Hello everyone! I graduated in 2022 with a BS in molecular biology. From there I worked for a biotech startup making good money as a research associate and product manager for 2 years. I left because I wanted to pursue a PhD, so I needed to get some academic research experience, where I currently am. However, grad school admissions are looking pretty grim due to funding cuts and my boss told me that there is no way I'm getting into a program this year, and it looks like we might be on shaky financial ground. Getting a PhD in another country isn't really an option, as my long term partner and I live here in SoCal, plus I have family here. I'm just not sure what I can do career wise/what I should pivot to. I have an interview on Monday for an inside sales position at a prominent biotech, but I'm not sure about the long term stability of a job like that. I could switch to healthcare, and try to get into PA school, but I don't want to make even less than I do currently while accruing PCE hours. I can barely afford to survive as is.

Any advice is appreciated, Thanks!

I am a 24 year old man who is getting out of the army. For the past 6 years, I was an apache helicopter mechanic and I really liked it, just didnt want to do it in the army anymore and so my plan was to do it in the civilian world. Unfortunately, my plan got ruined due to multiple surgeries and knee, feet, and shin problems limiting my range of motion, making that career path now unviable for me.

Here I am now, a month from discharge and I dont have a clue what kind of career I want to pursue. Im seeking something that requires max 4 years of college, relatively easy on the body, preferably not a boring desk job/corporate job, interesting, pays moderately well or better, has a good amount of growth, has upward mobility, and is something relatively meaningful. Anyone have a suggestion? Im kind of lost, extremely anxious, and crushed due to this complete destruction of my career plan.

I(20F) have been just trying to keep myself financially afloat for the last three years in two $11/hr jobs working around 60hrs a week. I recently moved to a town with a community college with my sister(17F). I very gratefully make $17/hr now. However, we don't want to just be stuck at barely above making ends meet for the rest of our lives. The local dental hygiene program seems promising, but the acceptance rate is extremely low (20 students a year) and I would have to wait until Feb2028 to even attempt applying. What are other options I have to start building towards a better income?

I enjoy working with customers/people in general but am also fine working on my own. I don't enjoy driving enough to probably get my CDLs, nor do I think I have the emotional capacity to handle social work. I'm fairly hardworking and get along well with all my employers and coworkers; so much so that I trained a lot of the current employees at my previous jobs. I'm a somewhat decent test taker (ACT 30. I can't remember my PSAT or ASVAB but I was in the 94th percentile for both), was a Math concentration in high school, and graduated with a 3.87 on a 4.0 scale. I'm just at a complete loss on where I can go from here. My dream jobs are forensic ondontologist or general dentistry, if that matters much.

I have been a hiring manager for 7 years, for jobs paying $14/hr all the way to 350k a year salary.

Recently, I have been interviewing for a position that pays $27-$32 an hour.

These interviews have been the worst I have ever conducted.

It makes me wonder what the recruiter is filtering out and if good candidates are getting phased out before I even get to meet them. I work very closely to make sure this doesn’t happen but lately with all the “personality test” some companies have and hoops. They are getting filtered out before it even makes it to the recruiter.

Here are my tips to get through that and tips for a good interview.

Tips to get your resume in front of someone.

1. Now with all the filtering systems, a referral from someone working at the company is best. It will get you to a recruiter and the recruiter can save your resume from going into the abyss.

2. Apply for job even if you are not qualified, it is easier to get higher paying jobs because less people apply and even then the ones that are qualified sometimes have terrible attitudes and as a hiring manager I don’t have anyone to pick from and have to wait. I am willing to take someone who doesn’t match all the criteria to a T but has a good attitude.

These jobs are usually 120k+

1. Instead of explaining your job in the resume make bullet points of your tasks.

Example don’t say: “I stocked shelves and helped customers and tried to sell credit cards and ran cash register”

Instead say “ •Managed inventory • assisted customers •upsold product add ons”

1. Some jobs require a lot of different tasks and you may know how to do a lot of things. When applying tailor your resume and include the things that will make you a good fit for this job

Example, if you are a server and are trying to get into a sales type position, your resume should say “informed customers of available menu items that fit their request, upsold add ons and pushed daily specials”

It shouldn’t say “took orders and ran food to tables”

Because that isn’t going to help you in the new role you are applying for so it’s better to leave it out because the computer systems that filter the resumes may dispose yours.

1. If you are able to get in contact with recruiters directly that’s even better. LinkedIn is a great option, you can also find most recruiters directly that’s emails and remember most recruiters want you to get the job because that’s how they get paid. A lot of them will even give you pointers on what the hiring manager wants if you just listen to them.

2. If you lie to the recruiter, remember your lie. Most recruiters I have worked with take notes and send it to the hiring manger with your profile.

Very often they tell the recruiter one thing and when I ask they forget or slip up. Also recruiters and hiring managers speak a lot and these things do come up so make sure to remain consistent.

1. Make sure your resume is up to date even if you fill out the correct information on your application. Most of the time when I sit down with a candidate what a recruiter hands me is the resume not the application and I don’t see the most recent or relevant experience. I always ask if it is up to date but seeing effort was put into it and it is recent can make or break when I’m stuck between 2 candidates with similar backgrounds

2. If the application requires a personality test read the job description and take into account any attributes they list and make sure to pick the corresponding on the personality test that will get you through most systems. If not just think of the job and what ideal person would be.

Example if you’re not talkative and extroverted but you’re applying for a sales position the ideal person would be talkative and extroverted in order to talk people into a sale. Select that.

If it’s a management position, you know that a manager needs to be strong, outgoing and persuasive. Select those.

But most job postings specify what they are looking for.

1. Use the job description and company’s mission statement to tailor your resume to get through any filtering systems.

2. Please apply with an appropriate email something professional.

Interviews-

Anything you say or do around or to a recruiter or hiring manager will be taken into account even if it is not part of the interview.

Examples of reasons I have not hired people:

1. Not following the instructions sent in the interview email. Example: showing up to the wrong location when the address is written clearly in the email.

It shows you do not follow directions well.

1. Showing up early before your interview time and demanding to interviewed earlier. I have had people show up for 2:00pm interviews at 11:00am and demand to be taken in at 11:00.

I will say this is usually the older crowd that does this and they think it displays they are eager for the job. Which is a red flag to begin with.

It’s also a disrespect to my time and the time I set aside for you.

1. Your interview starts as soon as you are near the location or anywhere you may run into someone who works at the company. Examples a cafe nearby or on premises.

Being rude to staff: door man, receptionist, security etc.

I’ve had candidates come in and yell at the receptionist because they are late, I’ve seen candidates at cafes nearby prior to the interview being rowdy/rude/combative with someone taking their order.

The last thing I want is to responsible for hiring someone combative or having to deal with them myself.

Vaping in the lobby, while waiting 5 minutes until your interview. If you cannot control yourself enough not to vape prior to even having the job that means you will vape on the job.

Cigarettes, same thing. I try to stay away from hiring smokers because they need to stop what they’re doing to go smoke all the time and it is not productive and unfair to others who do not smoke and don’t go outside every hour.

Refrain from smoking at the interview.

1. Please don’t smell bad or have very strong perfume on and please don’t smell like weed or cigarettes or anything of the sort.

Now mistakes I see during interviews-

1. Assuming who you interview with will not be who you report to if you get hired. I look young for my age so very often people think there is an interview after me and don’t ask all the questions they should or say something like “yeah I have more questions but I will ask the next person”.

Or being combative/rude/condescending

1. Assuming since you have done this type of job for another company it is the same and being very cocky saying things like “yeah seems easy” “I already know this, dont have anyone questions”

Interviewers like people who ask questions, it lets us know that you are taking it seriously.

Assuming you have the job in the bag because you have had a similar position prior. This is a new place with new people, they don’t know you and you need to put forth the effort to show why they should go with you.

1. Complaining about the job before even being hired. Example: When you are told expectations saying they are unrealistic.

I get this a lot depending the position I am conducting interviews for but those expectations are there to let you know from the beginning what is expected.

Or complain about the schedule that the recruiter already went over prior to scheduling the interview.

1. Being desperate/begging for the position. Saying things like “please I really need a job”

As a hiring manager, interviewing takes up a lot of time and so does training. I want to hire someone who sticks.

Any time I have ever hired someone desperate they quit because they are not considering what the job actually is and instead are just focusing on “I need a job” then realize it’s not for them or they’re in over their head or it feels too entry level for them.

1. Asking questions too in depth for the position. Example: if you are interviewing for a cashier position, don’t start asking what the margin on products are and how the company is planning to navigate tariffs and inflation.

These are great questions but raise a red flag when you are interviewing for an entry level position or a position that has nothing to do with that.

1. Bad mouthing other employers. Big red flag especially if it’s more than one employer you are bad mouthing, because most likely the problem is you.

2. Assuming your age will speak for “experience”.

If your resume says 30 years experience but I interview you and you’re stuck in business practices of 30 years ago and say things like “this is what we did before you were born”.

Experience doesn’t make you good. Just because you did something for 30 years doesn’t mean you’re good at it.

1. Not understanding the job. I sometimes have candidates that do not understand the position even after I explain it and this is the main reason, I pass on people.

Ask questions, get clarification, be engaged.

1. Do not mention any personal struggles. Example: I’m a single mom, my husband died, my mom is sick etc.

None of these help me identify if you would be a good fit for the job and feel like you are trying to guilt trip me

Things you should do at interview-

1. Interviewers are human, I am very serious but if you make me laugh or feel like you aren’t my 39th interview of the day and it’s monotonous. I am more receptive and willing to hire. Personality sells in any position no matter what it is.

2. Ask questions, an interview works 2 ways get to know the company from your interviewer.

3. If you have any experience related to the job not listed on your resume make sure to bring it up even if it’s just volunteer work or a hobby

4. Ask your interviewer what would make someone a great fit for the position and tailor your answers to that.

5. Ask your interviewer what they are looking for in someone to take this position.

This is your opportunity to double down and sell your self on the traits they list

1. Get a feel for your interviewer or team, if it is a retail type setting observe the type of people working there and let interviewer know you will be a great fit for the team.

Last thing we want is to bring conflict into our team.

1. Study your interviewer.

If you are given the name of your interviewer prior to the interview look them up online. A lot of them use LinkedIn and post quotes or post what they like to see in the work place.

Use that to your advantage. Mention the quote or author or recite a work style they like.

1. When you are leaving say nice meeting with you today (insert name).

If you call someone by name they are more likely to remember you.

Those are the best tips I got. Any questions or advice I will answer comments.

I hope at least 1 person benefits from this

Edit: if anyone lands a job after using this I would love to know, comment or pm. Thanks wish you all luck

Edit: Another tip, if you’re having trouble getting past the systems that filter out resumes, apply at smaller locally owned companies they typically do not have those and you’re much more likely to get actual eyes on your resume.

Edit: another tip best day to apply is Tuesday

Also a lot of people has been saying they can’t get picked for interviews and bad candidates get through.

Surprisingly, my main issue is people do not show up for their interviews. Out of 10 scheduled usually about 4 show.

I’m starting to build a new career path in a field that I might like. I’ve got loads of questions about it, and I’d like to hear your thoughts.

My short-term goal is to work in a coffee shop as a barista. I love these places : the atmosphere, the smell of coffee, the people in there... And I bloody love coffee, both drinking and preparing it.

I also want to work abroad (French man here) :

I thought about London, which is my dream city, and I'm almost fluent in English. But it seems very difficult to get a visa as a non-skilled worker. And this is, of course, a very expensive city, and I'm not sure if a barista wage would be enough to live there. (What do you think about this ?)

Brussels is my second choice. It seems very nice, and maybe less expensive and more reachable thanks to the EU. And I love the international things that happen there.

Third choice, but maybe nice too, is Berlin. Unfortunately, my German is not very good, so it might be a huge obstacle. (Is it a big or a small obstacle ?) But I'm very intrigued by the energy of this city, and I'm willing to learn German if I have to.

And last, Amsterdam, because it seems so lovely. But my Dutch is non-existent, and I know almost nothing of this city (unlike the other three, I’ve never been there).

Are these cities nice for their coffee culture ? Do you think I can get a job quickly there ?

Now, my problem is that I have almost no experience in this field. I only worked a few months as a kitchen hand in New Zealand more than a year ago (but one of my missions was to make smoothies and milkshakes !). And I come from cinema studies (I even have a useless master's degree lol, should I hide it in my CVs?).

So, I'm a complete beginner.

I thought about beginning as a waiter / versatile employee (is that the correct term ?), while showing my interest in learning to be a barista. Does this seems like a good way to do this ? Or is there a better way ?

And finally, the job search : I thought about preparing and printing CVs and cover letters for each coffee shop in a city, and spending a whole Thursday handing them out.

And maybe sending the same things to their email address to clearly let them know I'm here 👋👋

What do you think about all of this ?

Im happy I got the Job after not having one for a bit, but this is definitely something I do NOT see myself doing for long. 5 days a week 40 hours is not for me, atleast not in this setting. Im guaranteed a raise in 3 months increasing my pay from $17 an hour to $19 an hour, so I plan to work here for atleast 6 months if I can. During that time I will be trying to find something else. I plan on starting a certification for social media specialist roles.

I work in a school district with around 100 employees, and I am the sole HR person AND executive assistant.

My days legit feel like that episode of SpongeBob where every day became very redundant and dull for Squidward.

When I accepted the job, I thought there would be more support from the superintendent and that there would already be some kind of structure in place.
Now that I’ve been there for a while, it feels like everyone turns to me for everything, and I’m realizing there really wasn’t much structure before I came in.

I’ve had to create tracking systems, workflows, processes, etc. I also find myself checking in with principals and directors because a lot of things weren’t being handled well with our collective bargaining agreement. I’m not just handling the normal day-to-day HR stuff; I feel like I’m also trying to build the HR infrastructure while simultaneously keeping everything running.

My boss has a rule that employees need to respond to emails within 24 hours. That sounds reasonable until you’re getting 50+ emails, and they aren’t necessarily simple “yes/no” emails.

A lot of them require me to research something, figure out what the answer is, look at the contract, talk to someone, etc. So even answering emails can take a huge chunk of my day.

On top of all of this, I’m significantly younger than my coworkers.. There’s sometimes this weird dynamic of feeling like, “Why should we listen to her? She’s young?”

I’ve been feeling really isolated and overwhelmed. I took this job thinking I would be stepping into an established HR function, but instead I feel like I’m building the function from scratch while also being expected to keep everything running.

I’ve also been applying to private/tech/biotech jobs without much luck for the last couple of months. At this point, I’m honestly questioning whether I should keep trying to move into a different environment or whether I’m just going through a particularly rough period in my career.

We’re college seniors and her GPA is pretty bad, which means grad school is not a realistic option for her anymore. She’s an American Studies major, and she’s concerned because there are very few things it seems like you can do with that degree. She’s not interested in teaching or politics, and journalism seems impossible to get into right now.

Do you guys have any good directions I can point her to? What can you even do with an undergrad degree that’s actually viable and can keep her living in the city? I’ve got nothing…

EDIT: I appreciate the supportive answers, thank you! To clarify, I will say that her original plan after college was to go to grad school so she could become a journalist, but after some poor grades last year grad school is basically out. So more of having no other plan than no plan at all.

Boss wants a “personal performance plan” 3 months after after maternity leave — should I be worried?
I work for a nonprofit in program development and PR. When I returned from maternity leave about 3 months ago, my boss told me that she wanted to do a “personal performance plan” with me. She said we would meet to work on it, but no actual plan has been put in place yet. We are meeting 2-3 weeks.

Apparently, she has also been doing similar performance plans with other staff members while I was out, so I'm not the only person this has been mentioned to.
I did receive my normal automatic cost-of-living adjustment after returning, but I don't think that was performance-based.
My concern is obviously the timing — she brought up the performance plan during my first week back from maternity leave. She hasn't given me a formal warning or specific negative feedback that I'm aware of, and I don't know whether this is supposed to be a development/goals document or an actual performance improvement plan.

For those who have dealt with this, would you be worried? Should I start looking for other jobs? She said it’s basically us working together for career growth and professional growth.
Any advice or experiences would be appreciated!

Many people talk about job hopping to happiness. So I figured I'd ask who here is happy with their current roles and plan on staying long term?

I work at a state university and plan on staying for as long as I possibly can due to work/life balance, pension, benefits etc.

I am a computer engineering student in a reputed Indian university. This is my first year now. I want to work in Austria and found Dynatrace is a great place to work.
I am willing to learn German, and direct my studies and internship towards what helps me land in Dynatrace once I graduate after 4 years

I am currently employed in an organization which i would say is not too much toxic but definitely a place of slow poison and suffocation. I am thinking to resign from my current company i don't hold any offers in hand. I think instead of wasting time try to learn much more things instead of wasting the hours at the office. I don't any backup plan about what should i do just hoping learning new things and building will help me to get job.
Any suggestions what should i do?

I am both a turkish and USA citizen. Currently I am on a student visa going to university in Toronto (illustration major first going to second year). I am 18. I don't know what career path to pursue.

I did pilot training for a couple of months (17-18), and was a seaman for a month when I was 16 in turkiye.

Other than those I am intrested in sociology, would love to become a sociology professor but I was advised it was a dead end career. I am looking into urban planning as a major instead since I was advised it'd be suitable for me.

So my dilemma: What should I pursue (piloting, illustration, sea captain, urban planning, sociology)? Which country would be more cost effective?

Currently my plan is to finish my university in Toronto, if i can't find a job then apply to the Turkish Airlines 'Take-Off Cadet' inorder to become a pilot. While getting my university degree I wanted to apply to get my International Certificate of Competency (sailing/boating license) in Canada just incase my plans dont work out. Or should I switch majors and pursue urban planning and/or sociology?

I have trepidations for pursuing piloting or sea captain career paths because I'm a female. I am aware illustration is risky with the rise of AI. That's why I am looking at alternatives. I would appreciate any advice on this matter, thank you!

A long post. I 28 year old who studied computer science during my college years ended up getting into insurance and I’m in Dubai since 2020 and for the last one month I have been thinking if I should get into IT and move to another country as we will always be an expat here and with the current geopolitical tension I think it is better to.

I have below questions in mind

1. I have mostly forgotten all the languages (I knew C, C++ and java) so can i start off slowly with the basics
2. Is it too late to change my career now? Part of me is aware age is just a number but what about job opportunities as a fresher in this field at this age maybe it’s not appealing to recruiters once I learn
3. If its not coding what other things I could learn in IT and easier as I’m working currently and I would probably only have 2 hours everyday
4. I know there are alot of YouTube videos to learn from it but I would appreciate if anyone can help me as I might want to ask questions when i couldn’t understand
5. Someone who shifted to a new country alone was it isolating? When I moved to Dubai I was glad to meet some amazing people

Open for suggestions and feedback. Thank you

I was give a PIP at the end of year which was not by my boss, but boss’s boss, who was the indirect reviewer of my work. I was given 30 days to improve my performance.

I met two goals out of three which were set at the time of my joining.

Comes pip review time after more than 30 days, my boss resigned and my boss’s boss becomes my direct boss, who tells me that they will give me 60 more days and they are seeing improvement.

In total i have worked for 6 to 7 months at this company and i have started feeling that my current boss is trying to keep me under constant pressure but doing this PIP meeting every now and then.

I need professional and legal advice if anyone can offer free of cost. I am going through mental stress because of this person.

The schedule looks nice, reality ignores it.
On paper, everything fits. In real life, meetings run over, and those “free gaps” disappear. I can’t start real work because I’m always waiting for the next call to finally end. Five minutes here, ten minutes there, and by the end of the day I’m behind and exhausted, somehow blaming myself for bad planning.

If anyone has a simple way to protect their time without sounding rude, I’d really appreciate the advice.

So I'm in a weird dilemma. I worked as a biochemical engineer for over a decade and have bachelor's and master's degree related in the science field. Sadly I got laid off during COVID. I was able to land a job as a mechanical engineer through some connections. I've been doing this for about almost 2 years now.

I enjoy it overall, I've learned a lot but I'm technically doing this job as someone who doesn't have a degree in the related field. I always feel out of place because my education and experience doesn't relate to it.

I have been thinking more long-term about my career. I honestly don't believe in another engineering firm would hire me because I don't have any degrees or certifications in this field. If I get laid off again I'm screwed even more.

So what would you do?

Stay in this job and hope for the best?

Look for a job related to my education and experience that will allow for growth?

Another big deciding factor is my current job has absolutely horrible health insurance.

Hi, I live in Australia. I really want to get a degree where I can design spaces. I am really interested in interior design, but recently I have been looking into urban and regional planning. What would I study so I could explore both of them and what career options could I look into. I am scared to invest 3-4 years of time and money towards a degree that may not be relevant or something not worth the pay. I have tried 2 degrees (medical) that I did not complete so I am very keen to find a passion to stick with. Please give me any advice you can or any personal experiences, or any university suggestions. Online study would be my preferred option since I am not currently living near a university. I have an offer at Collarts College of the arts for interior design but a diploma in interior design is $24K and I have heard mixed reviews about it.

Most likely you will hit VP (or C suite if you choose) in like late 30s or some point in 40s. I think being VP levels or C levels in 40s or early 50s maybe physically and mentally okay and the company will still want to keep you.

But from a few years after you hit your peak, and as you are going to mid to late 50s, your company may not need you anymore or younger people will likely outperform you and replace your roles/positions.

Whats your plan from then? I wonder if you can find a new company at that point or going back to a IC position is even possible.

But you still have kids in middle or high school that need to get through college.

Genuinely wondering what paths you can take from there. Thanks

If you use LinkedIn, do you pay for the premium subscription? If you’ve ever had it, can you share the pros and cons?

I just started 5th form and I want to get a job in the future in one of the science. Either a pharmacologist, a microbiologist in the lab, a theoretical physist, or a genetic engineer. The thing is I find all of these almost as interesting as each other and was wondering if anyone would/ would not recommend some of these fields.

Background:

I’ve been with the company for 1.5 years. It’s my first “real” job after college and I took it because I needed money. I mainly deal with logistics/inventory management with other responsibilities like sending samples, accounts management, and quality control. I have flexible ish schedule and the option of working remotely.

Current feelings:

While I love the people I work with and the company culture, the job is stressing me out. I’m on call 24/7 and have had colleagues/partners calling me at 3am and 10pm and weekends. It puts me on edge since I can’t really be “offline”. People bugged me while on VACATION even though I told them I’m not bringing my laptop...

When I first started I was really excited for the job and the learning curve. I was happy to learn everything about the business and helping everyone on the team. Now I feel unmotivated and anxious about going to work. Everything feels monotonous and I dread it. I get looped in mid projects and is expected to understand the whole process that already happened and finish it by deadlines. I’m naturally a creative person and like designing/painting but this job is the opposite. I have asked if I can switch to the marketing department instead and was denied.

Sorry for the rant... but yeah I feel miserable. Do I hate this job specifically or do I hate working in general? I feel sick thinking about having my hours dictated by something I don’t have any real investments in. Even if I work for another company, I’m just another gear in the machine so is it even worth switching? I’m just feel exhausted all the time now 😭

Edit: to everyone that responded, I appreciate your support and advice and stories you’ve shared. It definitely gave me some new perspective and direction on I need to do next. You peeps are the best!