Damn, finding a new job in middle age is a tough proposition...

[MLF1981]

10. I used to work for one of the biggest companies in the world.

Not going to specify which, but everyone on the planet is familiar with it... I was an HR professional, and the 2008 recession was what got me. I got laid off and had to take any work I could get, which I did, but I was never able to get back into professional work and use my degrees or experience.

"Replying to job listings, completing applications, tailoring resumes is very time consuming. Most of the time those applications and resumes seem to end up in an abyss. Nobody has the decency to let you know that they've already hired someone else - just leave you hanging for week, even months."

Yep. Finding a new job is a full-time job. When I was in HR, I would get a sufficient number of resumes for a position, and send a form letter to unsuccessful applicants as soon as I knew that we had an accepted offer. When did that common courtesy become so uncommon? The better candidates would get a personalized response that encouraged them to apply again in the future. And even though it was skirting company policy, I would give feedback to the better candidates so they knew how best to present themselves and their skills next time.

The labor market is broken. Every company is holding out for that perfect unicorn that absolutely does not exist, and if they don't find them in round one, they'll hold out forever until they do (which they won't) or until business necessity forces their hand. Nobody is willing to invest anything more than the bare minimum into training, if you can't "hit the ground running" from day one, they simply are not interested in you.

"One of them (holder of a PhD in a science related field) spent a year living out of their van."

That's appalling. There is something seriously wrong when a PhD in a STEM discipline is living out of a fucking van. No offense, of course, but that shit really pisses me off...