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Article created by: Viktorija Ošikaitė

Landing a job these days is much more complicated than it was around a decade ago. In a 2023 survey, 70% of 1,500 job seekers admitted they needed to put in more effort than usual, and 67% found their recent job searches more difficult than their previous ones. 

Dealing with incompetent, inconsiderate recruiters can be a more frustrating experience for job seekers. This list of screenshots of email and text exchanges between talent acquisition professionals and candidates revolves around that theme. 

They’re all from the Recruiting Hell subreddit, a safe place where job hunters can share their woes and grievances. 

If you’ve been through an exasperating job hunt, these stories may make you feel empathy or echo the same annoyance these people felt. 

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

Found This On Linkedin, Thought It Probably Belongs Here...lol

Text conversation showing a recruiter offering a competitive salary with vague job requirements causing confusion.

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Bacon Tentacles
Bacon Tentacles
Community Member
6 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Competitive salary means it will be competing to see which bill gets paid this week.

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    #2

    Solid Advice

    Reddit post discussing unpaid internship opportunities and tips related to outrageous job requirements that made people nope out.

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    #3

    Seen In NYC, Are They Starting To Understand?

    Yellow billboard in a city asking why competitive job salaries are not disclosed to job seekers in a workplace transparency message.

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    #4

    Counterpoint: If It's Taking 6 Months For An Upper Manager To Fill A Position, The Company Should Be Looking To Fill 2 Positions

    Tweet by Matt Wallaert on outrageous job requirements, highlighting management and promotion advice from 2020.

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    #5

    Someone Pls Try It And Tell Me If It Worked

    Cartoon showing outrageous job requirements with salary plans and absurd conditions in a humorous interview setting.

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    #6

    Felt So Good To Talk Back For Once

    Text message exchange about job requirements, highlighting outrageously unclear bookkeeping qualifications making people nope out.

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    #7

    Just Stop Please

    Text image addressing employers about outrageous job requirements demanding degrees for $15/hour pay, highlighting job frustrations.

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    #8

    Recruiter Moment

    Poll showing outrageously strict job requirements about interviewing with multiple companies, with most disagreeing on respect.

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    Bacon Tentacles
    Bacon Tentacles
    Community Member
    6 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Insert Palpatine "I love democracy" meme here.

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    #9

    "How I Got A Job At Big 4 Being In My 20s."

    List of outrageous job requirements from a Big 4 interview experience that made candidates nope out in their 20s.

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    #10

    And Being Told "You're At The Upper Salary Band"

    Smiling older man giving thumbs up at desk with text about inflation and raises, highlighting outrageous job requirements.

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    #11

    Solid Advice From The Man Himself

    Screenshot of a tweet advising job seekers on how to identify outrageous job requirements during interviews.

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    #12

    Beautiful Text Exchange With A Recruiter

    Text message exchange showing mistaken identity during a job search highlighting outrageous job requirements reaction.

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    #13

    Ayo This Lady Working For UPS Really Tried To Get Free Labor Out Of Me Lol

    Chat conversation showing a job applicant refusing outrageous job requirements demanding free labor from a store associate.

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    #14

    Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

    New job excitement contrasted with the reaction of jaded workers in an office setting, reflecting outrageous job requirements.

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    #15

    Listen Up!

    Text post about job strategy explaining switching jobs every 1-3 years boosts salary due to hiring budgets, job requirements context

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    #16

    I'm Tired Of Recruiters Avoiding My Questions And Playing Dumb

    Screenshot of a conversation showing outrageous job requirements and salary negotiation in a remote SQL developer role.

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    #17

    Aaaahhh I Can't Wait To Have This Feeling

    Baby Yoda smiling with text about quitting work, illustrating outrageous job requirements that made people nope out.

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    #18

    Absolutely Stupid Hr

    Text conversation showing a job requirement insisting on a British person despite applicant being a British citizen.

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    #19

    I'm So Fed Up With Recruiters Reaching Out To Me With Insultingly Low Rates For Short Term Contract Work When They Can See I Have A Full Time Job Already

    Text conversation showing outrageous job requirements for an engineering position with low pay and no benefits negotiation.

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    #20

    Just Why Tho

    Chat conversation showing outrageous job requirements and wage questions that made a candidate nope out of employment discussion.

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    #21

    Rejection Letter For A Us Remote Job. Company Thought New Mexico Was "International"

    Job rejection message revealing outrageous job requirements that made international candidates nope out of the hiring process.

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    #22

    Reality vs. Linkedin...😅

    Comparison of reality versus LinkedIn exaggeration showing outrageous job requirements that made people nope out.

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    #23

    Onion

    Man convincing job interviewer his call centre work is his true passion during an intense job interview session.

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    Bacon Tentacles
    Bacon Tentacles
    Community Member
    6 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, when you're passionate about being able to afford to live and eat and stuff...

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    #24

    It Feels Good To Reject An Job After Again After 6 Years

    Email screenshot showing a candidate declining a job offer due to ridiculous tech job requirements and recruitment questions.

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    Bacon Tentacles
    Bacon Tentacles
    Community Member
    6 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    One of those, "I don't know but I would start by looking up the dimensions of the average bus and work it from there" things. Or maybe they just wanted you to say "I don't know." Either way, f**k 'em

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    #25

    They’re On To Us, Boys!

    Screenshot of a job application showing an outrageous job requirement with text circled in red.

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    Bacon Tentacles
    Bacon Tentacles
    Community Member
    6 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Soooo don't bother submitting a resume, is what I am seeing.

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    #26

    What's The Asterisk For Subway? What's The Asterisk For!? [oc]

    Subway hiring sign showing $14 per hour wage near traffic light, illustrating outrageous job requirements people nope out from.

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    Bacon Tentacles
    Bacon Tentacles
    Community Member
    6 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's not per hour, it's what HR is being paid.

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    #27

    I Am Seriously Out Of Words..... There Needs To Be A Hell On This World Also For Recruiters

    Text message conversation showing urgent interview scheduling attempts, highlighting outrageous job requirements that made people nope out

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    #28

    Applied For This Job 2 Months Ago, Now The Recruiter Wants A Same Day Or Next Day Interview. Asked Me To Use Skype To Schedule. Should I Say Noon Again? Maybe In All Caps?

    Screenshot of a job-related text chat showing strict requirements for specifying exact availability time.

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    #29

    Called Out For Being Stingy. Butthurt Company Further Tarnished Own Reputation With Their Explanation

    Comment discussing controversial unpaid internship policies and outrageous job requirements in the current job market.


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