re: 'Trying to Get a Job in 2026 is a Humiliation Ritual'

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You should look into the concept of “ghost jobs”.

"Ghost jobs" are online job postings for roles that do not exist or that employers have no immediate intention to fill, with research indicating up to 34% of companies currently use them. These listings, often used to build talent pipelines, signal growth, or manage current staff, waste applicant time and create false impressions of a robust job market.

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There is another issue that is causing some of the 'Ghost Jobs'. I'm a manager in accouting for a pretty large corporation. Our HR department makes us post any job opening that we have internally (which also auto posts it on numerous job sites) even when we already know who we are going to hire for the position. Thus, for at least 5-10 days, there a job posted that no one will ever even consider any of the applications. It absolutely pisses off every manager, and I've even tried to make the outside posting argument to stop it. No luck. Just another example of HR departments being absolutely useless.

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Said the only reason AI hasn't taken over more jobs yet is because the companies haven't figured out how to handle liability for mistakes made by AI.

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Not a small barrier

Ok. Yes he’s right. But like an EVP told me many years ago while still working in a Fortune 100 company, you can be dead right, but you’re still dead. Get it?

HR departments are not what they were years ago. They were there to, among other things, provide HR services to employees. Not so much today as I talk with family and friends still working. Are they woke? Have they been indoctrinated in liberal ideology in colleges and universities? Absolutely.

So even if the kid is right (and he’s really a young man, not a kid), you don’t publicly pontificate on the shortcomings of companies, HR, etc. on social media. You do stuff like that if you’re so inclined when you reach a point in your life where you don’t care about consequences. I’m 70 and retired, but I still care albeit with fewer filters than what I had as I worked through my career from my 20s through my 60s.

It’s honestly a shite show. I wouldn’t want to be graduating from college right now.

My job was eliminated on 1/1 in a company-wide layoff at a F500 company. Received 4 months of severance, and I’ve probably applied to 300+ roles across Atlanta and the Southeast so far. I have 7+ years across treasury and FP&A, and most of the jobs I’m applying to already have 100+ applicants, some within the first 24 hours of being posted.

You basically need a recruiter these days. January and February were pretty dead, but things have started to pick up a bit. Still, you have to follow up constantly just to stay top of mind because it’s so competitive. I have friends at a lot of the big companies here (CFA Supply, Westrock, UPS, Home Depot, Delta, etc.), and while that helps some, even then the hiring timelines can be like 6 months in some cases.

A lot of roles are either paying closer to $75k, or you get passed over because someone else has more experience with a specific ERP, BI tool, industry, or niche requirement. I’ve had to completely revamp my resume to be ATS-friendly, adding keywords like SAP S/4HANA, cross-functional business partner, etc.

Just kind of the reality of the market right now unfortunately. It feels like a game.

Here's an example from LinkedIn.

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But at an advanced age, especially like many people if youve been cleaned out in a divorce (or two) or had a business go under (or two)- your time and energy levels are more limited

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you should be able to get a job through your network

23 year olds don’t have that

Sounds like you’re interviewing shitty candidates

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Ironic, as I sit in my office drinking coffee as my 8:00 interview was a no-show. As was my noon interview yesterday. Do they call, email, or text to say "Thanks for considering me, but I've decided not to come for the interview"? No, they just simply agree to a time, then never show up. I request my HR person to schedule at least 8 interviews, knowing that at least four of them will be a no-show. Spare me your whining kid.

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put the fries in the bag

I know I'm late to the thread and I haven't read every page intentionally, but I did watch the video.

I think the guy in OP's video is missing on the reality of what it means to live in a capitalistic society and what it means to be a human being on this planet. There's an assumption from young people (and for many older people) that our economy is structured to provide opportunities for everyone to find meaning, obtain a stable job, and contribute to value to society. There's also an assumption that we are no longer animals fighting to survive in a harsh world of certain (often miserable) death.

I don't mean to be a nihilist, but I think it's helpful to take a nihilistic view. Our economy is meant to maximize profits for the sake of innovation and adaptation that benefits those in charge of the means of production. Marx wasn't off base in his assessment of capitalism. It was never going to be about the little guy, and the little guy has been screwed over and over again throughout...well, all of human history. Capitalism or not.

In a capitalistic society, as innovation progresses, the definition of the "little guy" changes. The need for him comes and goes. And as that need goes, so does the quality of life as well. So does meaning, stability, and value to society.

There's no welfare when it comes to giving people jobs. We have welfare for those who don't work, but we do not have welfare for those who want to work. We have welfare in terms of providing a basic income for purchasing necessities. We do not have welfare in terms of providing meaning in your purpose in life.

Anyways, not to keep going into a full essay, but the reality is that AI is going to eliminate jobs. The economy is going to need less people to do work. There is no incentive or structure for that to change. At BEST, we develop UBI so that everyone can eat. At worst, well, I don't think there is much use of the new little guy, so why would we need to keep around at all?