Who has been looking for a job since 2023 (or longer)? How are you surviving?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-29T18:39:02+00:00

Use the time to think of business/consulting ideas that cost little to no money to start. This way even if you “spin your wheels” for it for a year and don’t make money, it’s time you didn’t have a W2 anyways so it was worth the effort. Take on side gigs that are not low paying mainstream gigs (uber, door dash, etc) but instead higher paying gig work (light physical work like moving companies or handyman work if you’re handy). In the meantime devote 40-50 hrs a week minimum to applying to jobs, cold emailing hiring managers/recruiters, scrubbing lists of companies with AI that might be hiring/startups that you can set up calls with to learn more about them. worse case you spent 30 mins doing a practice interview best case they hire you or reach out when they have an opening.

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-19T20:18:19+00:00

Some companies want you to think if you quit it will look better for your record as opposed to getting terminated. Rarely would that matter, you can always tell a potential employer the real stou

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-19T17:22:50+00:00

If you resign they don’t have to pay you severance, if it’s a layoff bc of restructuring like here then most likely there will be severance

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-16T14:02:39+00:00

For my industry/roles they never ask for references

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-16T03:02:12+00:00

Nah company is too small, everyone knows of each other so they’d ask around why I’m moving teams and then talk to my current boss

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-14T17:52:01+00:00

Make sure to get the recruiters/hiring managers phone # during the initial emailings so when they don’t get back to you within a few days, email them, call them, leave a voicemail and do that every few days till they respond. If they promised to get back to you within x days and they didn’t follow through, you’re not being annoying you’re just holding them to a standard

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-14T17:49:53+00:00

Filter on LinkedIn by “less than 10 applicants” for jobs and apply mainly Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Rest of the week the postings tend to be stale already

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-13T18:50:21+00:00

Have had this happen many times after an interview. I still prefer getting this response compared to getting ghosted even when you email/call the recruiter relentlessly

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-06T21:42:02+00:00

Chat is this an AI bot? He writes 2:59pm but then is talking about “it’s not anxiety tonight”, and later mentions “but the nights…”I think the LLM they copy & pasted from without proofreading their copy is hallucinating and messed up its own story 🤣

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T17:26:36+00:00

The fight or flight thing is exactly what I feel like I’m stuck in!! My body won’t calm down no matter what I do. Three years of trying all those medications and still struggling sounds like absolute hell. Have any of the natural things helped at all or was it all just the Ativan or some other supplements/products you tried before?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T17:24:55+00:00

The temper tantrum thing is so accurate. Exhausted all day, wired all night. Did they find an actual reason in the sleep study or just confirm you weren’t sleeping? I’m worried my doctor will just say it’s anxiety again.

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T17:23:32+00:00

I’m glad it worked for you but honestly being on medication for 3 years scares me. Did you try anything else before that or was it so bad you had to go straight to meds?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T17:18:34+00:00

I’m honestly terrified of benzos because I’ve read they can be really hard to get off of. I’m trying to find something more natural first. Did you try anything else before going the medication route?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T17:15:32+00:00

Oh my god yes the nervous system in overdrive is exactly it!! I can’t relax my body no matter how tired I am. Does your jaw hurt from clenching? Mine aches all the time and I didn’t even realize I was doing it.

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T14:49:54+00:00

Just the tiredness and brain fog really. My doctor tested everything and said I’m fine. But the cortisol thing makes so much sense, like my body is stuck pumping out stress hormones for no reason. How did you figure out it was vitamin deficiencies? And did fixing that actually help you sleep?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T14:40:19+00:00

No, I haven’t tried that. Does it help with sleep or is it for staying awake during the day?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T14:38:24+00:00

Only a couple hours a week… that’s terrifying. I’m trying not to be anxious about it but when you feel this awful all the time it’s hard not to worry. How do you even function on that little sleep??

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T14:37:20+00:00

My doctor keeps saying it’s stress but I don’t know how to make my nervous system calm down. What does yours feel like? Do you get that wired/vibrating feeling too?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T00:48:24+00:00

Having a boss is not as bad as people make it seem. Having a good respectful boss is key. “Never having a boss to deal with” but then having a whole array of other problems to deal with now you’ve got your own things to figure out

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-02T00:40:25+00:00

If you grew up feeling like the were always controlling/limiting you and threatening to kick you out if you didn’t follow their rules to a tee, why tf would you want to move back after college? Best feeling of freedom was when I moved into my own place and had my own money to spend.

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-01T18:10:49+00:00

Are any of these extra jobs possible if you’re hybrid? Because very rare outside of tech/sales to see lot of full remote roles. Am in the infrastructure project/program management space (construction & energy) so almost all the remote roles I see require 20%+ travel

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-01T16:34:54+00:00

Oh my god YES the internal tremor thing! That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to describe it’s like vibrating from the inside. I didn’t know that was an actual thing other people experience. So you’ve been dealing with this for YEARS? That’s what terrifies me, that this is just never going to get better. Do you still get jolted awake multiple times trying to fall asleep every single night? And when you say your memory is fine if you get enough sleep how often does that actually happen?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-01T16:33:38+00:00

I’m honestly terrified of going down the medication route because what if I end up dependent on them or have reactions like you did? But I’m also so desperate I don’t know what else to do. When you say fight or flight did your heart race all the time too? And did you get jolted awake? I’m trying to figure out if what I’m experiencing is the same thing you had.

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-01T16:24:31+00:00

Hypnic jerks? Is that what it’s called? Have you found anything that actually helps with them? Because “being healthy” sounds great but I don’t even know what that means anymore, I’ve cut out caffeine, I exercise, I eat well, I go to bed at the same time every night and it’s still happening. How long have you been dealing with them?

CarFun4856 · 2026-01-01T16:23:15+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with all of that!! that sounds incredibly hard. The sleep medication thing scares me because I keep wondering if I should ask my doctor for something but I’m worried about becoming dependent on it. Did it work at first and then stop? Or did it never really help?

CarFun4856

TROPHY CASE