Apparently they don't tell you because then you could sue them over it.

So they give a generic reason that doesn't really have any metrics. The problem is that it's useless as feedback.

I’ve been job searching for 2 years (I was employed) then I got canned. The job market sucks even with the experience they’re asking for.

What they probably meant was "we already decided who was going to get the job before the recruitment process began. It's someone we already know and like."

There was a job I applied to that wanted the exact thing I had done at my last job. Same tech tech. Same early startup. Same kind of project. They rejected me without even a phone screen for "someone more in line with their needs".

There's no incentive for them to do a better job.

I been searching for almost year. I got a few interviews but it has been a constant stream of thank you for applying.

My linkedin just shows me jobs from months ago.

I went through a lay off in 2024 and another in 2025.

Don’t fucking sugar coat it just tell me what’s wrong

I often ask at the end of in-person interviews what I could improve upon. I normally get some good constructive feedback.

Same 😭 job description says they want 3 to 5 years experience. I have 22. They went with someone else 🤷‍♀️ been job searching since March and not a single bite.

🔥🙂🔥

Seriously. I got rejected and I'm thinking I have 10 years of experience and a master's degree in this shit and that's not good enough?? It'd be nice if they told us what else we were supposed to put on the application.

just tell me what’s wrong so I can improve further applications

Generally, they are terrified of giving more feedback than absolutely necessary. They might incur an accusation of unfair hiring practices. Similar story on 'references', confirm only employment dates, never provide a qualitative assessment, good or bad.

Oh man, I remember having an interview with a hungarian team for a videochat platform (I wasn't fully aware that its related to videochat or pornography until the end of the interview), the technical lead corrected me on what CORS is, and he did it wrongfully. I opened mozilla docs for CORS and proved to him that I was right, he told me that using external sources during interviews is forbidden and rejected me. This was quite a few good years before covid happened and I am so glad I didn't join that shit team.

when i was last searching so many people told me how nice my resume is and yet i was still passed over.

I hear you; I've been looking for a new job since December, and increased the range of my search since I was forced out of my old job in May. The market is hella rough out there.

However, there was one position I interviewed for where the recruiter actually gave me feedback on where I fell short compared to other candidates. It was incredibly refreshing compared to the form letter rejection.

What helped for me was to talk to people/companies with whom I wasn't applying for a job. I'm looking for a junior swe role (in this market). I've learned a few things from replies I got from actual applications, but I learned most by networking. For example, I went to this agency that only works with seniors, but I had a really great conversation. The guy was interested in me as a developer, but he couldn sell my lack of experienve to his clients. We had a great conversation about software, careerpaths and also about my job hunt. He gave some tips te rewrite my cv and how to stick out during applications. Since that day, I've gotten twice as many callbacks. No job yet, but i've got good prospects.

and heaven knows I'm miserable now

Escape the corporation by becoming the corporation. I see some possibilities for problem recreation here…

Make all corporations worker owned cooperatives though…now we talkin’.

Not everybody has a career, people just have jobs

Oh yeah, lemme go to the viable career library and get a viable career making a living wage doing something both meaningful and, interesting and not soul crushing