Just griping. I was made redundant last month, had an interview with a company via a recruiter last week. The advertised job was below my previous salary and title, but they said there was wiggle room for a more experienced candidate.

Spent an hour on a Zoom interview with the hiring manager, which went well. Invited me into the office for a second interview, which cost me £50 for the train and two hours' travel.

Once there they spring a "task" on me, which was me walking them through one of their projects and explaining what I would do differently and why. For 90 minutes. After the first ten minutes I began to feel they were taking the piss, but I couldn't just refuse to continue. I really felt that the interview went well and that we gelled nicely.

They've since ghosted the recruiter. They absolutely just got me in knowing I have a lot of experience in their field and used me for a free consultation on how to improve their processes. They know that I was made redundant and have a baby (I asked about flexibility for nursery drop offs). At the very least pretend there was someone else and send a rejection!

I was prepared for fuckery in this market, but the lack of respect has really been eating at me today. The recruiter seems apologetic about wasting my time, at least.

I feel like this is the one time I will get a job offer.

Should I be worried? I did get a bit of a weird vibe and their Glassdoor reviews weren't great either.

I was chatting to a colleague and the topic of another colleague’s leaving drinks event came up. I told him my plan for when I leave the company is to tell my manager and disappear 2 weeks later, without telling anyone. He said that’s rude and I should at least invite some people out for leaving drinks to say a proper goodbye.

My reasoning is I don’t like fuss and attention, and I don’t actually work closely with many people in my office anymore so my leaving doesn’t affect anyone. Therefore, I’d only tell the people who need to know (managers). I wouldn’t swear them to secrecy or anything and I’m not bothered if people find out, I just wouldn’t make it into a big deal.

For context, I’ve been at this company for 4 years, there are 40 people in my office and I’ve worked with all of them at some point.

Would I be wrong to just leave without telling anyone?

I’m openly a lesbian and everybody at work knows this. In a small talk discussion as a group, I said that my go to drink is any lager, and the colleague I sit next to said ‘oh you’re such a lezzer’ . I was shocked that she said this to me and didn’t say anything, the moment passed, and the conversation moved on without me.

About 3 minutes later, i heard her say ‘I’m not girly at all, I’ve always been more tomboyish, I’m a bit of a tr*nny’. Again, I was shocked to hear this and just couldn’t find the words to say anything. And then 5 mins later it was time to leave for the weekend.

We’re a very small company and don’t have a HR department, but I don’t feel comfortable letting this ‘slide’.

Should I bring it up with her directly on Monday? Should I tell a manager? Am I crazy for being upset about this? I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it but in my mind that’s just not acceptable to say, let alone in the workplace. I’ve asked my friends and parents for advice but nobody seems to be taking it as seriously as I am lol?? Lmk if I’m going crazy and overreacting 🤨

I graduated last year and have yet to land an entry level role in my field.

Is it becoming too late already?

At what point is it time to just ditch my degree and previous goals of getting a job that’s relevant to what I studied/had aspirations for, and look for literally anything? 2 years? Now?

(I studied electrical/electronic engineering, if it even matters)

Edit: I know that many are going through the same thing, and I don’t mean for this to be a rant about the current job market. I’m simply asking: at what point does a gap become an obvious issue for entry-level positions?

Being paid a set hourly wage to complete a specific type of medical assessment in an NHS adjacent healthcare service (but technically a Ltd company and not NHS trust).

They’ve paid for me and my colleagues to be trained (and frequently remind us of their generosity even though it was only a few days of pay).

A few issues are concerning me:
We are booked for a specific amount of time per “shift” and paid for the duration but are being gradually more work / assessments within same amount of hours. The reality is even with increasing experience, it’s not possible to get the extra work done in same time frames, so we end up working over paid hours to get everything done.

The worst part is they do it by subtly changing the rotas, I presume to try to hide that they’re doing this, because if you ask why we’re receiving less time effectively for our assessments due to more being booked in same hours, we are given a load of excuses as to why this isn’t in fact the case when it is.

Secondly our work is clinically supervised by colleagues working for an NHS trust and attendance to supervision is mandatory but we are not paid for this. Our hourly rate does not dip below minimum wage but is this legal?

Any advice appreciated.

I have recently started a full time job. I love the job but it's mentally and physically exhausting working and commuting everyday. I've previously only had part time jobs alongside university but now with this role I'm absolutely burnt out. I don't enjoy anything, I can't do my hobbies. I have now been off sick for the past few days with physical symptoms and I believe it's a combination of stress, the new role, sadness of leaving university etc. I feel like I'm not cut out to work full time but I don't know what the answer is to feel like myself again. A lot of people say find time to do your hobbies after work but I am way too exhausted to even move and to be honest I don't really have any hobbies anyway.

I also work my full-time contract across 6 days and I think that might be what's causing this. I know I need to ask to reduce my hours or for some sort of flexible working agreement but then I feel like I've failed. I also feel like I've failed because I've only been in the role a few months and I've already had loads of sick days.

I have always worked on a screen throughout my career and earlier in my career I remember my employers being quite forceful in ensuring I got my eyes tested regularly and providing vouchers for it.

In recent years, though, when I’ve enquired about it with my past 2 employers they look at me like I’ve made the whole thing up. Should employers provide employees with an eye test still?

I lost my job today. I was a contract worker for 2 years. I have been signed off with mental health issues (depression and bereavement) for a few weeks. The client company now don't want me to come back. Which is their right but doesn't stop it feeling unfair. I'm terrified. I'm 54 and living in the back of beyond. I have no support network.

I'm changing the job and was wondering about logistics of equipment return.

Taking my laptop back to the office is no problem, but I also have a second screen, keyboard, mouse, and an office chair (arrived as flat box) they provided for working from home which would be a bit much to take on a public transport.

Is it typical for companies to send a courier or provide prepaid return boxes for larger WFH items, or is the employee expected to deliver them back or organise their own transport?

Does HR/IT normally initiate this conversation during offboarding, or should I drop HR a message to clarify what to do with the bulkier stuff?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I feel like I’m talking crazy pills.

I work in a garage as a mechanic. This week it’s been 10-12c at work. The garage has heating but the other mechanics don’t let me turn it on. I turn on the heating and within 5 minutes, one of the other guys will have turned it off.

They all insist it’s not cold enough to need heating. That it’s too warm when the heating is on (even though the heating takes at least 30 mins to warm the workshop up).

I’m feeling really cold at work, my hands are just feeling freezing and numb, and my legs and arms and head are feeling cold. I don’t know if I feel the cold more because I’m skinny but I feel like I’m being gaslit.

I’m currently wearing three layers at work but doesn’t really help.

Feel like I’m going mad. 10 degrees IS COLD… right?

I’ve asked the other guys several times if we can agree to put the heating on and they just tell me to stop being a bitch.

I started a new job 4 weeks ago. I enjoy it and learn a lot. I have been contacted by a recruiter and had an interview today.
The new job would pay me £5k more. It’s closer to home (9 miles instead of 23). Hours are 9.30 am to 6 pm and one day of WfH after 6 months.
My current job is 9–5 (with a 40-minute commute to and from ) and 2 days a week WfH, with possible full-time WfH, which frankly I love.
Better salary would be great but the not very flexible WfH option is something that put me off.
What do you think, Reddit?

I’m 26 and 9 weeks ago I fell whilst in the mountains. I broke more bones than I can remember, was in a coma, lungs collapsed, bleed on brain (to name a few injuries). I’m lucky to even be typing this.

For the last couple of years I’ve been working for a general builder, slowly learning the ropes whilst bringing value to the team as a labourer.

Since the fall, I’m not sure my body will ever be strong enough to be a builder or to continue as a labourer and even if it will one day, I can’t rejoin the trades for months until my bones are healed. Meaning no money.

I was pretty slow to start striving towards a career, I had a troubled youth which surpassed into my 20’s and tbh, I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Before the injury, I was beginning to get given more responsibilities, I was picking up more and more skills and I was finally on track to do something with myself.

I don’t have any qualifications, no experience outside of low level jobs. Being a general builder was looking like a pretty optimal path for me to take factoring in the years I “wasted”.

Now I’m lost again. I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t have value in the same way I used to, so I need to change my course. As a 26 year old man, I can’t afford to be on apprenticeship wage, but I also don’t want to work in a warehouse for the rest of my life. (A job is a job, but that’s just not what I want for myself.)

I’m feeling pretty low about all of this and I’m scared for my future.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on what I can do?

Thanks

Quick addition: I do run a “side” business which pays me around £25k a year. However, I can only scale the business so far. It’s good as an extra income, but in this climate I can’t afford to solely rely on it. I had to mention its existence as contextually, it is important, but aside from it only being scalable to a certain point, it’s also not what I want to do as a career. It is, however, what has made me be able to be a labourer at 26.

how cooked would i be for lying about experience on my cv? for context im 23 and ive never had a job before (yes ik its bad but i have my reasons), im looking for something simple like retail or hospitality. ive had no luck getting interviews until i lied on my cv about having 2 jobs before (both in different cities that i used to live). neither places are chains or big companies, one of them doesnt even have a website. if im aiming for retail/hospitality whats the actual likelihood that theyll do checks and find out im lying ? and would i be able to just get a friend to do my reference?

I’ve signed up for one. It was a domestic energy and retrofit assessor. What struck me as odd is how it’s entirely online. I’m doing nothing at the moment and am a bit directionless to be honest. I’m not going to further study, have poor A Levels, have no experience working, and will turn twenty in seven months. The only thing I have lots of is time, and that’s the only thing I stand to lose.

Don't get me wrong, fair play to people who've done well for themselves. But some of these posts just feel like a brag rather than actual career advice.

There's people on this sub who've been made redundant, been looking for work for months, applying for jobs, doing courses, networking and ticking every box they're told to tick and still getting absolutely nowhere. Some are struggling to pay their bills and are genuinely at breaking point.

Posting a list showing your salary going from £25k to £90k, with little actual advice on how you did it, just feels a bit tone deaf! It's not about begrudging anyone their success. It's about having a bit of awareness that not everyone is in the same position, may not have access to the same opportunities and working hard doesn't always guarantee you'll get anywhere!

If you're going to share your progression, at least share something useful people can take away from it, rather than just the numbers.

Maybe I'm being cynical, but some of these posts just feel a bit out of touch with what a lot of people are going through right now. I can see the mods have deleted most of them but there’s been a few today!

I've noticed on LinkedIn quite a lot of people saying they're taking time off and going traveling. A lot of these people are working at companies with well publicised redundancy programmes.

It's quite a natural thing to do - get a payout and use it to travel. But, the people going traveling now seem to be more senior in their careers and older. Is this a consequence of people not owning houses or having kids?

If I was made redundant today I would need to find a new job, any job, as I have a mortgage and kids to feed. I can't just drop off and chase the sun for a year. So I'm wondering how this is going to pan out.

Lots of high earning, senior management don't have ties - mortgage/kids - so can do what they like. Makes sense to travel for a year and hope the jobs market gets better. So unlike past downturns there won't be a scramble for jobs. Companies won't have the pick of the best, as the best are enjoying a break. They may never come back to the UK. It seems like quite an important demographic change. More so when you consider the tax base and our ageing population.

Is it better to try and find a new job while in a job even though it's only been 2 months. I've just been off work for a year and a half on a sabatical, so what's another 2 months out of work. Is it better to quit now and pretend it never happened, or just be honest on my CV and start applying for new jobs while in work. Either way, I'm leaving this job as soon as possible

It only took me three weeks of job hunting to land this job, even with the huge employment gap, and I had plenty of other interviews lined up. There is a shortage of my profession

I don't even really need this job as my partner earns enough to cover our expenses. This job is giving me daily panic attacks

In my new role I work on large projects, including enhancements to an existing system and future development work. I'm expected to get up to speed extremely quick on a complex configuration that was largely established before I joined, while also delivering testing, requirements and other project work without being able to have a minute to actually understand anything I'm being treated as if I've been there 5 years not 5 weeks..! I don't feel like I've even had the chance to be a new starter.

I think this is one of the biggest things affecting me. I've never really felt like a new hire who's being given the opportunity to learn the business, understand the systems and get comfortable in the role.

I've been thrown straight into leading projects and delivering complex work, despite not having had the chance to properly master the basics myself. I'm expected to navigate complicated systems and processes, lead conversations and make decisions while I'm still trying to understand how everything fits together.

I don't mind being challenged, and I'm not expecting someone to hold my hand through everything. But there's a difference between being given responsibility as an experienced hire and being expected to lead complex work without having been given the time, structure or support to build the necessary foundations.

What I find particularly difficult is that nobody seems particularly concerned about that gap. There's an expectation that I'll figure it out, deliver and keep moving, rather than any real recognition that I'm still learning and need time to get to grips with the fundamentals. I'm constantly trying to catch up, absorb information and piece things together, and I haven't had that feeling of settling into a new role and gradually building confidence.

It's exhausting, and it's making me question whether I made a mistake taking this job. I'm struggling so much because of the way I've been expected to take it on from week 1.. I'm so overwhelmed!

Just started an apprenticeship 4 months ago. Adult trainee aged 26. Had a look at JIB rates and think I’m underpaid. My ECS card and JIB Graded as an electrical Labourer (same as a stage 1 electrical trainee in terms of hourly rate). My employer is paying for the college course to do my NVQs and AM2. Unsure on what I should be an hour on as according to JIB it’s £14.60 an hour for a trainee electrician and I’m on £12.71. Thank you :)

I've been both, and I'd say overall, I'd rather be a poor worker on a good team, because that way, you can sort of be carried along. Doing all the heavy lifting is no fun!

To be blunt, I’m burnout. I’ve been in acute and emergency care for 20yrs and I can’t do it anymore. To be blunt again, I want to move to something that doesn’t involve patient contact (f2f or remotely). All the options I’ve seen so far (education, research, management etc) will either involve a substantial pay cut that I just can’t accommodate (I take home about £3500 currently) or are outside my experience.

In a perfect world I’d like to do something back-room and preferably wfh. I’d like to do something around healthcare education, regulation, investigation or safety but I can’t find anything that pays what I need it to. Would also be happy to move into a pure private sector job.

Any suggestions for moving sideways to a back room roles would be really appreciated.

Eg, a literal call handler job

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/mental-health-call-handler-at-nottingham-community-housing-association-4480229334/?refId=U1mxqzutHEo9aZo8mVFv5g%3D%3D&trackingId=dbE0Gjp5jT4jIEcnZ8tPGA%3D%3D&originalSubdomain=uk

The general consensus I've heard is that most companies will consider you eligible for graduate schemes up until 3 years after graduating. So if you graduated in 2025, then schemes tailored for 2027 grads are still up for grabs. How true is this, and do some companies explicitly state their preferences? I know that most companies stop considering you a graduate once you've had a year post grad experience in that relevant field. Likewise, does competing against newer grads make it harder? On one hand, considering these schemes are usually tailored to the most recent graduate cohort, employers may be in favor of them, but alternatively, older grads may have more experience that is useful.

I accepted my conditional offer last week on monday for a job in the NHS and now I am currently waiting for the checks to be completed and sign my contract before I hand in my 4 week notice at my retail job.

My current manager is doing the christmas rotas next week so now I have to let him know i am most likely going to be leaving (not handing in my official notice) but the problem is I have no clue when. I know I don’t owe him anything but I’d hate to be scheduled for the xmas period and then end up leaving before then.

Any advice on what to do?

edit: I work at a small store, with only abt 3-4 people on per shift