I’ve officially been looking for a job for 7 months, and today was honestly my breaking point.
I’ve applied to what feels like hundreds of jobs. I’ve rewritten my résumé, practiced interviews, stayed positive, and kept telling myself that eventually something would work out. But after today, I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore.
A few days ago, I interviewed for a scheduling coordinator position at a mental health company. They called me afterward and officially offered me the job. I was genuinely excited because the schedule fit my life perfectly. After searching for work for seven months, it finally felt like things were turning around.
I was so confident that I had secured the position that I actually turned down another job offer because I thought, “Why would I need it? I already have a job?”
I completed all of my onboarding paperwork, gave them my ID and Social Security card, filled out my tax forms, and showed up today thinking it was my first day of training. I expected to spend the day learning the scheduling system so I could start making schedules.
Instead, I was shown a list of about 15 employees, each with different shifts, days off, and individual accommodations. I was briefly shown what a completed schedule looked like, then I was placed at a desk and essentially told I had an hour to create a schedule from scratch. I had virtually no training before being expected to do it.
My first attempt wasn’t what they were looking for. The supervisor came over and told me I hadn’t followed her instructions, so I went back and completely redid the schedule using the feedback she gave me. The second schedule came out much stronger and, from my perspective, only had very minor errors.
After I finished the second schedule, they suddenly told me they were going to review it and decide whether I was even a good fit.
That was the moment I realized…wait…I thought I was already hired.
Nobody had ever told me my employment was still contingent on passing an evaluation. At that point they already had all of my personal information and onboarding paperwork.
A few hours later, I got a phone call saying they weren’t moving forward with me. The person who called couldn’t even tell me why and said someone else would call me tomorrow with an explanation.
I know companies have the right to choose who they hire. That’s not what hurts.
What hurts is believing that after seven months of searching, I had finally caught a break, only to have it taken away before I even got the chance to start.
I’m 30 years old. I have a son, and the only reason I’m not completely homeless right now is because my parents have let us stay with them while I try to get back on my feet. That isn’t where I imagined I’d be at this point in my life, and trust me, I’m doing everything I can to change it.
I’m constantly applying for jobs. I’m showing up to interviews. I’m following up. I’m currently pursuing my master’s degree so I can become a Licensed Professional Counselor because I’m trying to build a stable future for myself and my son. I’m doing everything I can to improve my situation, yet I keep ending up with outcomes like today.
It’s gotten to the point where this is starting to affect my mental health. I’m becoming depressed. I’m losing confidence in myself. I keep asking myself, what am I doing wrong? Am I interviewing wrong? Am I saying the wrong things? Am I just not good enough? What do employers want from people anymore? How many applications, interviews, and rejections does it take before someone finally gives you a chance?
I don’t want sympathy. I genuinely want advice because I’m at a loss. Has anyone else been through something like this? Does it eventually get better? Because today honestly broke me, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m starting to lose hope
edit: I also wanted to add that this wasn’t just me signing a couple of onboarding forms. They made copies of my Social Security card and driver’s license, made a copy of my official high school transcripts, and had three of my references fill out physical forms explaining why I’d be an asset to the company. Those forms weren’t even due until Friday, but I got everything turned in immediately because I was excited and thought I had already gotten the job.
I also spent a couple of hours sitting with one of the employees while she explained the rules, responsibilities, expectations, and how everything worked. At no point during any of this did anyone tell me I was still being evaluated.
For context, I got the phone call on Thursday telling me I got the job. They literally congratulated me and welcomed me to the team. Friday was onboarding, and Monday was what I believed was my first day of work. It wasn’t until after I completed the scheduling exercise that they told me they were going to review it and decide whether I was actually a good fit.
If this was supposed to be a working interview or some kind of final evaluation, I genuinely think that should’ve been communicated before I accepted the offer, turned down another job, completed onboarding, and handed over all of my personal information.
Company: Happy Life HCS (Texas). Based on my experience, I personally would not recommend applying here.
Edit: I saw a comment saying my story “isn’t adding up” and that I must be leaving something out. I can’t find the comment now, so I’ll address it here.
I promise I’m not leaving anything out. That’s genuinely everything that happened. I had zero scheduling experience, so creating a schedule for 15 employees with different accommodations wasn’t something I could do in an hour. I know the story sounds unbelievable, but unfortunately there isn’t some hidden twist. Sometimes a company just handles a hiring process terribly, and that’s exactly what happened here.
EDIT: yes I realize that I incorrectly placed a five on the title of this thread instead of a seven. My bad!