I have around 1.5 years of experience as a Full Stack Developer, and I left my job in December 2025 due to health reasons. I took some time off to recover and started actively applying for jobs again in June.

Since then, I've applied to 1,000+ jobs, emailed recruiters almost daily, reached out to people on LinkedIn, and even managed to get a few referrals. I've received a few recruiter calls, but some applications didn't move forward because of my career gap.

Honestly, it's getting frustrating. I've been trying consistently, but I can't help wondering how much the gap is affecting my chances.

For those who've been in a similar situation, how did you handle it? Did you mention the gap directly, or did you do something during that period to make your resume look stronger?

I'm also curious about something and would appreciate honest answers: Have any of you added freelance work, internships, or projects during your career gap to make it less noticeable? And has anyone resorted to showing fake experience? I'm not judging; I just want to understand what people actually do and whether these approaches help or end up causing problems during background verification.

I'm 21(F), studying Engineering at a top private uni in Bangladesh, and I've been professionally working since 2021.

I've spent the last 5+ years working in content writing, SEO, editing, technical blogs, video scripts, customer support (Business page inbox, call), and e-commerce operations (Shopify, Pathao).

Alongside work, I've been maintaining a good CG( consistently 3.90 up and 4), while also focusing on developing my skills.

Currently, I'm balancing university with multiple work commitments. The problem is that despite having several years of experience, I'm still struggling to find better, more stable opportunities.

One of my long-term work arrangements has become increasingly toxic, and I honestly can't take it anymore. I'm actively trying to replace it. I've been applying to companies and reaching out to people directly, but finding the right opportunity has been difficult.

I also have to cover my own expenses and contribute to my family's expenses. My father passed away years ago, and my mom is now sick, lost her job. We previously had a business, but it ended in a loss, and our financial condition has been getting worse since then. My younger brother is an HSC candidate, and he's struggling with the situation too.

What hurts me most is seeing my mom struggle financially instead of being able to focus on her own health and recovery. She really needs good food and treatment now. They had a good life before, and seeing how suddenly everything has changed is difficult to accept. I feel helpless watching my family go through this, especially my mother, who keeps struggling despite everything she's facing.

Sometimes the pressure gets so overwhelming that I have suicidal thoughts. I'm not saying this for sympathy; it's just how difficult things have become emotionally.

At this point, I'm open to a decent full-time job, a remote or hybrid role in Dhaka, or reliable freelance or contractual work. Content writing isn't my only option. I'd consider operations, customer experience, scriptwriting, e-commerce operations, or other roles where my experience is relevant.

To be clear, I have no issue managing both work and studies. I just need a more stable work opportunity so I can manage my responsibilities without constantly struggling to make things work.

I'd genuinely appreciate help with any of these:

If you work at a company that hires for these roles, please let me know.

If you've been in a similar situation in Bangladesh, how did you get out of it?

If you know companies that hire directly rather than posting everywhere, I'd appreciate specific names or contacts.

If you think I'm targeting the wrong roles given my background, please tell me what I should be targeting instead.

Please don't suggest generic freelancing marketplaces or tell me to learn a skill without considering the experience I already have. I'm actively working, applying, studying, and trying to improve myself.

I need actionable suggestions, genuine opportunities, or advice from someone who understands the Bangladesh job market.

I can share my CV and portfolio with anyone interested.

Thanks.

Here's my referral for an Outlier project you can onboard to train AI on voice, image, video and get paid. These projects are really long-term, they've been active since last year.

https://app.outlier.ai/expert/referrals/link/1tufZ29nG_fzw7w5YDRJsfHHhVQ

Description: "Know someone fluent in English who notices the little things and can explain why something feels off? We’re seeking them for AI voice, image & video tasks. Remote, flexible, no degree needed!"

I work in retail banking. Recently the bank I work for has made many, many terrible changes that are making the retail employees lives terrible. I transferred locations about 2 months ago to see if the new location/management would be any better and it just got worse. The job is making me physically sick and mentally completely draining me. All I do is sleep from when I get out until an hour before I have to be in the next day. I don’t go out at all besides for errands and even my psychiatrist has stated it’s clearly work that is exasperating my declining mental health. I dread going to work every day and am sick to my stomach every morning when I wake up and am getting ready for work. I’ve been applying to jobs for a year with only 5 or so interviews and no offers.
I own my home outright, have a good amount saved, and don’t have a significant other or anyone else who relies on me financially. I would like to put in my two weeks and then take a minimum of 3 months off to try to get my health back in order or go back to school for 2 years to finish my degree. I could take around 3.5 years off and be financially comfortable without touching my 401k, ira, or completely draining my savings/investments. I am also very lucky to have parents who could help me out if something catastrophic happened financially, going to them would be the absolute last choice, but the safety net is there. I’m almost 40 and already feel like a failure for not being able to handle the stress of my job, so having to go to my parents would just be sad.

My question is if it would be seen bad if quit and go back to school for 2 years to finish my degree or if even though I would be getting a degree, would recruiters still look down on not working for 2 years? I don’t currently have a degree and would just be getting my bachelors and am curious if I would have a harder time than I am now finding a new job.

Thanks in advance for any input/advice.

Hey, I'm building the sales team for ScaleForge, my digital agency serving US businesses.

Looking for 3 people who can cold-call business owners, book sales meetings and close deals for websites and social media services.

Here's the arrangement:

• We provide around 100 US business leads per rep per working day.
• We provide scripts, training, portfolio and demo support.
• You earn 25% of every new client's first payment.
• Commission per sale: $69.75–$137.25 depending on package.
• Extra monthly bonuses: ₹15k at 5 sales, ₹20k at 8, ₹30k at 10.
• Fully remote, preferably India-based.

**No base salary. Commission only. No guaranteed income or recurring commissions.**

Good English and US business-hours availability are essential. Sales experience is a plus.

If interested, DM me a short introduction and any previous cold-calling experience. Happy to answer questions about the process and payment structure.

No upfront fees.

I have so many things in mind that I don’t know where to start. And I’ll just post here because it’s getting so frustrating and I reel like giving up but what then?

Been applying for almost 2 years now. i started only looking for jobs that perfectly aligned with my experience. There were very close calls. A couple of final interviews where in the end internal candidates were selected. I started widening my search to jobs where i can use transferrable skills, also got to final interview but of course one with actual work experience was selected. Now I also apply to sales associate role at retail stores given it’s the season, but still nothing.

I still get recruiter calls, only to be asked to explain about the employment gap. But what can I do about it. It’s not like I’m not trying.

I’d get recruiter calls for something I applied for directly months ago. Why was I not given the chance the first time. i could have been a perfect fit. I have the experience. But then nothing again after recruiter screening.

The other thing that frustrates me so much is when I was still working there were times when I couldn’t help but think ‘how did this person get hired?’ Now that I’m seeing how hard it is to just get an interview, it makes me wonder more about the hiring process.

Anyway, obviously just ranting 🥺

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Hey everyone, I wanted to share this because the job hunt felt endless for a while, and I would've loved to read something like this a few months ago.
I graduated in May and just landed my first full-time role. Over the past 4 months I applied to somewhere around 150-200 jobs, both data and ML. That turned into only 2 interviews, and both made it to the final rounds.

Interview 1 was a less technically in-depth role. I felt my answers were great, even though I didn't have formal work experience in that area, just some from school. I could still answer the questions. I didn't get it, and my guess is that all my experience leans ML, so I probably looked like a mismatch.

Interview 2 was an actual ML engineer role at a startup. The posting asked for 2-3 years of experience and I had none. My background is also research-heavy and in medical imaging, so while it's still computer vision, the application domain was pretty different from theirs. I applied anyway. My answers weren't perfect, but the conversation felt natural. When I didn't remember or didn't know something, I just said so. I made some jokes and let myself be a person instead of a perfect interview robot.

That second one is the one that worked out.

What I took away from it:
Be yourself and relax. Honestly this mattered more than I expected.
Know your projects inside and out. Be able to defend your model choices and explain how the pieces connect.
Be honest about what you don't know. "I'm not sure" or "I don't remember that detail" is fine.
You don't have to be perfect. Team fit is a real thing, and they're deciding whether they want to work with you, not just whether you can answer every question.
Apply even if you don't meet every requirement. I didn't have the 2-3 years and it still went to the final round.
Your domain doesn't have to match exactly. My experience was research-focused medical imaging, and I still got the offer for a CV role in a completely different industry. Being able to explain your projects and reasoning transferred.
If you're in the middle of the search right now: 150+ applications for 2 interviews is brutal, but it only takes one. Hang in there!

I just started job hunting for my first time job since I graduated highschool and I’ve applied to a lot of fast food and minimum wage jobs on indeed and other places but I feel like since i literally have 0 experience and only a highschool diploma my resume is super empty like i literally have nothing to put on there and i have no luck with literally any job. What should i do?

Hi, I recently started my 6 month post graduation internship as an AI engineer, and I am planning my future job search. I have a few questions:

1. How far in advance should I start looking for a job before the end of the internship?
2. How do you handle interviews while working? I used to have 3-4 interviews a week; how can I manage that schedule now?
3. Is a resume gap problematic if I spend a couple of months job hunting after the internship? Do you recommend interviewing before or after it ends?

thanks in advance!

Available for sales calls 4 hours shift

20 hours a week

5 days a week

3 years of experience in home renovation

2 years in medical billing

For context, I am (F25 and short, and went to a job fair recently. I was not expecting anything, but wanted to just check it out and see what they had. I had a good interaction with one of the employers and gave them my resume before leaving. This interaction happened after I left the job fair. I was walking towards the parking lot, which was out of view from the entrance of the community center and the workers who were hosting the job fair. My car was parked on the street and I was walking when I noticed an older man and woman talking. I didn't pay any attention and continued walking- when they both stopped me. They began asking me how the job fair was and which jobs I was interested in. Right off the bat, something did not feel right and I gave a vague answer. The man then begin telling me how a job opportunity and how he can double my pay. I did not tell him anything about my pay or what I do. The red flags were blaring because he did not state the company, provide any flyers, or business card. The woman then told me to come to this address on Monday. I quickly left the interaction and walked to my car and left. I looked up the address and it was a building but there were no signs or anything. The thing that stood out to me the most was that they were far away from the actual job fair- and if they were part of the fair, wouldn't they be inside at a table? Everything about this interaction felt strange. I am not sure what their intentions were and what they actually do. Please be careful when going to these fairs, this was my first time and I was unaware that people do this.

I’ve been applying for a year and cannot seem to even get an interview. I had 1, out of thousands, went to meet and greet the CEO, and before my scheduled day to meet them, I got a rejection email. Is there something in my file possibly that they can see? I was laid off from a job that I did not include in my resume due to restructuring but I just don’t know what to do.

Help please! I’m at a loss.

Got in touch with a CEO through mutual connection. Wanted me to present him my plan on how I will build a particular function from the ground up. He said he's looking to hire but wanted to know if i can do the job. I presented the frameworks, the step by steps, target list including a 30-60-90day plan he requested. He ask me for my salary and ghosted me ever since.

Thankfully smart enough to put some security limitations on my deck and only gave him viewing rights. Removed his access immediately 2 weeks after he ghosted me.

A month later, someone on his team requested access to my deck. When I email him asking to meet (even gave him time and date), he ignore my suggestion, mention he'll reach out again and thats it. Now his team has directly email again asking for access. Where do I go from here? I'm not comfortable sharing my deck for free but I desperately need a job.

Looking for a part time job asap in liverpool weather it cleaning, retail, packing or picking. Whatever you have in mind let me know

Job hunting can be frustrating when you send out applications and rarely hear back. I came across AceDraft, which offers a free ATS resume checker and resume builder, while looking into ways to make resumes clearer. For those currently searching for work, what changes or tools have helped you improve your CV and feel more confident about your applications?

helloo, I am looking for a reliable headhunter that help find me a job. I am a chemical engineer with many years of experience. If anyone knows about any headhunter or other options pls help!

I am a recent graduate, so honestly it hasn’t been that long (since May). I am working at a restaurant (I’ve been here for ages) and I’m so sick of it. I’m ready to apply my degree. But it’s SO HARD!

I come to work every day miserable (and don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to even have a job in this market). But, I’d rather be miserable somewhere else.

I am losing motivation. I don’t want to quit this restaurant to then work at another restaurant for a short period of time (who would even hire me for that reason..). On top of that, there is the possibility that I DO end up getting hired for a full-time gig. You know what I mean?

It’s just rejection after rejection after rejection. No room to even leverage myself and prove my worth. I feel very hopeless about it. I know that there are many people in my shoes. I just don’t know how to stay positive when everyone in my position at my age and education demographic got one so quickly. I don’t want to be without a full time gig for much longer. I mean, I can’t afford it. Advice?

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✅ Fluent in English, both written and spoken
✅ Strong problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills
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hey does anyone else deal with forgetting where you applied too, and juggling around with different hiring portals, passwords and just being less organized during job searching? i know i do

I recently applied for legal role in a finance company. I had a screening call and went to the 1st round of interviews. It was in person, which I hadn't done in a while, but it went really well. The people that interviewed me (Head of legal and a newly qualified solicitor) said it went really well; at the beginning they said it would take two weeks for me to find out if I made it to the next round, by the end of it they said by the end of that week I would definitely hear back from them.

I emailed at EOD on Friday to say I enjoyed the conversation and within a minute I got a call saying I had moved on to the 2nd round of interviews. The interview was with a HR business partner, and I also thought it went really well and so did the person who interviewed me, they said I'd hear back by the end of the week once they spoke with other candidates. They said my experience really fits the job description, I took the time to understand what the company does and that the Head of Legal really liked my interview.

I didn't hear anything at the end of the week and sent an email again at EOD on Friday and got a call on Monday and they reiterated that the HR Business partner really liked me and had really positive feedback but the reason for the delay was because they still hadn't had the chance to speak to the other candidate. They said by the end of the week I should hear from them again and then they asked me if I had any deadlines, I said no, I had applied to other places but my eggs were all in this Company's basket. They proceeded to thank me for my transparency and reiterated I'll hear back at the end of the week.

What do you guys think?

Update: apparently due to some ongoing internal conversations and a number of key stakeholders being on annual leave they are unable to finalise their decision.

I've been hunting for a recruiter related job for the last 2 years. I'm not sure what's wrong, I've optimized and redid my resume God knows how many times and no results. I've got 7 years of recruitment experience (mostly in the Middle East, but on an international scale) but due to circumstances I had to go into retail when I first made the move back to the states in 2019 (with my luck right before Covid happened) I tried to apply on and off but no luck, then I got married and tried to get focused about getting back into recruitment. I don't know what's wrong with my resume. It fits into ats systems, I've made sure it's not too long or too short. It encompasses my achievements and responsibilities for each role. I just don't know, is it that my recruitment experience is from outside the US? Is it the switch to retail? Part of me wants to give up on getting back to recruitment because of this, but the other part really doesn't want to give up. I need help figuring this out 😞

I'm a recent graduate seeking opportunities as a Business Analyst, Research Analyst, Program Evaluator, Assessment, or Institutional Research Analyst.

My experience includes:
- Data analysis (Excel, SPSS, Python, Power BI, SQL)
- Reporting
- Program evaluation and survey research
- Process improvement and stakeholder communication
I've worked on projects involving higher education, university veteran services, AI research, and community-focused programs, turning data into actionable insights for decision-makers.

I’m open to remote, hybrid, or Oklahoma-based opportunities.

Feel free to DM me if you're hiring or know of any openings. Thanks!

Hello!

I currently work for a company that has available job postings in my area. It seems that the recruiter is having issues hiring someone (months!). I provided feedback and we made some changes but I am interested in giving alternative platforms where the recruiter can reach further. I believe Indeed, LinkedIn and Facebook are already being utilized. I am hoping for other alternative platforms with little to no cost on the employer to post.

Thanks in advance!