What do job hunting and being chased through the streets by zombies have in common? They’re both nightmares. But job hunting might actually be worse because it’s something we still have to face after waking up. It’s stressful enough in its own right, but communicating with frustrating recruiters and hiring managers can make the process so much worse. Thankfully, those of us who have encountered terrible recruiters have a space where we can share those stories: the Recruiting Hell subreddit. We’ve gone through to find some of the most ridiculous stories of unrealistic expectations and unprofessional emails from recruiters, so we hope as you read them you don’t relate too much to the pain these job hunters have experienced. Enjoy this list, and if you’re not too heated by the end, go on to check out Bored Panda’s last publication on the same topic right here next.

#1 A Story Of Two Parts, Recruiter Edition

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Negative encounters with hiring managers are an unfortunately common occurrence, as the Recruiting Hell subreddit has amassed 285k members over the last 6 years. With the tagline “we’ll pay you in experience!”, the community states that it’s “for all of those recruiters and candidates who really don’t get it” and asks members to post their “horror stories” and “amazing” job offers. There are various issues that prospective employees often have with recruiters, but it appears that the nature of the job itself does not serve those being recruited. 

According to Brandon Savage, a full time consultant and blogger, a recruiter is the “nemesis of job searching”. Savage explains on his blog that recruiters are typically paid based on how many people they place and how high the salaries of those positions are. This means that since they’re essentially working on commission, they often have very little knowledge of the positions they’re hiring for and are willing to do or say whatever is necessary to fill roles.

#2 Can I Get A Second To The Motion?

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#3 We Don’t Count Internships As Experience Here, So Let’s Just Forget All Of That

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Now, let’s not demonize every hiring manager and recruiter out there. I’m sure plenty of people have had smooth and positive experiences job hunting. Brandon notes in his blog that if a company has an in-house recruiter, “working with them is perfectly fine and normal”. When contacted by someone about an opening, Brandon recommends checking that person’s email address to see if it’s connected to the company you’re interested in working for.

He also warns job hunters to be wary of any uninvited solicitations from recruiters. If you’re contacted, out of the blue, by someone who compliments you on your skills and pitches another position to you, they’re likely just looking for commission. If you’re actually interested in the role, you can submit your resume the old fashion way and you’re likely to have just as much luck. Don’t give a misleading recruiter the satisfaction of making a profit off of you.

#4 4+ Years Of Experience In A 2 Year Old Technology

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#5 Funny How The Language Changes Between People And Businesses

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#6 Facing These Days!

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Even when you’re not dealing with an outside recruiter, it is common to encounter unrealistic expectations in job postings. In her piece for Forbes “Why So Many Job Postings Are So Ridiculous”, career coach Nancy Collamer provides this example: “Progressive employer seeks Harvard-trained neuroscientist and beauty pageant winner. Must be fluent in Mandarin and skilled at tribal basket weaving. Minimum of 10 years experience working for high-tech companies. Salary: mid-30’s.” 

While that’s an obvious exaggeration, many job postings might as well say that when they ask for laughable skills and levels of experience for puny salaries in return. Nancy lists several reasons why postings like this somehow make their way to the internet, including that the employer is inexperienced at hiring and they just don’t know better. She notes that in many companies, particularly small ones, hiring can get passed off to people who have no experience (and no business) writing job descriptions.

#7 That Backfired Spectacularly

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#8 Recruiter Asked Me To Send In A Report Of My Total Earnings In 2020/2021 As Part Of The Negotiation Process

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#9 There Is A Pandemic Of Bad Managers

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Another reason you might find unrealistic job postings is because an employer is willing to wait for the perfect candidate, regardless of whether or not they actually exist. There’s no problem with wanting to hire the best person for a position, but having a wish list with too many unattainable qualifications can actually deter candidates from applying in the first place. Nancy notes that these could also be “phantom postings”. These are created when companies are obligated to post open positions publicly, but they already know they want to hire someone inside the office. With an over-the-top job description, outsiders are less likely to apply, and the favored candidate on the inside will have an advantage. Phantom postings are a huge waste of everyone’s time, but unfortunately, they do happen.  

#10 Some Recruiters Are So Lazy

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#11 Hiring Managers: You No Longer Have The Luxury Of “Thinking” About Whether You Want To Offer A Candidate A Job Or Not

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#12 Why So Surprised?

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When it comes to responding to companies asking for far too much in their job postings, it can be difficult to know when it’s still worth it to apply. If you’re actually interested in the position, Nancy recommends finding someone within the company who you can talk to candidly about the role and what it’s like working there. Perhaps you have a friend or a LinkedIn contact there who would be willing to help. She also says that a good rule of thumb is the “70% rule”, meaning that if you fit about 70% of the requirements listed, it’s still worth it for you to apply. This is particularly important for women to keep in mind, as they tend to be more modest when applying for jobs. You can also keep an eye on how long a position has been posted online. If a company has been looking to fill a role for months, they might start to lower their expectations or be more willing to negotiate. If you submitted your resume months ago and no one has been hired yet, don’t be scared to circle back and see if you can still be considered.

#13 Interviewing For My First Recruiting Job – Why Did I Start This Life??

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#14 As An Autistic Person, I Despise Everything About This!

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#15 I Ran Into One Today

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The good news for those searching for a new job is that recently, hiring managers have had an increasingly difficult time filling roles. This means that applicants have more power than ever before, and they should take advantage of it. A month ago, Jane Thier published a story for Fortune titled “It’s a great time to be a job applicant—and the worst time to be a hiring manager” breaking down all of the reasons why candidates are now at an advantage over companies. Jane mentions that unemployment rates in the US are now the lowest that they’ve been since the beginning of the pandemic, and 84% of hiring managers report feeling burnt out, as candidates become more demanding in terms of perks and benefits. Not only are applicants asking for more, but they also have the power to tarnish a company’s reputation by discussing their interview experiences on social media and websites like Glassdoor. “As it gets easier and easier for individuals to find a new job,” Jane says. “The pressure on hiring managers only increases.”

#16 This Should Be Mandatory Training For All Interviewers

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#17 Hitting Close To Home, Is It?

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#18 How Do You Tell The Difference Between A Bot On Linked And A Job Offer From A Real Person?

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In the 2022 Greenhouse Candidate Experience Report, Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait discusses this recent role reversal between companies and candidates. “Companies have realized their potentially unfair hiring practices—or even just simple sloppiness like ineffective interviewing or a habit of ghosting candidates—is coming back to bite them,” he says. Applicants are apparently also expecting the process to move very quickly, so interested hiring managers have to make offers fast before another company beats them to it. Meanwhile, in the competitive job market, hiring managers have to focus on retention as well. Every time an employee leaves their company for a better offer, there’s one more role they’re expected to fill. I certainly wouldn’t want the job of a hiring manager or recruiter, but it’s encouraging to know that the ball is in the applicants’ court sometimes.

#19 Entirely Self Inflicted

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#20 I’ve Never Made A Job Listing On Indeed, But I Doubt It’s That Difficult

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#21 CEO Takes A Candidate’s Joke Wrong, Gives Speech About It Online

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Pay transparency is one of the most important factors for many job applicants today. Just look at this list and all of the screenshots featuring hiring managers beating around the bush when it comes to salary ranges or explicitly telling applicants they can’t disclose that information. More progressive companies, however, are advertising high salaries to ensure they can attract talent. Erica Thomas, a technical recruiter in Florida, told CNBC that hiring for on-site positions is particularly challenging, but it can be done at the right price. “If I say, ‘you’ll be on-site and the range is $118,000 to $130,000,’ now we’re talking,” she says. “You have 4 to 8 seconds to catch a candidate’s attention. People want to know the bottom line: how much they’ll be paid.”

#22 People Are Human And Human Things Happen

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#23 That’s It

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#24 Hey Recruiters, Answer Me This!

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Bonuses are also getting better and better for applicants in the US. According to a 2021 Robert Half survey, 48% of companies are providing signing bonuses, 43% are offering more paid time off, and 40% are offering better job titles “to entice prospective hires”. Hiring managers have also resorted to casting a wider net when it comes to applicants because it has become so difficult to fill roles quickly with talent close to home. One woman, Lauren Rackley, told CNBC that she was given a $19,500 relocation bonus from her new job for moving from North Carolina to Florida. She noted that it was far more than any other relocation bonus she had been offered in the past. 

#25 Dodged

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#26 Why Even Ask?

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#27 The F**k? At Least They’re Telling You Up Front But

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As companies become more desperate to hire and hold onto skilled talent, job applicants are finally being presented with attractive offers. Hopefully this combined with candidates holding companies accountable in communities like the Recruitment Hell subreddit will lead to permanently improved hiring practices. Enjoy the rest of this list of ridiculous messages and expectations from recruiters, and don’t forget to upvote the pics you find most appalling. Then let us know in the comments if you’ve ever had a terrible encounter with a recruiter!

#28 Simple Life Hack

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#29 What Usually Leads People To Find Another Job

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#30 How Can You Hire Someone Without Telling Them The Salary?

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#31 Unsolicited Job Offers Be Like

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#32 For The Memes, Because We’ve All Been There

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#33 Finally A Job Advert With Realistic Expectations

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#34 Got An Email From A Recruiter Today. I Was Interested Until They Disclosed The Pay. It’s Seriously Insultingly Low For The Role And Requirements. So I Told Them Just That Over Email

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#35 Recruiter Asked Me To Record A Video Response To 4 Questions. This Is My Reply

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#36 College Senior With A Business Major In NYC… Recently Awarded With A Distinction As Top 5% In The Class

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#37 A Company Found Me On Linkedin And Reached Out To Me, This Was My Response

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#38 Anyone Else Read This As, “Must Be Willing To Take Abuse”?

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#39 My Reaction After A Company Replies After 2 Months

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#40 Worst Onboarding/Background Check Experience Ever! Not Only Did I Send Her The References Prior But She Than Needed More! This Is Ridiculous! Here’s What I Told Her Below!

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#41 Should Money Not Be The Top Priority?

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#42 Contrary To A Number Of Recruiters’ Popular Belief, I Do Very Much Care About The Money. Did You Think My Childhood Dream Was To Send An Email To Request Reimbursement Approval For Airport Parking To Pick Up Someone Snotty Visiting From The Head Office?

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#43 Entry Level Salary For A Role Requiring 10yrs Experience

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#44 Pretty Cool Of Nordstrom To Add This To Their Job Listing. This Should Encourage You To Apply For Positions That You Don’t Think You’re A 100% Match For

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#45 Heh

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#46 “It Shouldn’t Affect Your Schedule” …excuse Me?

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#47 Sure Thing… You First

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#48 Take Notes

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#49 Was I Being Impolite?had This Exchange On Linkedin

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#50 Finally A Company That Just Gets Me

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#51 Pto

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#52 Not Sure If This Belongs Here But I Laughed

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#53 Yet Another Lie About Not Knowing The Salary. No Company Interviews Without Knowing What They Can Afford

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#54 Good One

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#55 Why Is This Necessary, Panera?

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#56 A Dev Job Application Gone…slow

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#57 As A Stb Graduate, This Hits Hard!

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#58 “Workforce Development And Salary Consultant” Screwing Her Clients

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#59 Applying For A Job

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#60 I Don’t Care How Badly I Need More Clients. This Felt So Damn Good

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#61 A Recruiters Angry Reaction To The Idea That Salary Info Should Be Given Right Away. They Claim We’re Not Entitled To It Until We Give Them Our Time For A Meeting

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#62 Never Again I Will Be Doing These Stupid Tests

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#63 Amazon Tries To Recruit Microsoft’s Cto For A Backend Engineer Position

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#64 Bullet Dodged

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#65 When Recruiters Turn Aggressive For No Reason

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#66 Well… Was Rejected For A Job While Checking If Qualified

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#67 Starter Page Agree?

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#68 I Hope Y’all Find It As Hilarious As I Do

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#69 Unicorns

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#70 This Is Illegally Relevant To My Ability To Do The Job

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#71 Why Are These People So Picky? Who’re They Hoping To Find?

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#72 Unfortunately, This Employer Didn’t Make It To The Next Round

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#73 This Company Could’ve Spent $2,500 To Keep Their “Top Performer.” Instead, She Gets A $12,000 Pay Raise Elsewhere. Good For Her!

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#74 Same Bro

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#75 Would He?

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#76 Ran Into A Recruiter On Hinge

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#77 Experience I Had With A Recruiter After Asking Why The Marketing Role I Applied For Had A Lot Of Sales Duties In The Jd

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#78 Bribe The Hiring Manager After A Rejection?

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#79 They Really Really Don’t Like The Taste Of Their Own Medicine

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#80 Like Everyone Else Here, I Hate Linkedin

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#81 Lol. It’s Literal Hell On Earth Folks

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#82 Counteroffers 101

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#83 Startup Trying To Poach Me From My Current Job, But Wants Me To Go Through 6+ Hours Of Interviews

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#84 After Two Months Of Being Jerked Around For A Job I Really Wanted, I Stood Up For Myself For Once

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#85 Not So Fun When The Tables Are Turned, Are They?

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#86 No Country For Young Men

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#87 Racist Interviewer Gives Easier Questions To White And Asian Men

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#88 When “Support” Is Literally In The Job Title But Isn’t A Support Role?

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#89 I Can’t Explain How Good Sending This Made Me Feel!

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#90 Why Does Anyone?

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#91 Fast Paced Environment And Dynamic Teams!

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#92 Was This A Mistake? Sick Of Dehumanizing And Humiliating One-Way Interviews

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#93 Stats From My 11-Month Job Search

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#94 How Tone Deaf Can You Be? I Think I Understand The Point She’s Trying To Make But She’s Made Herself Sound Like A Sociopath

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#95 Inject This In My Veins

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#96 Unless You Got A 3.5 Gpa In Engineering, Don’t Bother Applying. If You Didn’t Get At Least A 3.5, You Just Didn’t Work Hard Enough

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#97 Recruiter Put Me In A Group Chat With A Enployee From The Company. The Employee Looked At My Profile And Promptly Left The Chat Without Saying A Word. Note, I Was Qualified For This Job

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#98 It’s Completely Normal To Have To Literally Beg For A Job Outside Company Hq

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#99 An Assessment “That Measures Your Personality And Cognitive Skills.” Total Estimated Time To Complete Is 1 Hour, I Gave Up After 15 Minutes. This Is After Three Hours Of Interviews For A Data Job At A Dying Company

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#100 Unfortunately I Am A Human Being

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#101 Saw Someone Upset About A One Year Ban. Try 5

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#102 I Did A Stupid Writing Test For This Company Four Years Ago That Never Got Back To Me. I Decided To Follow Up

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#103 I’m Sorry, A What?

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#104 Teaching Math Literally Pays Less Than Working In Fast Food

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#105 “Send Your Resume And Statement Of Faith” Wtf

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#106 Table Tennis Tables Everywhere!

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#107 They Said The Quiet Part Out Loud

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#108 Me After Going To Multiple Job Intrviews

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#109 All Right Boys, It’s Time To Pack Up. Work-Life Integration Is Here!

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#110 Brb Crying

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#111 Rejected From Cat Sitting

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#112 Absolutely Agree

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#113 I Had This Lovely Interaction This Morning. I Haven’t Heard Back From Them

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#114 Works Of Fiction

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Source: boredpanda.com