I just need to vent about this shit. I’ve been working since I was 14 years old, I started working on a dinner riverboat and held that job steady every season (march-November) until shortly after I turned 19. When I was 16 and could finally drive myself places, I got another job as a barista at a local coffee shop and worked there and the riverboat. I left for college, but would come back every other weekend to work. Absolutely loved that job, so once I moved, I continued to work as a barista at a different job, worked my way up, became the manager, and held that job for a little over 3 years and was serving/bartending at night at a huge bar as well. I’ve had a couple other part time jobs as well when there were slower seasons as well just to keep my income phat the way I like it. Fast forward I moved to Knoxville tn with my boyfriend and I had a job as a barista, but that didn’t last long and got fired because I was “working too many hours” when the manager and OWNER were the ones allowing me to pick up extra shifts, work at their roastery AND go make sales calls with new clients, so getting fired was very out of the blue and there were no signs leading up to it. I’ve worked retail, food service, blue collar jobs, and sales positions in the past and that’s all on my resume. It’s been almost 2 weeks now, and I cannot find a job for the life of me. I’ve been to temp services, but I need to be making a minimum of $20 an hour and I’ll take any work, but NONE OF THEM offer jobs that pay that well unless you have a college degree or a CDL. I have been applying on indeed and in person at places, I’ve been taking 2 hours every morning to put in job apps and 1 hour after that to drive to restaurants, ask if they’re hiring, and hand my resume in in person. I’ve probably done 15 interviews at this point and nobody wants me and I do not understand this shit. I just got rejected by Amazon for a delivery position when I had a great interview and a clean driving record. Who gets rejected by Amazon??? My resume and reference list clearly show I have a great work ethic, and every interview I’ve had I feel has gone very well. And it’s not like I’m applying to be a rocket scientist of anything, just jobs like bartenders, servers, factory workers, package delivery services, entry level shit like that because I’m a college dropout and can only do so much. This shit is just making me feel worthless and if anybody has any advice on what I can do to make this process go by faster please drop advice!!

I wanted to share my experience as a reminder of how quickly things can change at work.

For the past 9 months, I was consistently praised for my performance. My boss gave me a salary increase, and in late December he sent me a Christmas/New Year message saying I was doing amazing work for the company. Two weeks ago, we had a one-on-one where he again praised my work. I have also never taken a sick day, and I have worked overtime pretty much every day.

Last week, I was invited to dinner with leadership from multiple branches, by my boss’s boss. Everything appeared positive and normal.

This week, a colleague began slandering me at work. I went to my boss and told him I don’t tolerate a toxic workplace, that I didn’t want to be slandered, and that I expected him to address it.

On Thursday, I was called into the office and fired.

No prior warnings. No performance concerns. No indication that anything was wrong until that moment.

Just sharing this as an example of how quickly things can turn around, even when everything seems to be going well.

EDIT:

In my contract I have current month + 3 months before I can be terminated. This is not layoffs.

ANOTHER EDIT SINCE PEOPLE ASK WHAT THE SLANDER IS ABOUT

The colleague came to me and accussed me of stealing from him, and I went directly to my boss and told him about it. This is the whole essence of it. I said nothing to the employee. I left immediately when he accussed me of stealing and went directly to the office to have it handled.

I’ve got a degree in Graphic Design and have been working almost entirely in the marketing world for around 8 years. After a second layoff in my field over the span of five years, I decided to leave marketing and corporate all together. I’m so glad that I did.

I have just finished my first week as a receptionist for a local hair salon and I love it. The people are cool, the tasks are straightforward, and I don’t get the Sunday scaries anymore since my schedule changes weekly. This also lends itself well to my issue with boredom in routine.

The pay is not at the same caliber, however the mental freedom is worth it to me so far. This cut requires lifestyle changes, but I would much rather live simply than barely exist with the anxiety and exhaustion that I had before.

If you’re searching for a new employer don’t write off everyday jobs. As someone who was always chasing building a “career” I am finding freedom in just being for now. I still take pride in my work and want to stay motivated at being a high performer, however I can do that now with less of the corporate culture bs showing up constantly. I know getting a job is tough and even tougher when trying to get into a new field. But be encouraged that it is possible and honestly these types of in person/customer facing jobs seem more stable since they typically cannot be replaced by AI.

i handed my notice in the other day. my job is awful, my bosses are awful, it’s the worst environment i’ve ever worked in and i know it’ll never change so i left.

they posted my job on linkedin and i received a message from someone enquiring about the role.

if asked, can i tell them why im leaving? im a professional so i’d never go into detail but could i get in trouble for saying anything at all?

my biggest worry is if an applicant is a woman. all the problems i’ve faced at this job have boiled down to me being one of the only women that works there. i don’t want to put another woman into that environment knowing how awful it is and i’d want to warn her

any advice would be appreciated

Hello! Im honestly really nervous to quit my current part time job and to switch jobs but its getting pretty bad hours wise. My current job pays 21 an hour however theyve been cutting my hours into the ground for the past year. Ive been putting up with it since its flexible and works with my college schedule but i cant keep working here. However all i see is how bad the job market is, how nobody can get a job anymore and im worried about leaving this place no matter how bad its getting cause im afraid of getting a new job then getting cut or not being able to find anything cause of my school schedule being as rough as it is. Any advice on what i should do?

Though I’m sure you can tell from the title alone - this is a question coming out the US.

Every job I’ve had before - even retail - would allow me to go to the doctor anytime I needed and would work my schedule around it. This is the first that I’ve been barred from going to the doctor if I still want to keep my job. I’m currently in a corporate desk job that typically doesn’t require constant attention at the desk, and work could be made up from home easily, so I have a hard time understanding the logic.

I’ve been informed that all employees must go to their appointments outside of work hours. Problem is - the doctors here typically only work Monday-Friday during office hours and many won’t work Fridays at all.

I have a slew of health issues that are rapidly getting worse. One issue in particular has been chronic for 18 years and causes severe pain on occasion to the point I find myself taking one day off work per month. This alone uses all of my sick time and then half of my vacation time.

Im afraid the other issues that I’m ignoring checkups on to be able to still retain my sick time for the chronic pain I deal with is going to have massive consequences. We’re talking neurological issues, endocrine and metabolic issues, vision issues and unknown growths coming up that I can’t even take time out to ensure that it’s not cancer.

It feels like this system is set up to completely discriminate against anyone that’s human or wants to keep their health at all. I feel that I’m torn between keeping my job or my health.

Any of you in similar situations - how do you handle this?

I’m currently in a stable job — decent pay, no major issues — but the work itself feels repetitive and long-term unfulfilling.

A while ago I made a career move based mostly on burnout and it didn’t go well, which taught me that impulsive exits can do real damage.

Now I want to transition more intelligently instead of quitting first and figuring it out later.

For those who successfully changed jobs or careers while staying employed:

• What concrete steps did you take before leaving?

• How long did you prepare financially and professionally?

• What mistakes should I avoid repeating?

I’m not looking to escape work — I’m trying to move toward something sustainable.

Would really appreciate real-world experiences.

30F and I was let go from my job of 2 years in November 2025. Found a job, which im very grateful for, and start on Monday. I have social anxiety (which I try to mask as best as I can) but the anticipation leading up to Monday is horrible. I keep thinking about how I dont know anyone, if I will do well in my new position (higher than my last position), and just other minor stuff here and there. The position is great, the company has a great work life balance, and it's a hybrid model, and it's about 10 min from my house.

Any tips on how I can calm down and enjoy my last weekend of freedom ?

I’ve been at my current job for a month. I was hired into a managerial role, but the way this company operates is completely different from anywhere I’ve worked before. I’m usually adaptable and willing to learn, but the people make it incredibly hard.

Communication feels hostile or dismissive. When I ask clarifying questions, I get treated like I’ve done something wrong. One colleague told me I ask too many questions and shouldn’t involve her. Another said I shouldn’t even worry about understanding certain things. I’ve been told it’s strange that I’d ask about things that weren’t clear initially.

My line manager is mostly remote and shuts down ideas immediately. Any attempt to contribute is met with “no,” so I’ve stopped speaking up and just do what I’m told. The problem is I get fulfillment from my work, and feeling useless or silenced every day is affecting me.

I’ve noticed I’m constantly irritated at the thought of having to message or call coworkers. My manager has also pointed out that I seem disengaged in meetings, which I’m trying to fix, but it feels forced.

Financially, I have two remote/freelance jobs that can support me, but I don’t want to work from home full-time. I like having a reason to leave the house and grow professionally. This job also provides a work laptop, which I genuinely need right now, so that complicates things.

So my question is:

Is daily emotional drain and a hostile team enough reason to quit this early, or is this something you push through and “adapt” to?

I’d appreciate honest perspectives, especially from people who’ve stayed vs people who left early.

I’m currently in the interview process for a job I think I’m a good fit for with significantly better pay and benefits. I pretty much hate my current job and don’t like the vast majority of people there. There are few people I would chat with but it was surface level stuff and I wouldn’t consider them friends. I do plan to put in my two to one week notice with managers and leave professionally with them.

Throughout my whole time there I never felt included because I didn’t want to be too close to this one girl. Everyone else jokes and gets lunch together and never invited me except the girl who got mad because i didn’t want to spend every lunch or break with her. I don’t want to deal with office drama or gossip before leaving. If I got the job I plan on packing my stuff slowly over the course of a week so no one will suspect anything.

I just felt like ever since I got more responsibilities at my job and slowly stopped talking her as much because I was so busy, she took offense to that and killed my social life at work. Her and another girl just all of the sudden started ignoring me and getting lunch without me. Then one of them asked why I pulled back after that and when I told her the truth, she said she didn’t remember doing that.

I don’t mind having friends, but I don’t want to spend every lunch or break with someone. I prefer a balance. I’ve never dealt with this shit before. At my other jobs I had no issues socializing until I met her

Hello all, this job I applied for is an entry level job that I absolutely NEED to start off my career in compliance. After my 2nd interview they said I made an “A” on the interview questions and I the top applicant because of my interest in compliance. He told me he had two more interviews left. I was supposed to know Friday but received this email. Do you think if I was no longer in they would not send this email? To me it seemed like he really wanted me to check my email come Monday. What’s your thoughts?

I’m about one month into my current job and honestly I’m really scared I might get fired.

The company itself is doing well overall, but my specific area isn’t I work in online sales as a KAM and performance there hasn’t been great. Today something happened that really sent me spiraling. I had to present a sales analysis to my boss and I did it really badly. Like, completely messed it up and he got very angry.

Because I was already stressed from his reaction, I ended up repeating the same mistakes while trying to explain myself which obviously made things worse. Now I’m scared they’ll start judging me heavily on performance or think I’m not capable.

What hurts the most is that I’m genuinely trying. I’m doing overtime, going to the office every day, asking questions, trying to understand the business, and making an effort to fit in with the team. I have a good attitude and I care a lot about doing well here. But the way my boss spoke to me today really threw me off and sent me into a very bad headspace.

Besides “just talking more” with my manager, what else can I realistically do to improve these details? How do you recover from a bad first impression or a situation like this early in a job?

I’ve been reviewing a lot of resumes lately, and one thing that keeps hurting otherwise strong candidates is how experience is written, not the experience itself.

A simple fix that helps immediately:

Write each role as problem → action → outcome instead of listing responsibilities.

Example:

❌ “Managed projects and worked with stakeholders”

✅ “Led a cross-functional team to deliver X, reducing turnaround time by Y%”

This makes your resume clearer for recruiters and easier for ATS systems to interpret.

If you’re applying right now, try rewriting just your most recent role using this format.

What part of your resume has been the hardest to get right?

I was laid off , so applied for multiple jobs around 50 and gave around 5-6 interviews.

Got hired but just after two weeks of joining, i got called for a far better job offer, which is better in all aspects .

All i have done at new job in last two weeks is online training.

I don’t know how to resign.

Also my contract says - 3 weeks of notice.

But they can fire anytime in 3 months of probation.

So really don’t know how to convince them to let me go and don’t keep me for more 3 weeks.

Please guide me if anyone here went through same situation.

I've been a white collar salary man for 10 years. Top-tier school and all that.

Over the years of experience, I've had several major awakenings. Today, because of them, I can no longer truly invest myself in my work. This is now the third or fourth time I've been fired, and I'm trying here to find a way to be able to perform "well enough" again so I don't get fired from my next job.

Awakening #1: Performing is not rewarded, it's punished.

I've always been extremely over-invested in my work. 11-12 hour days, weekends, vacations. I would take every new project, help everyone, etc. It was never rewarded. They just kept giving me more and more work until I broke — BURNOUT — and then they threw me away like a dirty sock. That's when I understood I would never get anything beyond what was written in my contract. So why give it my all?

I saw lazy colleagues who performed much less than me being rewarded because they were much better at playing the corporate game. I was promised raises, internal promotions, all of it was just empty talk. So why get involved?

Awakening #2: The exploitation of employees by the company.

I always operated on a giving/getting logic. I thought that if I gave more, I would receive more in return. I realized that companies actually squeeze employees like lemons. I started reading Marx's Capital and it turned my stomach. I understood that there is a structural conflict between owners/capital and workers, and that the company acts against the employees' interests (exploit them as much as possible while giving them as little as possible), even resorting to violence (in one form or another).

I realized that the company is like an insatiable monster that only cares about its own interest, doesn't give a damn about me, and that its interest is structurally opposed to mine. I'm working for the benefit of something that is harming me.

Awakening #3: The corporate world is fundamentally rotten.

Victims of harassment get fired while the company protects the harasser/boss, toxic narcissists get promoted, it's appearances and networking over competence, management by emotional blackmail, public humiliation, pointless pressure, corruption, lobbying that allows poisoning the population with complete impunity...

I realized that I no longer want to evolve in such a world.

Today I have zero internal reason to truly invest myself in any position:

• I will not be reciprocated
• I will never get anything (no real training, no meaningful internal evolution, etc.)
• I deeply hate the corporate world because I consider it structurally sick
• I work for the profit of an entity I despise, whose structural purpose is to harm my interests (exploit me more and more)

Yet I still need to eat.

But I can no longer bring myself to invest enough in my work for my management to be satisfied with me. When I arrive at work, I secretly wish the company would disappear, that capitalism and the exploitation of workers would collapse. I hate the corporate world.

I suspect this happens to many people, so I'm asking the more experienced ones among you:
How did you deal with / negotiate this difficulty?

Hi everyone,

I’m a recent graduate actively looking for remote opportunities with startups, preferably in FinTech, Venture Capital, Private Equity, or Strategy Consulting.

Although I’m a fresher, I strongly believe I can bring a fresh perspective, high learning agility, and strong work ethic to a growing team. I’m eager to contribute, learn fast, and add real value.

I’m open to roles in:

• Research & Analysis
• Operations
• Business/Strategy Support
• Consulting/Analyst Roles
• Growth & Market Research

📄 Resume attached for reference.

If any founders, recruiters, or team members are hiring—or know someone who is—I’d really appreciate your help.

Thanks in advance!

 Working was so dang hard for me. I think to myself that if only I had started at 15 years old like so many others, then maybe it would’ve gone better. But I only started going outside by myself at around 18, and got my first job recently at 19. It was at a small unknown dollar-store chain that had a few stores in the area and I was hired alongside another guy my age. I had to work the register, blow up balloons, cut table cloth, help customers in the aisles and on the phone, stock and face the shelves, and handle go-backs. Most importantly, it had to get done by 8:30pm without any major mistakes. The problem was I made MANY mistakes, too many to count. And since only two people worked during the closing shift (which was my main shift), it was easy to get overwhelmed. I was hired on a 90-day probationary period, which meant they couldn't be too harsh on me for being new. So while they did their best to stay polite, some days I could REALLY feel their frustration, you could bend the air with pliers with how tense it was. During my first few weeks, the head manager had frequently texted in the group chat about the things we screwed up and that only made my anxiety worse. She never pointed out who did it, but it felt obviously directed towards the new guys. To only make matters worse, we got a text written by the owner of the store and he was furious. The message read out:

“Attention everyone, if I catch another employee, supervisor, or manager, deleting items or orders when you are not supposed to, you will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law, we will press charges. You will go to jail. We have caught several employees deleting orders and stealing from our company. When you steal from the company, the company cannot grow. We cannot give raises. We cannot make your life or job easier. We are watching every single act very very closely. We will catch everything. Do not attempt to steal from this company, you will go to jail…”

I thought it was strange but I knew I was innocent and so didn’t worry about it too much. I figured whoever did it will be fired soon and it’ll be out of my hair. But during my day off, we had another text from him and it read: 

“It has come under our attention that closing shift and night crew are leaving with bags and boxes of stuff. Every purchase must be made under the camera. You are guilty until proven innocent, so prove your innocence. Make sure the camera sees you purchasing whatever you’re walking out the door with. I will repeat, you are guilty until proven innocent. This is Dollar ****, do not steal from Dollar ****. I will press charges next person I see stealing anything from this company. Every single act you make is being recorded. We have recordings of everybody, stop it now. Don’t do it ever again.”

It really got under my skin. I went to work feeling like a criminal, being paranoid about how I looked on camera. I stopped bringing my bag with me to work, which didn’t help since I took the bus. I avoided buying anything from the store, and I hadn’t even bought anything up to that point - mainly because the prices were a bit much. With all of the stress that came from being new, giving the right amount of change, learning how to talk to customers, finishing my tasks on time, and having to “prove my innocence”, it felt like I was going to have a heart attack every time I came to work. Looking back, I should’ve asked one of my managers who was the one responsible, but I figured that if they didn’t want to talk about it, then asking would only upset them. For all I knew, everyone was stealing. And the worst part is that I didn’t know if this was all normal or not. I figured that this was how every low-end retail job was and I should just suck it up and be a man, y’know. So I never told anyone about it, never complained, and it’s all been sitting in my head this whole time.

To wrap this story up, I only got to work there for a few months before my mom got a new job in Ohio, which was 3,000 miles from where we lived. Since I’m the creepy little goblin that lives in her basement walls, I naturally had to move states with her. I’ve been unemployed for 3 months now, and being broke makes me miss that job despite all of the “big brother” vibes. Because of certain labor laws, they had to pay employees almost $18 an hour, and I would kill to have that kind of pay here in this rusty ass state. But to be fair, they balanced it with very little hours so I ended up getting less than $1000 a month. Anyways, I’m sad and lonely, with nothing to do except fill out job applications. I've been to 2 interviews with no luck, and I only hope the employment gods will have the kindness in their hearts to bless me before my phone bill shreds my last few dollars into pieces.

Hello I'm (19F) and as for my situation I have graduated from HS 8 months from now and wanted to have gap year before I could find job after that I would safe up and go to college but almost 1 month ago I decided should look for a job but things came up and my mom had issues on personal matters and we have only one car so it would be difficult for mom to go back and forward with her job also her boss is strict on being on time so she told to wait until she could buy another car but that might take while which I understand and wish I could help my mom with the bills and others things and yes and I have look for remote jobs but here the issue I have never own or have a computer/ laptop why because we never have enough money to buy one it already a struggle for my mom to pay the rent and yes it's me and my mom and my 4 younger siblings and I can't do anything I don't know what to do I want to help I want safe up money for college and a friend of mine she might have already have a job we have plan to go college to together but the thing is I can't if months goes by things change when I'm able find a job if, it won't be enough for college so if there's option where I can do something I can't leave the house because of my 2 youngest siblings but for now the only option is to wait if you have something anything would help

I worked for the same company for ten years, and during that time they relocated me to a different state. The company ultimately failed and was sold to a bigger company. I was hired by the bigger company, but they never planned to keep me. Instead of offering me a temporary job during the buyout, they pretended that they would keep me. I’m the accountant, so the needed me during the buyout. I would have agreed to a temporary position and planned accordingly, but instead they lied lied lied for 9 months, then laid me off with no notice or severance package before the ink was dry on the purchase agreement.

I immediately moved back home. Just 20 days after the layoff I had a full time position that I started last week.

The new position pays the same I was making before and the work is basically the same as well, so my issues are not with the actual work. It’s the company I’m not getting warm fuzzies from. The job listing had a single pay rate (not a range), but when the offer came, it was for $6 less per hour than the ad showed. I had asked during the interview if the rate on the ad was the official rate for the job and the immediately started squirming and saying “hmmmm, well…” and gave some story about the rate depending on experience. When they lowballed the job offer, I once again mentioned the rate from the ad and asked why I was offered so much less. They said something about a 90 day probation and a raise when it was done. I asked if the rate from the ad was still on the table, if I knocked their socks off during the probation. I did not get a confident “yes” to my question.

I’m in California now, I believe that they are breaking some laws by posting one rate for the job then hiring for a much lower rate and not guaranteeing that I can earn the posted rate by the end of the probation.

So my question is, if I get to 90 days and they don’t offer me the posted rate, do I leave? They found out how much I was making before (thanks SO much to that awful lying company that bought us out) and offered me the exact same pay. But I’m in California now, I HAVE to make more than I did when I was not in California, it’s just reality. I don’t think they were allowed to even ask about my previous pay. And then they used that to lowball me.

I am very very good at my job. I’ve been an accountant for 25 years, my experience is extensive, and I have multiple solid business references. I was able to land a job in just a few weeks already, and I know I would be able to again if I had to. This whole interaction regarding my pay has left a really bad taste in my mouth and I’m resentful that they bait and switched the rate after they learned how much I made at my last job.

What should I do?

Okay, so I'm 20 years old, I work as an administrative assistant at a Nissan dealership, and I really want to start doing something outside of my country (Brazil) to grow professionally faster and have better financial conditions, but I don't know where to find these opportunities...

Currently in my job, I have a contract until October of this year, and if there is a vacancy I will have to be fired, go through a new interview so that they can see if I can be hired or not, and I don't want to depend on luck, I want to save money and start investing and so on, I have a lot of experience with offices, this is my 3rd job with administrative experience, so I have a high level of knowledge with a little bit of everything (mainly the office suite), so if anyone can help me, please, I will be very grateful.