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Job hunting these days can feel like a cruel joke, and one Reddit user has put that frustration on full display
A user on the r/antiwork subreddit vented about being rejected from a job he was genuinely excited about because he lacked "five years experience" in a software tool that only launched last year.
The job listing claimed they valued adaptability and someone who could thrive in a fast-paced environment.
He summed up the absurdity like this: they're basically asking for someone who can do the impossible — having future experience in a brand-new tool, and still be flexible enough to keep up.
"It's like the company wants a miracle worker," he added.
He used the below analogy to drive home his point about how absurd job-hunting as become:
Company: "You need to walk on water."
Applicant: "I can swim."
Company: "That's not good enough."
His post struck a nerve with the Reddit community
One commenter shared a similar story: "Company wanted X amount of years experience on a software. The creator of the software interviewed with them and was told he lacked experience. He replied, 'You'll never find anyone with five years experience, I wrote the program two years ago.' Pretty sure he still didn't get the job because the company was just ghost recruiting."
Another user called it out as "ghost recruitment", job posts floated just to tick internal boxes, without real intention to hire. Some even suggested escalating the issue within the company or monitoring if the role eventually gets filled internally.
Others sympathised with the frustration, noting that candidates often don't even get rejection reasons, unlike the original poster who at least got a blunt but ridiculous explanation.
