Should I involve HR in with my boss?

 

"AI will take your job", now I feel like it has actually taken my job.

I was laid off by my previous company in October 2025. I was working as a writer, and now, since AI is fully capable of doing that for them, they don't need me anymore.

I felt shocked, but still, at the back of my mind, I thought, okay, I can find a new one.
Fast-forward to June 2026, I am still jobless. Have tried almost every posting on LinkedIn, Naukri, Indeed, Shine and even submitted my resume to a few local consultancies to find something for me.

And now, after almost 1,652 applications, 517 interviews, and 458 free assignments, I am still jobless. I don't know what I am doing wrong.

Now I believe what people said to me in 2023 is actually coming true.
"AI has taken my job", and there's nothing I can do about it.
Does anyone have some advice for me? Anything would be helpful at this point.

Jobadvisor

That's a genuinely exhausting and demoralizing situation, and I want to acknowledge that before anything else. 8 months, 1,652 applications, 517 interviews — that's not someone who isn't trying. That's someone who has been trying relentlessly, and the fact that it hasn't worked yet says more about how broken the current hiring market is than about you.

The writing field specifically is going through a brutal structural shift right now, and you're not imagining it. A lot of companies did exactly what yours did. But here's what's also true: the market hasn't disappeared, it has shifted. And after 517 interviews, you have more signal about what's happening than most people.

A few honest thoughts:

The volume approach may be hurting you now. After this many applications, it's worth stepping back from "apply to everything" mode. 1,652 applications at this scale often means you're getting filtered out by ATS systems before a human even sees your work — especially painful for a writer whose actual writing is the product.

The 458 free assignments is a serious red flag in the industry. Companies doing spec work at scale are often not hiring at all — they're harvesting content. If a company asks for free work beyond a short sample, it's worth walking away.

What might actually move the needle:

• Positioning as an "AI + Human" writer rather than competing against AI — someone who prompts, edits, fact-checks, and adds strategic judgment that pure AI output lacks. This is a real and growing need.
• Freelance and direct outreach to small businesses, agencies, and startups who need content but can't afford or don't know how to manage AI tools well
• Adjacent roles like content strategist, editor, SEO specialist, or UX writer — your writing skills transfer, but the job title shifts
• Portfolio over resume — if you can share 3–5 strong pieces directly with a hiring manager via a personal site or LinkedIn post, you bypass the ATS entirely

You are not out of options. But the strategy that made sense at month 1 probably needs to change at month 8.

What kind of writing were you doing? That might help narrow down where the real opportunities are right now.

Trying to decide

I’ve(44yr. old male)worked in food service as a cook for 30 yrs. I’m considering going to school for early childhood education. I’m burnt out, and need a change. I’ve been at my current cooking job for 16yrs. All my family and friends think I should go for it. But I’m terrified. I’ve only got about 1 year of community college for like 20 yrs ago, so I’d have to start school all over again. Any comments would be helpful, thank you.

Jobadvisor

It looks like this message might have been meant for a Reddit post — it reads like someone else's situation, not yours!

Were you sharing it as an example of something, or did it get pasted here by accident?

27F, Chose corporate America to escape poverty & now regretting it

Currently in corporate America absolutely miserable & certain this is not the right field for me after working at multiple companies. I'm a hard worker always been great at academics/work, went to a top business school, but perhaps struggle with the culture/office politics of business as a first gen/POC/neurodivergent leaving me with basic jobs with no growth. I just feel like I’m wasting my potential, im too nerdy for this environment, I cannot relate to anyone at work, overall lack of fulfillment & loneliness.

Realistically I’m limited to career fields with a high salary & recession-proof because I come from poverty/toxic parents who cannot provide housing/financial support (I originally chose business to get the fastest route out of poverty out of a bachelors degree alone). It bothers me when people argue “don’t choose a career for money” as someone who comes from poverty unfortunately it’s decision making out of survival, people like us never get to just work any fun chill job.

So far, I’ve ruled out law school because it could be similar to corporate. I’m thinking I fit in more within the medical field but would like some input. I feel stuck & indecisive about medicine because I would first need to take numerous science courses which will take a few years on top of working full time but I’m willing to try. I have no idea how I’d fund medical school with new loan borrowing limits it’s all super overwhelming along with research/volunteer requirements etc. I’m aware of all the med school struggles but for someone who grew up disadvantaged I have no choice but to work hard for everything in life regardless & feel like I need a 2nd chance / restart / clear secure path to follow. Another option would be a masters for mid level medical careers but I have paranoia about being too specialized/regretting not going all the way to MD as someone who has already experienced degree regrets. I’m drawn to medicine now because it’s a field that rewards merit & hardwork instead of luck which is how business operates. At this time, I also have no prospects for marriage so I’m someone who may just want to prioritize my career in life - I’m open to all other suggestions/feedback/questions!

Jobadvisor

Your situation really resonates — you made a rational survival decision, not a bad one, and now you have more information. That's not failure, that's just life updating you. Let me give you some honest, structured thoughts.

What you've correctly diagnosed

• Corporate culture does often reward political savvy and social capital over merit — your read on this is accurate, not a personal failing
• Medicine genuinely does reward hard, consistent work more transparently (boards, licensing, credentials)
• Your constraints are real and valid — "just follow your passion" is advice for people with safety nets

On medicine specifically

The honest case FOR it given your profile:

• Board exams, licensing, and credentials create a meritocratic ladder that's harder to gatekeep
• Neurodivergent people often thrive in specialties with clear protocols (EM, pathology, radiology, psychiatry)
• Being a first-gen POC physician is actually a differentiator in medicine in ways it isn't in business
• Recession-proof, portable, high salary — it checks your real constraints

The honest concerns:

• 10+ years to attending salary is brutal when you have no financial cushion
• The prereqs + MCAT + apps + residency path is long even if you're fast
• Med school debt is real even with new borrowing limits (though primary care loan forgiveness programs exist)

The options worth seriously considering

1. MD — but plan it strategically, not emotionally Don't do a full post-bacc if you can avoid it. Take prerequisites at a community college or state school while working. Target MD programs with strong financial aid or DO programs (often cheaper, equally viable for most specialties). Look into HPSP (military scholarship — pays for med school entirely in exchange for service years). With your business background, you'd also be unusually strong in healthcare administration hybrid roles later.

2. Physician Assistant (PA) — seriously underrated for your situation

• ~2.5 years of grad school vs. 4 years med school + 3-7 years residency
• Median salary ~$130K, rising
• Can switch specialties with relative ease (less specialized-trap risk)
• Still clinically meaningful, merit-based, recession-proof
• Much less debt and time to income

3. Pharmacist / PharmD — worth reconsidering Saturated market in some areas, but hospital clinical pharmacy is strong. Less patient interaction if that appeals or doesn't.

4. Actuary / Data science hybrid — if you want to stay adjacent to business but exit the culture Your business school background + nerdiness could pivot here. Actuaries work alone, are paid on exam passage (pure merit), and are extremely recession-resistant. Very different culture from corporate.

5. Healthcare administration MBA → hospital system director You already have the business degree. A specialized MHA or pivot into hospital ops could get you into a field where your background is an asset, the mission is meaningful, and politics matter less than in pure corporate.

---

My honest read on your situation

The PA route or MD route both sound genuinely right for your profile — the question is really your timeline and risk tolerance. If you have even modest financial stability right now, the MD path is achievable and you'd likely thrive. If you need income faster and more certainty, PA gets you there with 80% of the upside in 40% of the time.

The one thing I'd push back on: don't let the fear of "regretting not going all the way to MD" push you into a longer, riskier path out of anxiety rather than genuine desire. PA physicians have fulfilling, respected careers. The credential hierarchy in medicine is real but it's not everything.

What would help narrow this down — do you know yet whether you want direct patient care, or is the appeal more the structured/merit-based environment medicine offers?

Airline says I failed background check and to reapply in 6 months as I wasn't cleared for hire but I don't see anything that came up on the report and I was given no reason and no one ever contacted me before making the decision or gave me a chance to correct information/explain

Today I showed up to training after my background check showed as completed a month ago and I received a confirmation email telling me I was to begin today. When I got there, I was told that there was an issue and that my background check hadn't cleared. The employee who talked to me in person said that using a state ID instead of a driver's license has flagged it but that it shouldn't be an issue and they may just need to run it again, but that I'd most likely have to join the next training class.

However, the HR employee in charge of pre-employment background checks responded later in the afternoon to say this:

"You did not pass background and were never cleared for hire. There’s more to it than it being marked complete on Accurate. My apologies for that never being communicated to you. I’m trying to figure out how that happened. If interested, you may reapply in 6 months."

I'm so confused and devastated. No one ever reached out to me to ask for additional information or to send any sort of Pre-Adverse Action Notice. I don't even know what the issue is let alone being offered a chance to explain or provide more information before a decision is made.

This job was my dream job. I'm so heartbroken. Is there anything I can do? Should I be hopeful at all?

Additionally, I can see the report and no jobs or anything that I didn't put on there came up. Education was verified. FAA Drug and Alcohol History was cancelled because it says not applicable as I have no FAA employment history. The only possible problem was an employment gap that I disclosed but did say unverified, and the ID thing. However, they were able to get a report from the DMV saying I have no driving records or points or anything, and again, I was never asked to provide additional information to verify my employment gap which was less than a year because I was taking college courses. I could verify this if asked!

Jobadvisor

This situation sounds genuinely awful — showing up to your first day only to be turned away is crushing, and the lack of communication from HR makes it so much worse. Let me give you some clarity on what's actually happening legally and what you can do.

What the law says they were required to do

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), when an employer uses a third-party background check company (like Accurate) and intends to take adverse action based on that report, they are legally required to:

1. Provide you a Pre-Adverse Action Notice before the decision is final, along with a copy of the report and your rights summary
2. Give you a reasonable waiting period (typically 5 business days) to dispute or explain anything
3. Then send a final Adverse Action Notice if they proceed

Based on what you've described, they appear to have skipped step 1 entirely. The HR rep even admitted the failure to communicate was on their end. This is a significant procedural violation, not a minor technicality.

What you should do right now

1. Request your full background report immediately Contact Accurate directly (the background check company). Under FCRA you're entitled to a free copy. You can also request it at consumerfinancial.gov. Get this in writing so you have a paper trail.

2. Send a written dispute to Accurate If anything in the report is inaccurate or unverifiable, dispute it directly with them. They are required to investigate within 30 days and correct errors. Your unverified employment gap is a candidate for this — an unverified entry isn't the same as a negative one, and if they treated it as disqualifying without giving you a chance to document it, that's exactly what the FCRA dispute process exists for.

3. Document everything now while it's fresh Save every email, write down the in-person conversation with dates, times, and names. The HR rep's email where she admits they failed to communicate is particularly important — keep that safe.

4. Send a formal written response to HR A short, professional email that:

• Acknowledges the outcome
• Notes that you were never provided a Pre-Adverse Action Notice
• States you're disputing the basis of the decision given nothing adverse appears on the report
• Requests clarification on the specific reason for disqualification

This creates a record and sometimes prompts a second look, especially when HR already knows they dropped the ball.

5. Consult an FCRA attorney Many consumer rights attorneys take FCRA cases on contingency (you pay nothing unless you win) because statutory damages are available. A free consultation is worth it given the clear procedural failure. Search NACA (National Association of Consumer Advocates) for attorneys in your state.

Should you be hopeful?

Honestly — yes, cautiously. Here's why:

• The in-person employee's reaction suggested the ID issue was minor and likely fixable
• The HR rep expressed genuine surprise and confusion about how you were even let through to training
• The specific things flagged (state ID, unverified gap) are both explainable with documentation you actually have
• The "reapply in 6 months" language suggests this isn't a permanent ban

The 6-month door being left open combined with an admitted internal communication failure suggests this may be more about their process breaking down than a true hard disqualification. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it's meaningfully different from a flat rejection.

The most important thing you can do this week is get that full report, dispute anything unverified, and document the FCRA notice failure in writing before memories fade or emails get deleted.

Should I involve HR in with my boss?

I submitted my resignation from my job. My boss confirmed she got it and she was too busy that day to talk to me that was is. I’m too busy I’ll talk to you later. HR confirmed receipt and we walked through some expectations and I’ve met everything they needed to be rehireable.

I’m not trying to burn any bridges at my current employer, it’s a large employer.

I began communicating to my external partners that I would be leaving my position, the date, and that transitional plans are being made a day later.

My boss met with recently and when she asked if I had told anyone I was honest and answered yes. She immediately was irate stating that’s for leadership to handle which she could have confirmed when she emailed me.
Additionally that’s never been a thing before for our team members that have left. So long story short it’s not a policy I can find anywhere.
The tension was palpable and honestly I froze and didn’t even finish explained the scope of individuals I informed.
I should mention she also wouldn’t let me take notes but gave me a list of items to complete…with no way of writing them down.

I tried to make the point that my external contacts need to know and I made a decision based on the work that needed because they actively need meetings and projects started within a timeframe and telling no didn’t seem sufficient as naturally they would expect me to provide a date that would work.
But she wants the entire communications list of every person I’ve talked to or work with.

I want to send her a clarifying email about the scope and etc and I’m trying really hard to end on a positive note
My boss and I haven’t often seen eye to eye but it’s never felt hostile like today. Now it just feels likes she trying to find a reason to fire me after resigning. Which may be dramatic but that’s how much it devolved over seemingly nothing.

Thanks!

Jobadvisor

First off, deep breath. You are not being dramatic. Having a boss go from zero to irate, forbid you from taking notes, and demand a list of everyone you’ve spoken to is a genuinely jarring experience. It’s completely understandable that you froze.

Here is the reality of your situation: You have already resigned, and HR has already cleared you as rehireable. Your boss is reacting emotionally, likely out of panic about managing the transition or control issues, but her behavior is unprofessional.

Here is a strategic breakdown of how to handle the communication list, your boss, and whether to loop in HR.

1. Document Everything (The "Paper Trail" Defense)

Since she wouldn’t let you take notes in the meeting, you need to create a written record immediately. This protects you if she tries to claim you are refusing to do your job.

Send her a polite, completely objective email summarizing the meeting. This acts as your notes and fulfills her request without you looking defensive.

Draft Email Template:

Subject: Transition Update & Follow-up

Hi [Boss's Name],

I wanted to follow up on our meeting earlier today to ensure I have a clear record of the next steps for my transition, as I wasn't able to take notes during our discussion.

Per your request, below is the list of external partners I have notified about my departure to ensure continuity of care/projects:

• [Partner Name / Company A]

• [Partner Name / Company B]

For the remaining items you requested I complete before my last day on [Date], here is what I captured from our conversation:

• [Task 1]

• [Task 2]

• [Task 3]

Please let me know if I missed any specific tasks or if you would like to adjust the priorities of this list so I can wrap everything up smoothly.

Best, [Your Name]

2. Should You Involve HR?

Yes, but strictly as a protective measure, not to fix the relationship.

Do not go to HR to complain about her attitude; at this stage, HR's main goal is just to process your exit cleanly. Instead, use HR to safeguard your "rehireable" status.

• How to loop them in: Forward the email you sent to your boss (from step 1) to your HR contact, or BCC them.

• What to say to HR: "Hi [HR Contact], following up on our great conversation earlier, I want to keep you in the loop on my transition plan. I've provided my manager with the list of external partners I notified, as well as the wrap-up tasks she requested. I am fully committed to finishing these out to ensure a seamless handoff."

Why this works: If your boss tries to summarily fire you out of spite tomorrow, HR will see that you were actively trying to cooperate and hand over your duties. If the company does decide to let you go early because of this, it is usually processed as an early release with pay, rather than a termination for cause, meaning your rehireable status remains intact.

3. The "Burning Bridges" Reality Check

You mentioned you are worried about burning bridges because this is a large employer.

• The bridge with your boss is already singed, but she is not the company. In large organizations, HR records (like that "rehireable" checkmark you already got) matter much more than a bitter manager's parting opinion.

• You did the right thing for the business. Standard professional etiquette dictates notifying external partners so they aren't left hanging. Your boss is wrong that this is an inherent policy violation unless it was explicitly stated in an employee handbook.

Keep your head down, do the tasks you can remember, keep all communication via email, and count down the days. You are almost at the finish line.