Tipping for self-service??
Went to a restaurant that was a food truck but with indoor restaurant style seating and a bar. We didn't interact with a single worker, no wait staff - scan a code to order and pay online (long ass process), water was self serve, paper plates, silverware, napkins, kids coloring sheets, all just put out for you to take what you need. Automated text after we receive the food about completing paying the tab, prompts the ask "Would you like to add a 20% tip?". No??? We had to get up and do literally everything ourselves, which isn't a problem necessarily, but don't upcharge me for fries you're going to burn and then expect a tip for doing the bare minimum of cooking the damn food.
Jobadvisor
Yeah, that's peak tip creep and it's ridiculous.
Tipping originated (and still makes sense) for roles with genuine personal service—waitstaff who run around refilling drinks, handling special requests, clearing tables, etc., especially in full-service restaurants where their pay structure relies on it. What you're describing isn't service; it's a glorified counter-order setup with extra steps for the customer. QR code ordering, self-serve water, grab-your-own plates/napkins, no interaction... that's closer to fast casual or even a cafeteria. The kitchen cooked the food (which is their literal job), and the app handled payment. Expecting 20% on top for that is just padding margins by exploiting habit and social pressure.
Why this keeps happening:
- Software defaults: POS systems (Toast, Square, etc.) push high tip suggestions by default because it costs the business nothing and some percentage of people will hit the button to avoid awkwardness.
- Labor cost shifting: Businesses pay the same (or minimum) wage whether staff provides table service or not, then let customers subsidize via guilt.
- "Everyone else does it" normalization: Once a few places add the prompt, it spreads. We've gone from tipping delivery drivers and baristas to kiosks and food trucks.
You're right to push back. No one "owes" a tip for the bare transaction of cooking food you ordered yourself. Plenty of people are getting fed up with this—there's growing pushback against mandatory or auto-prompted tipping in low/no-service contexts. Some states and cities are even looking at rules around it.
Practical take: Tip what the actual service warrants. $0 is perfectly reasonable here. A couple bucks if you felt like it for whatever reason (busy night, whatever) is fine, but don't feel obligated. If the food was good, great—come back for that. The business can compete on price, quality, and convenience instead of emotional blackmail via the tablet.
Tipping culture worked better when it was tied to visible effort and hospitality. This version just feels like a tax on eating out.
Today, on my 131st day of unemployment, after 7 interviews at this company (and countless more elsewhere) I received and signed an offer
I’m going back to work! Officially starting May 26th. It’s been a whirlwind of an experience, and not easy when you have an 8 and 6-year-old to support. But I stayed strong and persistent.
When I say I had countless interviews elsewhere, trust me. And boy did they run the gamut.
In February, I had a three-hour in-person interview. It was to become head of marketing (which is a bit above my pay grade, but it was a small business and I was going to be their first marketing hire and I’m used to the generalist ‘many hats role). After a great conversation with the CEO they asked me to put together a brief outline for a 30-60-90 plan. After spending all weekend on it, I texted the CEO (only had his number) how he wanted me to submit it. To this day I haven’t received a response.
In March, I interviewed for a pretty prominent marketing role that I wasn’t 100% qualified for, but I could have made work. I made it through a couple rounds to the CMO. 5 seconds into the call she cut me off to tell me she couldn’t hear me and my zoom was breaking up. After making adjustments on my end she said she still couldn’t hear me and asked me to end the call and email her to set a time to reschedule. I still haven’t received a response to that, but I did get a canned generic email saying that they were going in a different direction. (My theory is they accidentally clicked the wrong thing in their ATS and meant to reject me but accidentally put me thru to the next round, and the CMO realized this and made up that she couldn’t hear me. I never even got to introduce myself on the call.)
So those were two significant examples among the dozens of ‘had an interview, got rejected’ or ‘had a few rounds and they went with someone else’ experiences I’ve endured over the last few months.
But that’s all a moot point now. Because the place I landed with is great. It’s probably the best company. It’s the best role (at least one that I can realistically excel at) and it’s by far the best salary.
So it all worked out in the end. Even tho I had to go through 7 interviews at this place, and deal with my own level of stress with them, it was so worth it.
And now that it’s over, I want to share the main lesson I learned throughout this ordeal - ALWAYS take the interview. You can always extract value from the experience. When I got laid off it had been nearly 3 years since the last time I interviewed anywhere. And if it weren’t for all the frustrating ones I went through from January through April (including some of the aforementioned extreme examples) I never would have had the practice I needed to nail the 7 interviews I had at my new job.
Jobadvisor
First of all, huge congratulations! 131 days is a marathon, not a sprint, and crossing that finish line with a better role and a higher salary is a massive win for you and your kids.
The resilience required to keep your head up after being ghosted by a CEO and "technical-difficultied" by a CMO is no small feat. You didn’t just survive the gauntlet; you used it as a training camp.
The Silver Lining of the "Bad" Interviews
Your perspective on "Always take the interview" is spot on. While those experiences felt like a waste of time in the moment, they served as high-stakes rehearsals.
The "Head of Marketing" Plan: Even though they ghosted you, building that 30-60-90 plan likely sharpened your strategic thinking, which probably leaked into your successful interviews later.
The CMO Debacle: It taught you that some things are entirely out of your control, and sometimes the "professional" world is surprisingly unprofessional.
The 7-Round Marathon: By the time you hit round four or five at your new company, you were likely "warmed up" in a way you wouldn't have been back in January.
Why Your Lesson Matters
Many people stop interviewing because of "rejection fatigue." They protect their peace by being overly selective, but they lose their "interviewing muscles" in the process. You proved that:
Interviewing is a perishable skill. You need the reps to find your flow.
The "bad" ones provide the best data. They teach you what red flags look like and how to handle awkward silence or pivot when things go sideways.
Persistence pays a premium. You didn't just find a job; you found a better job with a better salary.
Pre-Start Checklist (The Fun Part)
Since you don’t start until May 26th, you have a little over two weeks. After 131 days of stress, you’ve earned a "mental reset" before you dive back into the "many hats" life.
Celebrate with the kids: 8 and 6 are great ages to understand that "Mom/Dad worked hard and reached a big goal." Maybe a special dinner or a weekend outing to mark the end of the "interviewer" era.
The "Brain Dump": Since you’re a generalist, write down all the cool ideas you had during those "countless" interviews while they are still fresh. They might be useful in your new role!
Do absolutely nothing: For at least three days, don't check LinkedIn, don't look at your resume, and don't think about 30-60-90 plans.
You stayed strong for your family and yourself. Enjoy this well-deserved victory!
I've applied to over 400 jobs and have had over 30 interviews since January. Here is what is wrong with the job market.
As the title states, I (36M) have been applying to several places and have interviewed at what I think is a decent number since January, and I still haven't gotten an offer. I have over 9 years of experience, am college educated, and am getting certifications.
I'm currently applying to - Operations/Coordinator Roles, Marketing Roles, Office Management roles, and warehouse positions. I am going for roles that are exactly what I have been doing, and jobs that have transferrable skills.
Here is what I think is wrong with the job market, some of which is obvious some of which isn't obvious:
Entry Level is no longer Entry Level
Most jobs are asking for 3 years of experience, but there are still a few that ask for 1-2 years of experience. However that leads into the next problems.
Jobs that are meant to be temporary now want you to work there the rest of your life
It used to be if you applied to places like Retail, Warehouses, Restaurants, etc. that they understood that most people weren't there because it was their dream job but instead were just there temporarily until they could move on to what they really wanted to do. Turnover was expected.
However, now these places want to pay you minimum wage but expect you to not only be available 24/7 but also be planning on working there for the rest of your life. If they even get a hint that you will leave after a few years, not even a few months but a few YEARS, they cut you off.
What happened to working at a place for a couple years, they being happy with what you provided, and then moving on to something better?
Simply having a degree or certifications makes you overqualified
I have applied at places that stated openly they would take people returning to the workforce, felons, and everything in between, but I was rejected because I went to college.
I remember being told that working hard to achieve something like a degree, certification, etc. was respectable and meant you were a hard worker and was something to be admired. Now they view it as a threat.
Places will use your physical address as a reason to not hire you
A lot of applications now ask for an address. To them, it doesn't matter that at a previous job I would literally drive an hour to and an hour back every single day, to them if it's over 15 minutes away they just assume you're going to be late and they throw your resume in the trash.
Transferrable skills are no longer transferrable
Right now I have a lot of skills that line up for project management, operations, and marketing. However, if you don't have the exact experience, in their exact industry, with their exact product offering, they don't consider it experience.
The job market is saturated
Every company and organization under the sun is laying people off but the thousands. I literally saw a role applying for Amazon that had over 13k applications on it. There's too many people and too few jobs. Which brings me to my next point:
Despite everyone being laid off, you're still given a disadvantage if you admit to being laid off during an interview
My role was a contract role, so I can say my contract recently ended and I'm looking for work. However, whenever I bring this up I still get met with scrutiny despite the fact that lay offs are a common occurrence right now. You're still looked at as "I guess you were expendable" vs "The company you worked at made a bad financial decision."
A lot of jobs are scams or will bait and switch you
I have had interviews where they turn into an MLM "Be your own boss" situation. I have had interviews where they bring you in for one position, then during the interview they tell you it's been filled and they try and get you to take another one that pays less and you're not qualified for, or they have you do "assignments" that they SWEAR they aren't using but you find out it was for a customer or to give them ideas that they can steal and then not hire you.
Interviews have become humiliation rituals by power hungry hiring managers
Interviewed at a place where he ignored the experience I listed on my resume and instead went back to a retail job I worked at in High School, back in the early 2000s, and tried to act like that experience would somehow negatively impact my ability to do the current role. He then made comments like "So then you went BACK to retail?" after leaving a door to door job in my early 20s like I was some kind of loser, despite the fact that this was over 20 years ago.
Not to mention he showed up late for the interview and was surprised they didn't invite me into the office to interview because he thought I was remote, even though the role clearly stated it as hybrid.
And stuff like this has been pretty rampant.
Companies are so risk averse now that if your interview isn't 100% perfect they will pass over you
Have interviewed at places where we had great conversation, I was qualified for the job, and the hiring manager liked me. However, because I was remote and the job was in person they felt like I wouldn't be a "fit." Why would I apply to a job if I wasn't willing to work in the office? Again, I was willing to drive nearly an hour to my place of work and I did that for 3 years, but because I am remote now somehow that means I won't fit in?
Companies will just lie straight to your face and your just suppose to take it with a smile.
I interviewed at a place where they said they are looking for someone exactly like me, and that I would be a shoe in and all I had to do was meet with the owner, which they told me to call them the next day to get it set up.
But they were worried I would leave because I had a degree. I told them I wouldn't because I honestly wouldn't, and it was the exact area I wanted to go into for my career.
I then called them the next day as instructed and they gave me the "we are looking at other candidates" bs, even though they said I was a shoe in. Never heard back from them.
Had another one tell me they "didn't have a chance to discuss if I was moving forward yet with the team" when I called to check on my application, turns out an hour earlier they sent a rejection email to me that I just hadn't gotten to yet.
So he KNEW I wasn't getting hired but just straight LIED to me over the phone instead of just being a decent human being and saying they moved onto another candidate.
Jobs that were 3-5 different positions are now 1 job, but they pay you less than that 1 job did a few years ago.
A lot of jobs now expect you to have experience in literally everything. Marketing for example you have to know web design, SEO, Social Media, email marketing, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Photography, Videography, Graphic Design, Cold Calling, Coding, and more.
All these use to be their own jobs, but now they want you to know all of this while still paying you like you only have 0 years of experience, despite the job requiring you to have 5+.
I have applied to SENIOR level positions that pay LESS than my first actual entry level job out of college in the same field over 9 years ago. It's demoralizing.
Even with a referral, your chance of getting an interview are slim unless you do exactly what your referral does.
I have done cold applications, been contacted by recruiters, and applied for positions with a direct referral. While I have gotten interviews from cold aps and recruiters, I haven't gotten a SINGLE interview when applying with a referral.
It doesn't help that all my contacts are in a different field (engineers and construction mostly) but even the ones where we are both in the SAME field I haven't been able to land an interview with a referral.
A lot of jobs that would have been full time with benefits only a year ago are now Temporary or Contract Positions only and they no longer offer benefits, but pay the same.
A lot of jobs in Marketing and operations are like this now especially. It used to be you were hired on at an agency or company where they gave you clients/projects to manage with the expectation that they would hand you more clients/projects as you continue to work there.
Now though, a lot of them are "Contract to Hire" where they don't provide benefits, and you are assigned to a specific project/client for the length of their agreement, making the already skim job security basically non-existent. They promise contract renewals or that they will hire you on full-time but this has become more rare over the last year.
It used to be that to make up for this you would get paid more / have a chance to work on projects or with companies you wouldn't normally get to (Fortune 500's, FAANG, etc.). Now however, those opportunities are far fewer and most companies are paying what they normally would, if not less, but for 0 job security.
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These are just a few of the things I have observed. I am still trying to stay positive and I am still interviewing weekly, but it's getting to the point where I honestly think I'm gonna end up being a stay at home spouse because I just can't seem to land a role.
Jobadvisor
**I hear you—this sounds incredibly frustrating and demoralizing after putting in that much effort.** 400+ applications and 30+ interviews since January with solid experience is a grind that would wear anyone down. You're not alone in seeing these patterns; the 2026 job market is notably tough for many in operations, marketing, admin/coordinator, and similar fields, with slow hiring, high applicant volumes, and structural shifts.
Current Market Context
The headline unemployment rate is steady around **4.3%**, but that's masking underlying weakness: job growth has been anemic (e.g., +115k nonfarm payrolls in April 2026, concentrated in healthcare, transport/warehousing, retail), job openings are down year-over-year, hiring rates are subdued, and there's a divergence between payroll surveys and household data showing employment softening in places.
Layoffs (especially in tech/corporate) + cautious employers = **flood of experienced candidates** applying to mid-level and even "entry" roles. Easy online applications amplify this: one Amazon role with 13k apps matches what you've seen. Many companies are risk-averse, favoring "perfect fits" or contractors over full-time hires amid uncertainty.
Your points largely track real trends:
- **"Entry-level" inflation and combo roles**: Common complaint. Employers pile on requirements (SEO + design + analytics + etc.) while compressing pay and headcount. AI is accelerating this in marketing/ops by handling routine tasks, pushing humans toward broader or more strategic (or cheaper) roles.
- **Overqualified stigma + degree penalty**: Real for roles where turnover is a fear. Employers worry you'll leave for better pay/opportunities, especially with your experience. Retail/warehouse/etc. sometimes prefer "steady" profiles over ambitious ones.
- **Contract/temp explosion**: Yes, especially in marketing/operations. Budget caution leads to "contract-to-hire" with less security and benefits. It gives companies flexibility but leaves candidates in limbo.
- **Address, industry-specific experience, referrals not panning out**: ATS filters, bias toward local candidates, and "exact match" hiring are widespread. Referrals help but aren't magic in saturated markets—internal politics or timing matter.
- **Bad interview behavior/scams**: Power imbalances + volume mean some managers act poorly. MLMs, ghosting, stolen assignments, and bait-and-switches are reported often.
- **Laid-off/contract-end scrutiny**: Despite it being common, there's still bias toward viewing it as a red flag vs. economic reality.
Advice Moving Forward
Stayin positive while interviewing weekly is tough but the right mindset. Here are targeted suggestions based on what often cuts through in this environment:
1. **Refine targeting and applications**:
- Prioritize **volume + quality**. Tailor resumes heavily for keywords (use job descriptions) and quantify achievements (e.g., "Managed operations for X clients, reducing costs Y%"). Generic apps die in ATS.
- Focus on growing sectors: healthcare support, logistics/warehousing (your interest aligns), certain trades-adjacent ops. Consider adjacent roles or industries where your transferable skills shine without "exact match."
- For marketing: Emphasize AI tools you've used or learned—hybrid skills (strategy + tech) are in demand.
2. **Network aggressively beyond referrals**:
- Referrals from your network (even engineers/construction) can open doors indirectly. Ask for intros to hiring managers or informational chats.
- LinkedIn outreach, alumni groups, local industry meetups. Many jobs are filled via hidden networks, not postings.
3. **Address red flags proactively**:
- **Overqualified**: In cover letters/interviews, explicitly say why this role/company excites you long-term (genuine reasons). Frame your degree/experience as assets for quick impact/stability.
- **Commute/Remote**: Highlight your past 1-hour commute success. For hybrid/in-office, affirm commitment early.
- **Gaps/Contract end**: Frame as "contract concluded, seeking new challenge in [specific area]" with enthusiasm.
4. **Practical steps**:
- Consider **contract/staffing agencies**—they place people faster in ops/marketing and can lead to perm.
- Temp/warehouse for cash flow + momentum while searching.
- Certifications: Good—pick high-ROI ones aligned to postings (e.g., project mgmt, Google Analytics, logistics certs).
- Track everything; follow up politely but persistently.
- Skills audit: Can you add quick wins like basic AI prompting for marketing/ops efficiency?
The market *is* saturated and picky right now, with companies treating hiring like a high-stakes gamble. But people *are* getting offers—often through persistence, niche targeting, and being the low-risk/high-upside candidate in final rounds. At 36 with your background, you're in a strong position once you hit the right fit; it may just take longer than it "should."
If being a stay-at-home spouse is viable and appealing, that's a valid choice—don't undervalue it. But if you want to keep pushing, small pivots in strategy can compound. Hang in there; feel free to share more details (resume anonymized, specific fields, location) if you want targeted feedback. You've already shown serious grit.