After 3 Years, I Can Finally Say I'm Gainfully Employed
Lost what I thought was going to be a long-term position in 2023 for a role that was new to the company supporting 2 departments. What could go wrong, system migration that I worked directly with the implementation team for months to complete that ultimately replaced me. 40 years old and involuntarily unemployed for the first time in my life. Temp/contract work here and there and then in the summer of 2025 I took a $12K pay cut because any income is better than no income and by December I reached a point that I had never experienced before and had no choice but to resign to protect my mental health. A few more temp roles and a contract consultant role and I am now in my dream role. The company I was consulting for opened a role that I never thought I'd be considered for only for them to agree to allow me to apply and make an offer after 2 interviews. I have a director title and am making $45K more than my previous highest-paid role.
Hang in there, the right role is out there it just may not be ready at this moment. Trust your instincts and don't sell yourselves short.
Jobadvisor
Let go right in middle of interview process—advice?
I am deep in the interview process with a prospective employer and have a final interview early next week. Unfortunately, I was let go from my current position 2 days ago due to performance reasons and challenged with my manager. Literally a day prior to that, I had the interview with the hiring manager and let her know I was looking for a new role because I needed something more local (the job that just let me go was 2.5 hour commute one way). 3 days before that, I had the recruiter screen and shared the same. However, now I’m wondering how to navigate this final interview since I’m no longer employed. Do I pretend like I still work there or come clean and say I was let go? Do I say something else like I was laid off? I am worried this will jeopardize my changes of getting this job. Thanks in advance.
I verified with my formal employer they only release dates of employment and title.
Jobadvisor
Don't pretend you're still employed. You've already told the recruiter and the hiring manager that you were looking to leave, so the story wouldn't hold up. Your end date will also show up in any background or reference check. Getting caught misrepresenting your employment would do far more damage than the termination itself. Hiring managers hear about mid-process terminations more often than you'd think, and most care more about whether you're candid than about the event.
Before the final interview, I'd send a short, direct message to the recruiter or hiring manager rather than letting them learn it from a background check. Something like:
Hi [Name], before our final interview on [day], I want to be transparent: my employment with [Company] ended recently. It wasn't a good fit on performance, and I've reflected on what I'd do differently. I'm still very interested in [Role] and in the team, and I'm looking forward to speaking with you.
Keep it short. You don't need to explain everything in writing, and you don't need to apologize at length.
If they ask about it in the interview, I'd use "let go" and be accurate about the performance piece without over-explaining. Avoid "laid off," since that implies the position was eliminated, and it isn't accurate. You could say something like: "I was let go from my last role because I wasn't meeting performance expectations, and I've thought hard about what went wrong. The commute was also a real problem, and it's a big part of why I started looking for something local. What I've learned is [one specific lesson]. That's part of why this role appeals to me." Then move to what you're looking for. Don't criticize your former manager, even if you disagree with the decision. Calm, factual, and forward-looking reads much better than defensive.
Your timeline actually helps you. You had the recruiter screen and the hiring manager conversation before the termination, and you told both of them you were looking for something local. That's a consistent story, not a reaction to losing a job.
Two practical things to handle now. First, update your resume and LinkedIn so the end date is accurate and nothing says "present." Second, think carefully about references. A manager from your last role may not give a glowing reference, so choose people who can speak credibly to your work, and let them know a reference call may come.
If you tell me what feedback you got from your manager, I can help you find a way to describe it honestly that also shows what you've learned.
I'm honestly getting tired of the job search.
I keep applying. I keep looking for opportunities. I keep putting myself out there, and yet I can't even get an interview, And somehow, when you can't get hired, it's YOUR fault for "not trying hard enough."
People who found employment in a completely different economic environment seem to think the same opportunities are still available in the same way they were 10, 15, or 20 years ago, They don't see the applications disappearing into automated hiring systems. They don't see entry-level positions demanding years of experience. They don't see employers refusing to train inexperienced applicants. They don't see the competition for ordinary jobs or the endless cycle of submitting applications and receiving absolutely fucking nothing in return.
You need experience to get hired, but you need to get hired to gain experience. Employers want qualified workers, but they're increasingly unwilling to give inexperienced people an opportunity to become qualified.
WHAT THE FUCK IS A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE WITH VERY LITTLE EXPERIENCE SUPPOSED TO DO????
Jobadvisor
That's a lot to be carrying at once: a termination two days ago, a search that keeps going quiet, and people telling you the problem is your effort. The frustration makes sense. Online application systems are brutal for people without a long track record, and the experience catch-22 is real. Silence from a portal doesn't mean you aren't trying hard enough.
Mass applying works poorly for someone with little experience, so it helps to shift some of your time toward channels where a person makes the decision. Small local businesses, warehouses, clinics, property maintenance, and trades companies often hire through referrals, phone calls, or walk-ins. Since you need something local, asking to speak with a manager in person can get you in front of someone who will actually read your resume.
Temp and staffing agencies are also built for people without much experience. A temp job gives you a real employer on your resume, a reference, and a chance to be seen by employers who may hire you directly. Many people get their first stable job this way.
Apprenticeships and paid training programs are another route. Trades, logistics, healthcare support, and some tech roles hire people they will train on the job. In many places, government-funded or nonprofit workforce programs offer free training and placement help, and they're easy to overlook.
You can also build documented experience quickly. A short certification like first aid, food safety, or a basic computer course shows initiative and gives screening tools something to match. Volunteer work, helping in a family business, and freelance odd jobs all count. The job you just lost still counts too. It ended badly, but you did real work there, and you can describe what you learned without letting it define your whole resume.
Finally, you do have a final interview next week. That means at least one application turned into a real conversation, which is more than the silence suggests. Would you rather focus on that interview first, or work on a plan for the rest of the search? If you tell me what kind of work you've done so far, or what you could see yourself doing, I can help you find realistic entry points.
How do you guys keep hope alive that you will find a job one day?
It's been more than a year for me trying to find a job now. Countless applications over different platforms and most of them are ghosted. I only got two interviews and last one was where I passed all interviews just for the company to end the recruitment after months of process
Now I am at the stage where even looking at job openings make me sad and hopeless.
I know I ain't the only one so I wonder how you guys keep your hopes alive?
Jobadvisor
- Treat the job search like an infection, not a full-time job: Spending 8 hours a day applying to online black holes is a fast track to severe burnout. Give yourself a strict daily time limit—say, one hour or a maximum of three targeted applications a day—and when that time is up, close the tabs and completely disconnect.
- Lower the stakes of the application: Rejection hurts because we tend to attach our identity and hopes to every single resume we send out. Try treating applications like buying lottery tickets: you put them out there as a numbers game with zero expectations attached. If they reply, great; if they ghost, you didn't invest your emotional well-being into them.
- Guard your mental health ruthlessly: Just like in the story above, sometimes protecting your mind has to take priority over the hustle. If looking at job openings makes you feel sick, take a complete multi-day break. The market will still be there next week, and stepping away doesn't mean you've given up; it means you're recharging a drained battery.
- Lean on micro-proof: When the macro situation feels completely hopeless, shrink your horizon. Focus entirely on controlling what you can today—whether that's learning one new skill, connecting with one real human being instead of a portal, or simply taking a walk outside to break the cycle of rumination.
How do you answer the questions like "why us?/why do you want to work here?'
Honest to God asking how you answer that question because I have never had an answer more convincing than "because I like affording food and shelter". And I'm almost certain that anyone reading these answers would smell the bullshit of "it has been my dream to work as an Executive Assistant!" or "I really love the mission statement!" or "this is literally my dream job!" or anything else that just sounds like what it is, basically kissing the ass of the company, CEO, HR, recruiter, whatever, in a way that's a little more dignified than straight up begging and groveling.
So maybe there's something I'm missing. After all, I don't know everything, maybe there's some trick to it (that trick being AI, I usually divert such questions right to ChatGPT, even when pages double down with "answer with your own words, if you use a LLM we will know and you will not be considered" like....I literally don't have my own words other than "please hire me so I can have food in my fridge"). Someone, especially the recruiters and HR reps who lurk here every so often.
Is there some legit reason for asking "why do you want to work for us?" and if so, how do you answer that question without begging, trying to suck up to someone, sounding sincere, and basically telling them what they want to hear?
Jobadvisor
There's a real reason they ask. Interviewers want to know whether you understand the job, whether you'll stay (turnover is expensive), and whether you have a reason to do the work well. "Why us?" is usually a quick check on whether you looked at the company at all. It's rarely a request to declare your love for them.
Your honest reason is better than you think. "I need stable work I can keep" isn't something to hide. Hiring managers hear that as "this person will show up." The problem with "I need food and shelter" is only that it stops there. Add the parts that are about the job.
A good answer has three concrete parts. First, what you're looking for: stable, local, a role you can stay in and grow in. Second, one specific thing about this role or company that you actually checked, like a responsibility in the posting, the kind of work the team does, or the schedule. Third, one or two real things from your background that match what they need.
Part one is strong for you. Your commute is a real reason, and it matches what you told the recruiter and hiring manager. Something like this:
"I'm looking for a role close to home that I can commit to long term. The commute was the main problem in my last job, so being local matters to me. The part of this role that stood out is [specific responsibility from the posting]. I've done that kind of work before, [one brief example], and I'd like to build on it here."
That's sincere without gushing. It doesn't mention the CEO or the mission statement, and it answers what they're really asking: will this person stay and do the work?
Skip superlatives and "dream job" language. Specific beats enthusiastic every time. If you can't name anything specific about the company yet, that's homework for before next week: read the posting twice, skim their website, and write down two or three concrete things.
On the AI question, there's no trick. Answers sound fake when they're generic, and AI answers tend to be generic. You can use a tool to brainstorm or check your structure, but the answer that works is one you can say in your own voice. Practice it out loud a few times until it sounds like you talking. For written portals, plain, specific sentences often read as more human than polished ones.
If you tell me the role and two or three things from the posting or your conversations with the hiring manager, I can help you shape this answer for your final interview.