After leaving her job to spend time with her children, one mother says she underestimated how difficult it would be to find another job.
In a video with over 29,000 views, @love_carter1 says she has been on three interviews in her search for a new job after taking time to “be a mother.” The first round for this particular job was done with a woman, she says, before she moved on to the next round of interviews with a man, who she says acted disinterested during the interview.
“As I’m speaking, there’s no eye contact, these people are moving around, looking around,” she says in the video. “In one of my interviews, I paused as I was speaking because he was not giving me his undivided attention, and he goes on to say, ‘Oh no, you can continue, I’m listening.’ But like, are you? Are you really listening? It’s so confusing, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I don’t even really know if they’re interested or not, because it has been that way in every interview.”
@love_carter1 Why didn’t yall tell me😒 #fyp #job #jobsearch #florida #blktiktok #orlandoflorida ♬ original sound – love_carter1
The following interview was done with the woman who first interviewed her, she says, and told viewers that her next interview was to be done with the same man who interviewed her previously, which she says concerns her.
“I’m pretty nervous,” she says. “If I don’t get this job, something is up.”
She takes aim at all the supporters online who encouraged her to quit. “So y’all wasn’t about to tell me how hard it was to get a job?” she questions. “Y’all let me quit my job, all on my post congratulating me, ‘You go girl, you got this. Me next, I’m praying for you.’ … That’s crazy.”
The Daily Dot reached out to @love_carter1 via Instagram direct message.
Several viewers resonated with her experience as they left their jobs for personal or medical reasons and are also struggling to find new employment.
“Me quitting in Jan to prioritize my mental health…I’m still unemployed,” one commenter wrote.
“I resigned last year because I had a stroke…baby I still ain’t got a job,” a second shared. “It’s not funny but I have to laugh.”
“Did the same in December and don’t regret it because it was toxic but damn it’s April,” another said.
According to Marketplace, while it’s true that employers are posting fewer job openings, they are still struggling with labor shortages. Layoffs also reportedly remain low. The main reason why job hunters feel like the job market is not swinging in their favor, however, is that 2021 was an unprecedented year for wage growth and lack of layoffs, according to a CNBC report. “Wage growth spiked to the highest level in decades as job seekers enjoyed ample bargaining power. Layoffs declined to record lows as employers struggled to hold on to their staff,” CNBC reports. And now things are starting to cool down. It also makes sense that job seekers are scared because they are seeing ample stories on TikTok of workers getting laid off and not being able to find a new job or headlines of companies enacting other cost-cutting measures because they are worried about the possibility of a recession. So many offered the same advice: Don’t quit your job before finding a new opportunity.
In response to this advice, @love_carter1 shared she has no regrets. “First time doing this lol I can’t say I regret it though. I just underestimated how hard it would be.”
