The Rigged Road to Job Hunting

Ruby Sturt

I’m your host — just another tired, pissed-off person who got slammed by the job market tornado and landed smack on top of the Wicked Witch of Hiring.If you’re sick of endless interviews, ghosting, bullshit advice, and spineless hiring managers hiding behind Zoom calls — congratulations. You’re not crazy.The whole system is broken.So grab your worn-out resume, lace up your metaphorical ruby slippers, and let’s walk this rigged-ass Yellow Brick Road together.Spoiler alert: there’s no wizard. Just smoke, mirrors, and a whole lotta flying monkeys.

Ruby Sturt

So, let’s just dive straight in. You’re scrolling through job boards, right? Dozens of tabs open, your resume tweaked for the fifteenth time, thinking, "This is the one. This company’s different." And then you hit apply. What happens next?

Ruby Sturt

Well, you get an interview, finally. Maybe even two or three. And for a second, you’re like, "Oh, something clicked!" Except... what clicked? Absolutely nothing, because suddenly no one’s answering your emails. Ghosting isn’t just for bad Tinder matches, it’s a full-on company strategy now. Like, is there some ghosting quota HR departments gotta hit?

Ruby Sturt

And God forbid you actually get feedback, right? When you do, it’s the vaguest nonsense ever. "We’ve decided to go in a different direction." Cool, thanks for that. It’s so unhelpful it basically translates to, "We’re just making it up as we go."

Ruby Sturt

Let me tell you about my favorite interview process. Five. Rounds. Five rounds, y’all! I mean, I spent weeks preparing, juggling everything, trying not to go full ‘why me?’ existential crisis mode. And then? "Oh, actually, the role’s been canceled." Canceled. Like it’s a Netflix show or something!

Ruby Sturt

I just—seriously, how is this okay? A whole system where you’re stuck jumping through hoops for jobs that may or may not even exist by the time you finish the gauntlet. It’s completely broken. Broken, broken, broken, you know?

Ruby Sturt

Alright, so let’s talk about the classics—you know, those timeless nuggets of interview advice like "just be yourself." Like, really? Because the job market doesn’t seem like the kinda place that rewards authenticity. It’s more like, "just be yourself... but not too much." It’s like they wanna mold you into some weird, agreeable version of you that doesn’t actually exist. It’s the work equivalent of, "Yeah, we love you, but could you maybe be someone else entirely?"

Ruby Sturt

And then there’s "learn about the company." Sure, yeah, do a deep dive on a mission statement they probably came up with in a branding workshop. Seriously, how does knowing their favorite corporate buzzwords help anyone land a job? Half the time, I’m over here thinking, "Does this company even know what they do, or do they just wanna 'innovate strategically' and make money?"

Ruby Sturt

It all feels like pulling back the curtain, you know? Like in The Wizard of Oz, where the Great and Powerful Wizard turns out to be just some ordinary guy with a bunch of smoke and mirrors. Except instead of munchkinland, it’s the hiring process, and we’re the ones getting duped.

Ruby Sturt

And speaking of smoke and mirrors, let’s touch on job descriptions for a second. You'd think they’d be written by experts, right? Nope! Instead, they want someone with ten years of experience in a technology that’s been out for, like, two. It’s like they sat down, spun a wheel of corporate jargon, and called it a day. And don’t even get me started on the "must-have passion" thing. Do I have a passion for sales analytics? Uh, I’m passionate about paying my bills, so close enough?

Ruby Sturt

But honestly, it’s not just ridiculous, it’s exhausting. These absurd checklists create this massive wall between job seekers and employers. Is it any wonder people feel like they’re, I don’t know, chasing something they’re never gonna catch?

Ruby Sturt

You know, I think we’ve we’ve all hit that point where the constant rejection just becomes... unbearable. Like, how many times can someone hear "not a good fit" before it starts to feel like they’ve gotten some personal branding iron stamped on their forehead saying "unhirable"? And honestly, it’s not just frustrating—it’s defeating, soul-crushing sometimes.

Ruby Sturt

And, oh my God, the tools they shove at us. Résumé builders? LinkedIn optimization tricks? It’s like, "this is your golden ticket, the magic formula to break into the wonky job market!" Except—it’s not, right? It’s just... more effort to perform this act. I mean, it’s basically like Dorothy trying to click her heels in those ruby slippers, but instead of home, you’re just sent back to the land of job board purgatory.

Ruby Sturt

And then there’s this maddening gap—the listings. There are thousands of jobs plastered all over these platforms, and you think, "Oh, there are options." But why does it still feel like no one’s hiring? Like, unemployment’s still riding high, and you’re out here wondering if these jobs even exist or if they’re just... what, figments of someone’s imagination? Smoke, mirrors, and spreadsheets, I guess?

Ruby Sturt

It’s no wonder people are burning out here. Job hunting used to be tough, but now it’s like we’re stuck wandering this endless, bleak Yellow Brick Road, and there’s no Emerald City at the end. Just rejection emails and more hoops to jump through. It’s absurd. It’s exhausting. It’s enough to make anyone feel like throwing in the towel.

Ruby Sturt

But you know what? Here’s the thing. The system might be broken, sure, but you’re not. You’re doing the best you can in a game that feels rigged from the start, and that—that’s something. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, hang in there, alright? The road’s rough and wild and unpredictable, but maybe, just maybe, we can help each other navigate it. And on that note, we’ll wrap things up here for today. Take care of yourselves, and I’ll catch you next time.