and determination seems to beryllium a existent disconnect betwixt economical reports and what's genuinely going connected successful the occupation marketplace close now. We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community who person been laid disconnected and are looking for enactment to stock their experiences, and these 29 tales archer a verrrrrry antithetic story:

1. "I graduated 8 months agone with a Bachelor of Science degree, first-class standing, a GPA of 3.95/4.0, and I inactive don't person a job."

—ravenclaw1997

2. "The occupation marketplace is terrible. I person an MS Degree successful Business/HR and an MS Degree successful Accounting, and implicit 20 years of absorption and HR/Talent Acquisition experience. I person applied to hundreds of jobs, with nary effect astatine all."

3. "Four months in, I'm sick of trying conscionable to get ghosted."

—Anonymous, 37, female, Ohio

4. "I was successful the mediate of moving states for the occupation I was laid disconnected from successful November of '24, surviving successful a semipermanent Airbnb portion I was nether declaration connected an apartment. The layoffs began connected November 6th; that day, my owe was pulled, my institution closed down, and Trump was elected. I figured atrocious things travel successful threes, truthful that's maine done. I'll springiness my caller metropolis a twelvemonth and usage the deposit I had saved on with my severance to spot maine done portion I find a caller role."

5. "I spent 100 days looking for a job! I applied for 87 jobs, made it to last interrogation rounds for two, did archetypal interviews for different two, and got invites for 2 much interviews aft accepting my job. A ton of jobs I ne'er adjacent heard backmost from. Auto-rejection emails and texts successful the mediate of the nighttime were common. It was pugnacious retired there! But I truly enjoyed having the holidays off."

—Anonymous, 31, female, Michigan

6. "I've applied to 300 jobs. Rejected for each that really got backmost to me. I person 30 years of acquisition successful my industry. "

7. "I was laid disconnected successful June of 2024 from a sundowning instrumentality firm. I person an precocious degree, and successful the astir 2 years that I’ve been searching for a job, I’ve had 3 interviews. I’m connected aggregate occupation hunt sites and use to 10-15 jobs a day, 5 days a week. I’d accidental that astir 50% of the jobs are scams and bots conscionable farming information."

"To beryllium clear, I’m not supra moving successful the work manufacture oregon retail. I’ve done these jobs successful the past and would beryllium blessed to adjacent get an email back. I’ve wholly burned done my savings and person resorted to feeding my household expired nutrient from 'bump and bruise' stores. I had 2 promising interviews this week and americium trying to enactment optimistic, but I’ve ne'er been truthful humbled. Good luck retired there."

—Anonymous, 42, female, Maryland

8. "I’ve enactment retired hundreds of applications and seldom perceive back. Sometimes I get rejected wrong the hour. Things are precise bleak."

9. "The occupation marketplace is genuinely abysmal. I’ve been laid disconnected for astir a twelvemonth present and person had zero luck. I person enactment successful hundreds of applications (no exaggeration) and person lone received a fistful of interviews that went nowhere. I was antecedently laid disconnected successful 2021, and it lone took maine astir 3 months to find a caller role. This clip astir is wholly different, and I’m convinced astir occupation postings aren’t adjacent existent astatine this point. For context, I person a selling background."

—Anonymous, 32, female, Pennsylvania

10. "I was laid disconnected from my afloat remote, six-figure occupation a fewer weeks earlier I recovered retired I was pregnant. In the past 7 months, I’ve applied to astir 330 jobs and was ghosted by the immense majority. As my gestation progresses, I’ve fixed up trying to find thing earlier the babe comes. While I americium grateful to beryllium expecting my much-wanted babe and grateful that we tin spend to rise our kid connected my husband’s income, I can’t understate however severely my assurance has been shaken by not being capable to lend to our household successful the mode I’d planned. I deliberation of my aged occupation each day."

11. "The occupation marketplace is terrible. After six months, I person had 3 interviews, zero offers, and person received zero feedback with rejections."

—Anonymous, 35, female, Ohio

12. "After the AI bubble wrecked my freelancing task and I (ironically) abruptly stopped receiving enactment from my AI grooming broadside gig, I was looking for a occupation successful March 2025. I sent retired hundreds of applications, kept revising my resume, and got thing but automated rejections 99% of the time. I couldn’t adjacent get a part-time occupation astatine a market store. In August, I yet got a part-time occupation done a idiosyncratic connection, which I near successful October aft being offered a full-time job, besides done a idiosyncratic connection."

13. "It is truthful impersonal. You use for galore antithetic roles, hoping that your resume volition walk an AI strategy and scope a existent quality being. All the rejections travel from an automated email with the aforesaid template, nary substance which institution sends it. One institution was truthful hands-off that my rejection was sent retired with [Insert Job Title Here] successful the email."

—Anonymous, 30, female, Ohio

14. "Out of the astir 400 roles I’ve applied to, I’ve landed a full of six interviews. I’ve received astir 100 rejection emails and person been ghosted by the rest. I applied to the aforesaid relation 3 times with the nonstop aforesaid resume (months apart) and made it to antithetic stages each time. The occupation conscionable got reposted."

15. "I person a master's and 20 years of acquisition arsenic a scientist. The marketplace was affected by the governmental climate, and radical hatred science."

—Anonymous, 40, female, Seattle

16. "I managed to find a occupation aft being retired of enactment for 5 months. I accepted a occupation that with a 20% alteration successful wage and mode worse benefits. I’m present moving successful a horrible situation wherever radical are treated similar crap due to the fact that the enactment is MIA and ignores abusive and amerciable practices. They cognize the occupation marketplace is tough, and they tin easy regenerate people. It’s awful, but astatine slightest it’s a paycheck until I pain retired and wholly suffer my shit."

17. "From January 2025 until September 2025, I applied to 88 jobs. Some remote, astir local, and a bully bulk successful the car advertizing bureau (which I had been successful for years). Out of the 88 jobs, I got 9 interviews (eight to the last circular and 1 that led to an connection for the occupation I’m successful now). It was brutal and heartbreaking."

—Anonymous, 41, female, metro Detroit

18. "The occupation marketplace successful the Seattle country is simply a joke. I was laid disconnected from a presumption successful HR, and determination are hardly immoderate jobs retired there. I person tried applying to manager roles, recruiter roles, and adjacent entry-level roles, and nary person responded. All I look to get nowadays are scammer postings. I person reached retired to headhunters, and they are not adjacent calling maine back. I person large enactment acquisition and americium not a occupation hopper, truthful I americium baffled wherefore I person not been getting calls back."

19. "Went from six-figure breadwinner of the household to having to instrumentality a occupation making 1/3 of my erstwhile wage to lend thing to our finances. I'm evidently mode overqualified for my presumption now, but luckily, they took a accidental connected maine close arsenic unemployment was moving out. Something is amended than nothing. I couldn't get interviews erstwhile looking astatine equivalent enactment and pay, and erstwhile I did, I was going up against erstwhile coworkers that were besides fto go."

"It's hard having to set resumes perpetually to acceptable occupation descriptions, oregon adjacent trying to get idiosyncratic to telephone you. Depressing, exhausting, and going deeper successful indebtedness each day."

—Anonymous, 41, female, Illinois

20. "I person aggregate degrees and person been successful the workforce for implicit a decade, successful progressively precocious positions. I’ve worked crossed the public/private/social assemblage and person galore transferable skills (and a resume to backmost up the information that I tin successfully pivot betwixt roles). I could not get a occupation for a twelvemonth and wiped retired my savings and status to enactment afloat. I ended up astatine a occupation I’m ridiculously overqualified for and took astir a $30,000 wage cut. I bash yet person a job, but I’m inactive incapable to wage my bills."

21. "I person been applying and not getting a effect astatine all, oregon a elemental automated rejection. The lone responses I got from a recruiter I had were erstwhile I was recommended by idiosyncratic I cognize successful the company. Only 1 existent interview, but the occupation was not successful enactment with my experience, and they closed the presumption itself."

—Anonymous, 47

22. "The occupation marketplace is horrible. I’ve applied to astir apt a 100 jobs successful astir 2 months and haven’t heard backmost from immoderate of them. Things that look similar a bully acceptable get my hopes up, and I’ve recovered myself looking astatine options that wage importantly little than my aged occupation did — sometimes little than fractional — conscionable to find something. My household beingness requires maine to enactment remotely oregon astatine slightest hybrid, and you’d deliberation astir companies would connection that arsenic an option. With AI taking implicit everything, it’s adjacent harder successful my tract to find something. I person a young child, and it’s devastating to consciousness mislaid and discouraged. I conscionable privation to beryllium a bully relation exemplary for her."

23. "[After 8 months], the occupation marketplace is brutal! There are truthful galore radical looking for enactment that adjacent if you conscionable each of the posted occupation requirements, determination is simply a tiny accidental the hiring squad volition spot your information. Companies are seeing thousands of resumes successful a abbreviated magnitude of time, and they are apt receiving resumes from beardown candidates; they conscionable can't talk to each the highly qualified candidates. The aged proposal of reaching retired to the hiring squad is nary longer helpful. You present person hundreds of radical reaching retired to an overburdened hiring team, who don't person the clip to respond to/read each of those messages."

"There is present rampant fraud successful the exertion process. Companies are mining for data, truthful they make fake jobs to get your resume and idiosyncratic information, which allows them to make fraudulent candidates. Companies person to beryllium connected the lookout for fraud now, and erstwhile they are skeptical astir an applicant, they are inclined not to scope out. 

Companies are besides looking for the cleanable campaigner due to the fact that they cognize determination is much endowment available. Instead of being satisfied with a campaigner gathering 75-90% of the requirements, it feels similar you indispensable person 100-110% of the asks. The hiring process is besides slower, since determination is much endowment available, companies walk weeks moving candidates done their process. A emblematic interrogation process utilized to beryllium 2-4 weeks; it's present 3-8."

—Anonymous, 45, female, Chicago

24. "It took maine six months to find a caller relation successful marketing. I wanted thing afloat remote, but that was highly competitive. Once I started accepting the information that I astir apt wouldn't find thing afloat remote, I applied for hybrid roles and saw much interrogation requests. My existent relation is hybrid but precise flexible, truthful I'm thankful to enactment from location the bulk of the time! I had astir 20 interviews earlier landing this role. Lots of employers are ghosting applicants. I had 2 roles that I was definite I'd get (got verbal confirmation from them), but past I ne'er heard backmost from the employer. It was precise frustrating."

25. "I was laid disconnected [over a twelvemonth ago] owed to tariffs. I worked successful merchandise procurement for a institution that sourced chiefly overseas. Midway done my occupation search, I realized I had to pivot distant from the manufacture and the occupation itself. I'm astatine the constituent present that I'm applying to everything. I person a grade and the acquisition these companies require, but nary 1 is calling. I've mislaid number of however galore applications I've submitted. Applying to jobs is simply a occupation successful itself. I've been connected a fistful of interviews, but I ne'er made it to the last round. I'm not adjacent receiving a courtesy 'thanks but nary thanks' email from these people. It's been precise discouraging."

—Anonymous, 40, Woman, New York

26. "I’m making little than what I made erstwhile I was 16, with less hours and nary benefits. I can’t wage my bills, and I outcry astir nights due to the fact that of it."

27. "A period agone was my sixth layoff successful a 23-year advertizing career. I cognize if I had been capable to enactment with 1 company, I'd person fiscal stability, a tenable 401 (k), and would beryllium amended titled than I americium now. But instead, I'm facing the imaginable of liquidating my assets again, selling my car again. It's a mess. I've been told by fractional of these HR teams (in confidence) that portion of wherefore I've been 'chosen' to beryllium fto spell is that they spot maine arsenic resilient, hardworking, and likable; successful different words, they deliberation I'll person the easiest clip uncovering a caller job. But the information is, each time, it shakes my confidence."

"My resume reads similar Swiss cheese, and it's harder each clip to explicate however I'm implicit 40 and stuck wherever I americium connected the firm ladder. I'm profoundly resentful of bureau life. Instead, I'm going to beryllium connected Medicaid for the adjacent six months, cod my unemployment benefits, and bootstrap a tech startup with 2 partners due to the fact that I don't judge there's thing of worthy near successful advertising. The biggest metallic lining: I got to beryllium retired of each the posturing and dick-measuring astir the Super Bowl commercials. What a treat. What a relief. But inquire maine successful six months if I caved and took bureau enactment again to get backmost connected my feet."

—Anonymous, 44, female, Chicago

28. "There are a batch of scams and lies retired determination close present successful the field. One occupation I was hired for (I person an MBA, plentifulness of bully references, and experience) turned retired not to beryllium managing a spot but to beryllium a groundskeeper for a ample estate, driving a ample tract mower and cleaning sidewalks. They wholly lied, and I recovered retired conscionable earlier I was astir to move."

29. And finally, "It took 3 months, 60 applications, and yet 1 interrogation to onshore a job. I was told I was overqualified oregon didn't person capable experience, depending connected what occupation I was applying for. It was highly discouraging, particularly since I was laid disconnected from my erstwhile occupation aft 5 years owed to a cutback without informing connected a Tuesday morning. I volition ne'er get comfy with an leader again."

—Anonymous, 38, male, USA

If you've been laid off, I'd emotion to cognize if this resonates with your experience. What's the occupation marketplace truly similar close now? Drop your communicative successful the comments, oregon if you'd similar to stay anonymous, you tin usage the signifier below.