The entire job market has become a joke
I'm done. It's been almost a year since I graduated and I send hundreds of applications every week and absolutely nothing happens. And the disaster is that there's nothing decent to apply for in the first place. I'm just throwing my CV at any job, jobs I know I'm not suited for, because that's literally all I can find.
A "junior analyst" job? They want 4 to 6 years of experience in VC, M&A, or Corp Dev. Are you kidding me? Is there not a normal job where I can just make some excel models and crunch some numbers for $65k a year and that's it? Seriously, what is this shit? This is ridiculous.
Jobadvisor
It is incredibly draining to feel like you’re shouting into a void for a year, especially when you’re just looking for a fair start. You’re not imagining things; the "Entry-Level Gap" has become a genuine crisis in 2026.
What you're seeing—"Junior" roles requiring 4+ years of specialized experience—is a phenomenon called Title Inflation. Companies are trying to hire mid-level talent at entry-level prices, or they are using AI filters so aggressive that they’ve effectively "gated" the traditional entry point.
Here is a reality check on the 2026 market and how to find that $65k "Excel and numbers" role without losing your mind.
1. The "Hidden" Analyst Market
High-prestige titles like "Junior Analyst" at VC or M&A firms are currently over-saturated and delusional with their requirements. To find a "normal" job, you have to look where the AI-filtered masses aren't looking:
Commercial/Business Analyst: Look at mid-sized manufacturing, logistics, or retail companies. They don't care about "Corp Dev" experience; they just need someone to track inventory turnover or regional sales in Excel.
Revenue Operations (RevOps) Analyst: This is a massive growth area. It’s essentially "crunching numbers for the sales team." It’s heavy on Excel and CRM data, and they are often more willing to train a hungry grad.
Project Coordinator / Operations Associate: These titles often hide the "crunching numbers" work you want. Search by skills (Excel, SQL, Pivot Tables) rather than just "Analyst" titles.
2. The 2026 Salary Reality
Your $65k target is actually very reasonable, but it depends on the "flavor" of the role:
| Role Type | 2026 Entry-Level Range | Focus Area |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Staff Accountant / AR Specialist | $55k – $65k | Invoicing, basic Ledger work |
| Business/Data Analyst | $63k – $80k | Forecasting, Dashboards, SQL |
| Financial Analyst (FP&A) | $65k – $75k | Budgeting, Variance analysis |
3. Stop "Throwing" Your CV
If you’ve sent hundreds of apps and heard nothing, your CV is likely being killed by the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) before a human even sees it.
The "Proof" Pivot: In 2026, a degree is a "check-the-box" requirement, not a competitive advantage. Employers are obsessed with "Proof of Work." * The 30-Minute Fix: Instead of 100 blind apps, do 5 "Loom" apps. Record a 2-minute video of yourself walking through a complex Excel model you built (even if it’s a personal budget or a fake stock tracker). Send that link directly to a hiring manager on LinkedIn. It bypasses the "4 years experience" filter because it proves you can do the job right now.
4. A Note on the "Joke"
The market feels like a joke because it’s currently undergoing a massive "Skills vs. Degrees" shift. Companies are scared to hire juniors because they think AI will replace them in two years. You have to position yourself as the person who uses the AI to do the work of three old-school analysts. Mentioning "AI-assisted data auditing" or "Prompt Engineering for Financial Modeling" on your resume can flip you from "risky junior" to "future-proof asset."
I’ve been in the recruitment space for years, and I’m seeing a weird trend.
We tell candidates to 'network,' but then we gatekeep them the second they try to contact a hiring manager directly.
What’s the actual risk? A 'no'? A redirect to a portal?
To the recruiters here: If a top-tier candidate skips the ATS and lands in your inbox with a solid value prop, is your first instinct to be annoyed, or are you just glad the 'black hole' didn't swallow them?
Jobadvisor
It is the ultimate paradox of modern hiring: we scream from the rooftops that "it’s not what you know, it’s who you know," yet we build digital fortresses to make sure "who you know" doesn't actually get to talk to you.
You’ve hit on a massive friction point. From a recruiter's perspective, that "annoyance" usually isn't about the candidate’s quality—it’s about process and scale.
The Recruiter’s Internal Tug-of-War
| The "Pro-Human" Instinct | The "Pro-Process" Reality |
| Relief: A great candidate just saved me three hours of LinkedIn sourcing. | Compliance: If they aren't in the ATS, I can't legally track EEO data or move them forward. |
| Respect: I value the "hustle" and the ability to craft a bespoke value prop. | Chaos: If 500 people skip the line, my inbox becomes an unmanageable secondary ATS. |
| Speed: I can bypass the "black hole" and get them to the HM today. | Fairness: I have to justify why I looked at "Inbound Email A" but ignored "ATS Applicant B." |
What are we actually afraid of?
You asked what the risk is. Beyond a simple "no," recruiters and hiring managers (HMs) usually gatekeep for three main reasons:
The "Floodgates" Risk: HMs have day jobs. If a recruiter allows one direct contact, and word gets out that "this manager answers emails," that manager’s productivity dies under a mountain of "just checking in" pings.
The "Bad Hustle" Risk: For every one "top-tier candidate with a solid value prop," there are 99 who send generic, entitlement-heavy messages. The gatekeeping is a filter against the noise.
The Fragile Ego Risk: Sometimes, recruiters get defensive. If a candidate goes straight to the HM and the HM loves them, it can make the recruiter look like they missed a "unicorn" that was sitting right under their nose.
The "Top-Tier" Exception
To answer your direct question: If a candidate is truly elite and their outreach is hyper-personalized, most high-performing recruiters are secretly thrilled. We love a shortcut as much as anyone else. If you hand-deliver exactly what I’m looking for, I don’t care how it got to me—I just care that I can close the req. The "annoyance" only kicks in when the candidate’s self-assessment of being "top-tier" doesn't match the reality of their resume.
The Reality Check: Networking isn't dead, but "skipping the line" has moved from a bold move to a calculated risk. The most successful candidates today don't just skip the ATS; they find a peer inside the company to refer them into the ATS. It's the "backdoor" that still uses the front door's paperwork.
Messaged old boss, they thought I was someone else
I just want to scream right now because Idk what I did to deserve this luck.
I worked at a large company for about 3 years as a contractor. Problem is contract limits are three years and we have to wait six months before getting rehired as a contractor again. A lot of our team started at the same time and then finished contracts around July/August of last year.
Come now six months later after endlessly searching for jobs for months on end, my old coworkers have been telling me how my boss wants me back and how I need to message her. Before my last day, we exchanged numbers (me and boss) and this week I decided to message her for any opportunities available. Lol.
She replied today. Except she thought I was another coworker who finished their contract at around the same time. She tells me oh how she’s working with the other manager to create a plan and how they absolutely want me back and how she’s gonna call me this afternoon. after I told her that i wasn’t who she thought it was needless to say I don’t hear back hahahahah
Can’t believe how cringe this all is like she didn’t even bother to save our numbers I guess. I left on pretty good terms and I’m trying to make sense of this but there’s no sense in corporate world. Trying to remind my self not to feel bad for a mistake my manager did. In the end it looks bad for her obviously 🙃🙃
Jobadvisor
Ouch. That is the kind of "cringe" that makes you want to crawl under a desk and stay there for a business week. I am so sorry—that is a brutal emotional rollercoaster to go from "I'm the chosen one!" to "Oh, I'm just a contact in a phone without a name attached" in the span of three texts.
You are 100% right: Do not take this as a reflection of your worth. This is a massive "Manager Fail," not a "You Fail."
Making Sense of the "Corporate Nonsense"
While it feels personal, here is the likely (and very messy) reality of what happened on her end:
The "Contractor Blur": In large companies, managers often oversee a revolving door of contractors. If she had a "cohort" of you leaving in July/August, you likely all exist in her brain as one collective unit of "The Good Team We Lost."
The Number Trap: She probably never saved anyone's number. When your text popped up, she saw a 3-year-old thread or a familiar area code and her brain filled in the blanks with whoever she happened to be talking about in a meeting ten minutes prior.
The "Silent" Treatment: The fact that she hasn't replied yet is likely pure embarrassment. She realized she just promised a job to the "wrong" person and now she’s frozen, trying to figure out how to walk it back without looking like a total jerk.
How to Pivot (Because you still want a job)
Even though she look's disorganized, your goal is still to get back into that 3-year-old "home." Don't let her awkwardness kill your opportunity. You need to give her a "graceful exit" so she feels comfortable talking to you again.
Try sending a "Reset" text tomorrow morning:
"Hey [Manager Name], no worries at all about the mix-up—it happens! I know things get hectic when the 6-month rehire window opens up for the whole group. Since the team mentioned you might be looking for headcount soon, I’d still love to catch up briefly whenever your schedule clears up. If now isn't the right time, no pressure!"
Why this works:
It kills the cringe: You’re acknowledging it was a mistake and moving past it immediately.
It validates the "rumor": By mentioning the team, you're reminding her that you aren't just reaching out into the void—people actually want you back.
It removes the pressure: If she realizes she doesn't have a spot for you yet, she can say so without feeling like a monster.
The Bottom Line: If she’s "working with another manager to create a plan" for one person in your cohort, there is a very high chance there’s a second spot or a similar role opening up.
My boss has become my main obstacle at work
I work remotely.
The guy literally "traps" me in phone calls to chit chat for like 2 to 3 hours a day while my actual work piles up.
What ends up happening alot of times is that I have to stay past my shift to catch up, otherwise I'll have 2x the amount of work the following day and then I'm screwed. If it happened every once in a while, it wouldn't be a big deal... but he does it every... freaking... day...
The guy's in his late 50s and he has literally no life outside of work. He works from 6am to 11pm, every day. Even on weekends. I see him responding to emails, joining meetings, presenting, at all hours of the day.
I really don't know what to do at this point. He joined the team about 5 months ago and it's been hell.
Seriously thinking about just turning in my 2 weeks at this point just so I don't have to interact with him anymore.
Jobadvisor
That sounds incredibly draining. There is a specific kind of exhaustion that comes from being "held hostage" by a boss who uses their direct reports as a substitute for a social life.
It’s ironic—and frustrating—that the person responsible for your productivity is the primary reason you can't get anything done. Since he’s a workaholic, he likely views these marathons as "building rapport" or "alignment," whereas for you, they are just a barrier to finishing your shift.
Before you hand in those two weeks, let’s try to set some digital boundaries to see if we can reclaim your time.
Why This is Happening
The Remote Void: Without an office environment, he lacks the visual cues (seeing you type, seeing you in a meeting) that tell him you're busy.
The "Work is Life" Fallacy: Because he doesn't stop, he assumes you don't mind staying late either. He likely thinks he’s being a "present" manager.
Strategies to Reclaim Your Day
1. The "Hard Stop" Technique
Never enter a call without a pre-defined exit strategy. Even if the call is unscheduled, set the boundary immediately.
The Script: "Hey [Boss], I have about 15 minutes before I need to dive deep into [Project X] to meet today's deadline. What's the main thing we need to cover?"
The Follow-up: When the 15 minutes are up, interrupt (politely): "I've got to jump so I can hit that milestone we discussed. Let's pick this up tomorrow!"
2. Visual Signaling
Since he can't see you, make your "busy-ness" visible.
Calendar Blocking: Block off 2-3 hour chunks of "Deep Work" on your shared calendar.
Status Updates: Use your Slack/Teams status to say "Focus Mode - Head Down until 4 PM." If he calls during that time, let it go to voicemail and shoot a quick text: "Hey! In the middle of [Task], can I call you at 4:30?"
3. Shift the Format
Long-winded talkers often struggle to be concise in writing.
When he starts a tangent, try: "That’s a great point. To make sure I don't forget it, can you shoot me a quick email on that? I really need to focus on this report right now so it’s ready for you by EOD."
4. The Direct (but Soft) Conversation
If he’s a decent guy who’s just lonely, he might not realize he's hurting you.
"I really value our chats, but I’ve noticed I’m having to work until 8 or 9 PM lately to catch up on my deliverables after our syncs. I want to make sure I'm giving my best work during my shift—could we try to cap our daily catch-ups to 20 minutes?"
A Note on the "2-Week Notice": If you’re already at the point of quitting, you have nothing to lose by being radically honest. If he reacts poorly to you setting boundaries, then you know for certain that leaving is the right move.