Finding a new job can be incredibly challenging, as one woman’s story reveals. After resigning from her previous role due to harassment, she expected to land a better job. However, despite applying everywhere
for three long months, she hasn’t received a single offer. Her former management even “pressured” her to withdraw her complaint instead of providing support.
Before this ordeal, she was a top performer and key contributor at her company. After taking a short break to recover, she began job hunting to cover her bills, updating her resume and applying on company websites, LinkedIn, and major job portals. But so far, no opportunities have come through. Now, she’s reached out online, hoping for guidance on what steps to take next.
Woman Leaves Job After Harassment, Struggles To Find Work
Taking to Reddit, the woman explained, “I quit my last job because of my management. I was harassed by a colleague and the management was pressuring me to take back my complaint. I was helpless because the higher management was influencing everything, starting from having a conversation with the CHRO. Hence, my day-to-day life had become hostile, and I decided to leave the organisation. Before that organisation, I was at my prime, I was the highest contributing individual.”
“I decided to take a break from corporate life, but a person has bills to pay, so I started looking at job opportunities. It’s been 3 months and no luck. Had things been like I was able to bag interviews and not crack it, then yeah, it’s my mistake, I need to prepare well. The biggest problem is that I am unable to bag any interviews. I have optimised my resume to be 100% compatible with ATS. I have been applying on the company’s website, LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, whatnot. I feel so lost,” she added.
Left my job because of harassment. 3 months of job hunting and not a single interview. What am I doing wrong?
byu/Soft_Panic_3780 inIndianWorkplace
Reddit Suggests ‘Pay Cut, Skill Upgrade And Networking’
Reacting to the post, a user wrote, “You may have to take a pay cut. Did happened to my friends. One joined at half the salary, but he needed the job.”
Another shared, “My suggestion, pick up alternate skills. If you are savvy, pick up a product certificate and join as PM. The pay might suck at first, but in time, it will be like a career change. At 29, my contract was not renewed as my new manager saw me as a threat (not sure how, but colleagues who were there told me this). After struggling a bit, I picked up certificates for my skills and leaned into tech full-time (Left my management dream) and bagged a remote job. Honestly, it was liberating. The pay is less, but the client is great.”
“You did nothing wrong. Just keep searching and don’t limit yourself to any specific industry only,” a comment read.
An individual stated, “If you’re applying everywhere and still not getting interviews, it usually means one of three things: your resume isn’t telling the right story, you’re aiming too high for the current market, or you’re applying only through job portals. At this point, don’t get hung up on ‘the perfect role.’ If something decent comes along, even with lower pay, take it and rebuild from there. Once you’re back in the system, it’s way easier to move up. Also start tapping your network, reconnect with ex-colleagues, and be more visible on LinkedIn.”
One more added, “It’s been difficult out there. To tell you the truth, there was a lot of liquidity during COVID, and hence, many people got great offers. With AI, Wars, and global economic turmoils, there’s a crunch in the economy and the liquidity that came into the market during the COVID time is getting balanced out. This disrupted demand and supply too, supply is much larger than the demand in the market, which is causing the Salaries to drop (normalising post-COVID in a way, I guess).
The problem with Indian Orgs is that they somehow treat unemployed folks as untouchables (some unrealistic expectations which I never understood, people need timeouts due to burnouts, taking care of their loved ones, bereavement, etc), they just want you to work till you drop dead. I would say, probably compromise with a lesser offer, but at least get employed, and then use it to get better offers (that will be easier).”
The woman later shared more about her struggle in the comments, revealing that she’s willing to join a new company at her previous salary, fully aware of how tough the job market is right now. She’s not asking for extra pay or special treatment, just a fair chance to prove her skills. Despite keeping her expectations modest, she remains puzzled about why she isn’t getting any interview calls or what she might be doing wrong.
