Week 54: Ghosted, Baited, and Bewildered

 At this point, job hunting feels like a twisted game show. Week 54 of sending out résumés and carefully crafted cover letters, only to face the eerie silence of recruiters who vanish faster than Houdini after a phone interview.

Take Monday, for example. I spotted a job posting that seemed tailor-made for me—almost suspiciously perfect. "Flexible hours! Competitive pay! Work-life balance!" It had all the buzzwords. I eagerly hit "Apply Now," tailoring my résumé until it practically sparkled. Hours later, I got an email inviting me to a phone screen. Progress!

The recruiter called me the next day, and we had what I thought was a great conversation. She "loved my enthusiasm," said I was a "great fit," and promised to follow up with next steps. Spoiler: she didn’t. By Friday, the silence was deafening.

Meanwhile, I had a phone interview with another company—a role that seemed legitimate, at least until the hiring manager asked me the same questions five times in slightly different ways. It felt more like a scripted performance than a genuine conversation. By the end, I half-expected him to say, "Thank you for auditioning! We’ll call you if you make it to the next round!"

Then there are the fake job postings. You know the ones—ads that seem like placeholders for a position that was filled weeks ago or designed solely to harvest résumés. I applied to one that required a mix of network engineering skills and Star Trek trivia knowledge (okay, not the latter, but it was a niche role). Days later, the job disappeared from the site. When I inquired, I got a cheerful, "Oh, we’re not actively hiring for that position right now!" Why post it then?

By the end of Week 54, my inbox looked like a cemetery of unanswered applications and polite "We'll keep your résumé on file" emails. But hey, at least I’ve mastered the art of answering "Where do you see yourself in five years?" (Spoiler: hopefully employed).

I laugh about it now—because if I don’t, I might cry. The job hunt has become a marathon of patience and resilience, with ghosting, bait-and-switch tactics, and circular interviews as my uninvited training partners. But I know one thing for sure: somewhere out there is a real opportunity waiting for me. Until then, I’ll keep applying, keep hoping, and keep reminding myself that even ghost stories have an ending.

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