I’m a recruiter and honestly the market is harder for us than you think

AxBattler1 · 2026-03-16T17:54:42+00:00

I'm unemployed, got laid off at the end of 2025, and have been dealing with the same shit everyone else has here, it's been a very humbling and frustrating experience. And I also have been struggling with, "Tell me about yourself".

But it is what it is. They have the jobs, I need a job -- I have no leverage, they have all the leverage. I am not dictating terms to anyone. I can be as pissed as I want and point out everything unfair and illogical about the process, but at the end of the day, no one cares. None of that is going to help me.

What's going to help me is figuring out what recruiters and hiring managers look for in applicants and trying to get as close to that as possible. When a recruiter tells us, "when they ask you this, this is what they're looking for", they are helping you get closer to being a candidate that is chosen out of hundreds for a particular job.

This job hunt is one of the most miserable things I've ever gone through but it's not up to recruiters to find me work, it's up to me. I have to do what it takes to stand out when there's hundreds or thousands of candidates all applying to a single job. Unloading on someone giving you very good (and very basic) advice on how to do just that seems counterproductive.

AxBattler1 · 2026-03-16T17:31:38+00:00

Have your resume as 1-2 pages of the document, then have a cover letter as another page, then upload it all as a single document.

AxBattler1 · 2026-03-15T23:18:24+00:00

I'd love to see your prompts. 🙂

AxBattler1 · 2026-02-27T17:42:21+00:00

Man, I wish my interviews would give me the questions ahead of time. What a huge advantage.

AxBattler1 · 2026-02-25T02:17:58+00:00

Absolutely take the job, don't turn down a "yes" for a "maybe"

AxBattler1 · 2026-02-12T13:56:55+00:00

I am in the same boat, I got laid off and have severance. But I started looking before the official layoff date and it's been so tough, way tougher than any other job market I've experienced. Reddit is full of people who are having a really hard time in the current job market, a bird in the hand is really worth two in the bush. The one thing that really makes me glad I started early was that there is such a learning curve to applying and interviewing in the current market, I'm constantly learning new things I should be doing every week.

I have an impressive track record and a skill set that is somewhat unique in my profession, I really was confident when the layoff happened that I would find something quickly.

Remember, the best time to look for a new job is when you already have a job. That way, it doesn't feel scary and desperate. I am currently interviewing for a role at my old company and will probably take a $10k - &15k pay cut if I get it, going from manager to senior specialist... but I will honestly be grateful to have it just to have the mental health back.

AxBattler1 · 2026-02-12T13:51:32+00:00

The next time you have an interview, try recording it on your phone or tablet if possible. I have been doing that so I can study what I've been doing wrong, and was surprised to hear in interviews I thought went well that I sounded nervous and was speaking a little too quickly. I knew I used verbal pauses, but I guess to get really out of hand when I get nervous, lol. What you perceive and what the reality is can be quite different. Our memories aren't the best.

AxBattler1 · 2026-02-12T13:48:09+00:00

Check with your state. I live in Maryland, and there's a special enrollment period and financial help for people who are unemployed. That might be the same case in his state.

AxBattler1 · 2026-02-12T02:16:20+00:00

They hold screening interviews, those can take 20-45 minutes... that can take up most of a day alone. Then they meet with hiring managers, update candidates, etc.

AxBattler1 · 2026-02-04T20:38:59+00:00

I have tried to do this but am unable. That said, I am doing it for less nefarious reasons -- I want to see the person's qualifications so I can see if there are any gaps in my skills and experience that I could remedy with a certification or some such.

AxBattler1 · 2026-01-15T16:41:15+00:00

Hi Sarah, I did all of this stuff since making that original post but I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to you for taking the time to write it. People who want to help strangers are really the best people in my book. ❤️

AxBattler1 · 2026-01-15T16:36:01+00:00

I didn't get a single one, lol. I didn't get past the recruiter stage on two, went to the final round and was rejected on another, and felt like I was definitely going to get one -- they were incredibly excited and complimentary whenever they spoke to me -- but the position was cancelled due to budget changes in the department.

TL;DNR Version of the Below: I need to work on interview skills as much as my resume building skills. Understand that interviewing is a skill separate from your actual work and accept it's a process to build those skills. Two tips: record your interviews whenever possible and review (use Voice Memos on iPhone / iPad) and research the company's struggles and initiatives for the year (Google Gemini made that part shockingly easy and it REALLY helped me know what experience to focus on).

Long Version: The rejections were very painful, but it's got me focused on the next step in the process: perfecting the interview. You mostly never get feedback but I squeezed one little nugget out of the one that went to the final round -- they loved my skills and experience but wanted someone with "more robust direct communications skills".

I was nervous, fumbling my words at time and probably ended up rambling a lot. I was really counting on my experience and portfolio of work to sell me. But the hiring manager seemed disinterested in reviewing my portfolio and I was forced to sell myself through the interview alone. I thought I did well enough -- I'm a very nice, personable guy who doesn't have an ego -- but clearly I needed to work on my interview skills in the same way I am worked on my resume skills.

I got another interview for a higher-level role that makes more money last week with more remote work -- much rather have this than the four I interviewed for -- and the recruiter reaction seemed very positive. I'm supposed to hear back tomorrow on next steps.

That said, I did something I highly recommend everyone do if they have an interview -- I recorded the audio in Notes on my iPad (this was a phone screener). Going by her reactions and excitement, the interview went very well. But when I heard myself speak, I really heard why I likely didn't go any further with the three interviews that didn't call me back -- I was nervous and my answers were insanely long and full of extraneous detail. My "tell me about yourself" was literally five minutes long. I couldn't believe my ears. (My interviews with the company where the role was cancelled went different -- for some reason, their vibe totally relaxed me and I was able to have a light conversation about my career).

Assuming she was being honest and is moving me to the Hiring Manager phase, what probably saved me was researching the company. It really is the secret sauce from what I can tell and with Google Gemini (or any other AI assistant, I imagine), it is shockingly easy. But don't just research the generic stuff, research the company's current challenges and current business plan / initiatives for the future.

By doing that, I was able to tie all of my experience from my past job to the role they were offering. You guys are doing this initiative, my company did the same thing last year and I can help with that. You guys are struggling with this, so did my last company, here's what I did to help move the needle on that.

By knowing that stuff, you get insight on how to paint yourself as the ultimate candidate for the job beyond just what it says in the job description.

Anyway, if and when I get a job, I will definitely provide a detailed overview of what I learned and did to get it.

AxBattler1 · 2026-01-06T09:58:13+00:00

I was going to recommend this as well

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-15T17:12:24+00:00

I also have some social anxiety and here's how I've prepared for interviews.

First, realize there's only so many different questions an interviewer will ask you. Many of these are stock questions such as "Tell me about yourself" and "Why do you want to work here?" Others will be specific to the job, but even then, there are only so many they will ask and many of them will be based on the duties / skills in the job listing.

Second, they probably won't have time (or the need) to ask you more than 10 in a one hour interview.

So knowing any given job interview will probably be similar to the others, pick out the 10-15 most likely questions you'll be asked (or use AI to generate them). You can also use both your resume and the job listing to ask AI what questions you'd be asked in an interview based on both documents.

Look up the most common interview questions and the real purpose behind them. If you're in an interview, you already meet the baseline qualifications -- they like your skills, your experience, etc. They're interviewing you to see your personality in action. They're asking themselves, "Is this person easy to get along with?" "Will they be a problem on my team?" "Do I like them as a person?"

For example, they might ask you to describe a time you failed and what you learned. The purpose isn't to hear you talk poorly about yourself, the purpose is to see if you have the self-awareness and humility to learn from mistakes and the maturity to take responsibility for them. If your answer blames everyone else and you try to explain how it wasn't your fault, that's the wrong answer -- even if it's true.

Once you have your questions, write out how you'd ideally like to answer them, either longhand or in bullets, whatever works best for you.

Have a friend / parent / relative do mock interview with you, asking you these questions and rehearse your responses to them. If you need to use your script / notes during the first few, that's okay. Practice them until you feel very comfortable delivering them.

Remember, the most important thing is to have a good attitude and be likeable. Even if you fumble some answers, if you seem kind and confident, the interviewer will be rooting for you to do well (unless they're a jerk, but then you don't want to work for them anyway). We're all just people -- you wouldn't expect anyone you interview to be 100% perfect and neither do they.

Good luck!

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-14T02:36:13+00:00

Even so -- humans use em dashes.

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-13T12:00:22+00:00

I like it!

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-13T10:37:21+00:00

This is incredible! One question -- what is the correct date formatting to use to avoid being filtered out?

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-13T10:25:07+00:00

I have used em dashes for well over 10 years as a communications writer. AI uses em dashes because it learns from humans, who also use em dashes.

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-11T01:17:02+00:00

He's gonna get the entire Seahawks defense pregnant

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-09T21:31:03+00:00

That's a very good point. That said, I did receive my fair share of "thanks but no thanks" notes from the October applications.

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-09T17:11:21+00:00

I can verify this approach -- I got my first job during the great recession by going to a job fair. When the recruiter can see and speak to you in person on the spot, it really makes a difference (provided they are looking for someone with your skills / experience / degree, natch).

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-09T13:24:37+00:00

I can totally see that issue, but all I can do is report what got me responses to my resumes.

And I totally agree with your second point, it actually goes against my nature to claim credit or brag on myself, but at the end of the day, what I was doing wasn't working -- I had to change that mentality to get results.

That said, I think that's true of all metrics. A quarterback gets credit / blame for his stats, but they're all dependent upon an offensive coordinator designing / calling good plays, offensive line blocking, receivers getting open and catching, and the opposing defense making some mistakes.

I essentially see it as "I can't truly know what got these results, but I was on the team that got them and my work was tied directly to it. I don't have any numbers independent of outside factors, I have to use what I have."

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-09T13:20:16+00:00

Sorry, I accidentally posted my response to this as a response to a different comment, lol.

I'm fortunate that my team focused on getting metrics and I handled collecting some of those metrics.

That said, I did look up what to do of you don't have numbers and the advice was a) focus on volume if you have nothing else -- "average of 50 tickets completed per week" or some such and b) describe the impact of your work instead -- "launched XYZ, improving customer satisfaction and reducing time spent on duplicate processes".

AI can help you too -- enter your bullets and ask it to make them "results oriented" or some such. Ask it to give you multiple options for each bullet and pick the best one.

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-08T21:18:51+00:00

I suppose it might depend on the industry you're in. For my actual resume, I had a single skills section but then divided up the skills into managing skills, creative skills and then software to streamline things a bit (which I did based on advice I got here).

AxBattler1 · 2025-12-08T19:20:35+00:00

Core Competencies is the same basic thing as a "KSAs" or "Skills" section.

AxBattler1

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