I have 14 years of work experience. I have been out of a job for over 4 months now and it’s starting to mess with my head a bit. I have been applying everywhere but I am not getting proper/no responses. Over the years I made a couple of wrong decisions and joined the wrong places, and now after a recent layoff I am finding it harder than expected to get back on track. Most job applications just go into silence and it’s been draining.

For anyone who’s been through something similar later in their career, what actually helped you during that phase??

- And are passive aggressive about it.

I am a junior dev working in a startup for 1.5yrs now and ever since i joined I have felt this overwhelming emotions about me going invisible because I had a senior coworker of 4.5-5 yrs ex constantly finding gaps in time and work to overshadow or take over my work to basically get all the credits to themselves.

There were many instances where he started doing my tasks by subtly promoting himself to one of my ex-senior (15yrs exp) that some things need to be improved in the feature which was supposed to be given to me and eventually after I did all the ground work he takes it out into his own little branch and shows off as his own. Doesn't even let me know if I made any mistakes there and directly goes to gas about how careless I was even if it was the first commit of the feature to which i thought of adding improvements and finding bugs later.

This guy tried to trap me in a loop of mundane manual testing (no proper QA, we are everything here in this startup) and redirected even the smallest of development or optimization tasks that were supposed to be given to me to himself. And this I did around 3.5 months with no real development. I smartly used that time to automate tests for up to 45% (big project less time). My ex- senior appreciated me privately to another female coworker who is next in seniority to my ex-senior and I got to know about it through her.

Coming back to what happened last week. My current senior (female coworker) gave me ownership for abstracting our code base for a different model which had around 10-15 features and modules. I was happy and I implemented it in a separate repo for testing before integrating the same in our main repo. I was almost done but faced a few issues, since this is not a priority I was added to a higher priority project to finish development and I was doing excellent there. I solved a big issue we were facing and I started development there.

Now this coworker comes in the picture to just implement 1/15 feature for the model in abstracting. And I specially asked him to refer to the primary repo to do the feature. We faced some issues and we had to wait for our vendor to do the RCA. He already has other tasks. But no, he had to butt his way into what I was developing and testing and started making fixes there.

Mind you he emailed a week before this confirming our managers that features are done. He confirmed something which clearly he had less idea about, Not only this I saw his branch where he is separately working on MY task. I was so curious and i immediately called him (he wfh) to confirm and I told him these changes are not good as it clashes with the compatibility provided for a previous version of the same model. And he doesn't have access to any of it. So I told him to hold on to finishing his feature first and concentrate on another big Entire project he is handling separately.

The updates he gave our manager are also not true, he basically confirmed things he never tested or developed for the environments I was implementing and abstracting. The one feature is lowkey irrelevant to the other features I was adding. When I asked him why he is doing this when I'm already working on it he said this:

"I have created a branch for me and doing the required changes on that only. I have not changes any other branch.

You can create your branch seperately and do the required changes on that branch and make code stable.

Then we will merge branch both brnach with stable changes to one single brnach for this project.

Don't do any chamges on my branch"

"Whatever i have tested and was working are mentioned on that mail. If you are working any specific issue, you can mention that seperately on same mail chain."

What do I do with this guy? I already told my female coworker and she said politically he is doing something wrong. But technically he didn't merge anything and worked on his own. We can't question him.

Wth do I do???

TLDR; Senior trying to do the tasks which were assigned to me and keeping me with mundane repetitive secondary work and is actively trying to overshadow me multiple times. What do I do?

I’m currently in Bangalore and working as a software engineer from past three years and now I got two offers from Citco and Optum. So both of these from Hyderabad and now I wanted to choose one among these two, so I would like to add on here like a both are offering me CTC nearly there is less than 30 K difference in between those and also the benefits same in between these.

How to choose one in these…Needed quick help

Background: Np-60days, left 20days.

Already working 10-6 here as they have a project going on. Haven't taken even a day off (1 casual, but that was before I knew it may extend the np or pay deduction), had mailed for a week off bcz of Dussehra and personal stuff but cancelled it.

Today, I logged of around 6.20, he called at 6.45pm and asked about errors, fine, then said when shall you be available, I said at 10 or 11pm (it's common here to work after office hrs).

Then he said that release is on Monday so we have to finalize everything by then and we'll pace up on weekends. I said I'm with my family and busy on weekends. He asked where I'm going, I just said I wanna spend some time. Pressured me to talk to manager which I refused as he was the one who asked me to be available. He cut the call !!

After that we(my family) did "sandhya aarti", but my mind was on his words and how he cut the call, ofc this has happened a few times in the past year.

I rang him up, and mentioned this in a strict way that he cannot speak like this and Cannot cut call. Especially when he has called and that too after office hours. He didn't apologise, instead he explained how it was my fault for 15min.

Since, I'm about to leave, and may need a day off in coming weeks, I just worry that my shitty manager might create issues.

TLDR: A senior called after office to assign work on weekends, I refused, he dropped the call. I rang back and complained this behaviour and I couldn't imagine what he might be cooking up with my shitty manager.

I have my mid year appraisal coming up. I'm afraid that my manager might put me on PIP. I am trying my best to perform in my support role despite rotational shifts and health conditions, but I'm not able to meet my manager's expectations.

I am a 2025 BTech CSE grad working at a WITCH company. After so many years of education, I'm disappointed that I've gotten myself into being a corporate slave. I just wish I weren't born.

I can't live with this constant stress for the rest of my life, and die one day regretting the life I lived.

Are there any other career options for me? Is MBA dead? I had an idea of pursuing masters and then getting into research/ academia. Will it work out?

hello , i work in the insurance sector and it's been like one year in this company , so usually everything is okay , The company is a like any other indian company long working hours but the thing that is bugging me is the open discrimination between work from.home employees and work from office employees ,i work from.home and i do my assigned tasks on time ,no errors ,no escalations but when they have to show high achieving employees they always show who work from office and they deliberately to try show work from office employess not doing well by finding very small faults in our work whereas when work from office employee does any mistake they dont offically report it and get it corrected whereas when we make mistakes it is highlighted in the meetings or in emails and i have raised the issue with my manager that its happening but he doesnt take action as i have jo proofs ,although i can act chill and only think about my salary but then every month they put in lowest spot even after doing all my tasks and all. i wanted to switch as they have this groupism and perceived image of me which is made by people only in order to show themselve as high performer but switching is so hard in this economy ,other company wants to underapay you or there are only ghost jobs, no real jobs without a refral , so guys give me advice how can i be mentally calm.about it like should i just ignore it or try to switch

So, i am in my last month of the 3 months long notice period and I have gotten 3 offers now. I work in a niche field and current employed via tech mahindra in Banglore and deployed at a client location.

YOE: 5 years
My current paycheck: 18L
Offer KPIT: 23L
Offer Arrow Electronics: 22L (But in hyderabad)
Offer Persistent: 23L

Now The last offer is what my client helped me get because they want me to continue working with them, thought I did ask for a permanent position but as always we don't get what we ask for. Now I am confused what should I do? Arrow electronics will put me Qualcomm ODC and KPIT will put me to work on panasonic.

Especially those who shout at you and call you out in calls/teams chat etc.

Got a Big 4 offer for a role very different from my background. Not my first preference, but the market is rough and my parents say don’t let it go.

HR wants me to join in Nov itself, but I have family functions till 1st Dec. I asked for 5th Dec, but joiners are only taken on Mon/Wed, so the best she can maybe do is 2nd Dec, if the panel agrees. I also wanted to interview at a couple more places, but she said the budget won’t be revised if I come back with a counter offer.

I’m worried the role is too niche and I’ll get stuck in it. At the same time, I’m scared of turning down a sure offer. She’s asked me to email my joining date with reasons for the delay.

How do I ask for 2nd Dec without sounding like I’m offer shopping? Is “mental health break” too heavy a reason to give, or should I just stick to the family commitments?

TL;DR: Got a Big 4 offer in a role I’m not keen on. HR wants me to join in Nov, but I have family functions till 1st Dec. How do I ask for 2nd Dec politely, and is “mental health break” too heavy a reason?

Hi everyone,

I really need some guidance from experienced folks or anyone who has managed to bounce back from severe burnout.

For context, I am currently at my first company, where I’ve been working for the past 5 years. When I first joined, I was highly driven... I ranked #2 in my entire training batch and was selected for a highly specialized team of just 15 people out of thousands. I was ready to build a great technical career.

Unfortunately, right after I joined, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. For the last few years, my primary focus had to be her health and survival. The sheer emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion of caregiving while trying to hold down a job completely drained me. She recently passed away, and I am now trying to pick up the pieces of my life and career.

Because of the prolonged stress, my career took a massive hit. I spent these 5 years doing mostly mundane, low impact tasks just to survive the days. My confidence is currently at rock bottom.

The hardest part right now is my cognitive fatigue. I genuinely love Java and backend development, and I want to upskill (specifically in Spring Boot and microservices) to finally make a successful job switch. But my memory and concentration feel completely depleted. Whenever I sit down to study, I feel like I forget everything immediately. My brain just refuses to retain information like it used to.

1. Has anyone here successfully restarted their learning journey after years of extreme mental exhaustion or grief?

2. How do you rebuild your focus and memory when your brain feels fried?

How should I approach studying for Java backend interviews after being stuck in mundane work for 5 years?

1. Any tips on regaining confidence when competing with folks who have been actively coding/learning all these years?

Any advice, study strategies, or harsh truths would be deeply appreciated. Thank you.

22M, working in mechanical design and development since June 2025 after graduating college in May.

I like the work. However.....

everything is on fire everytime.

Have been put on 2 projects. One being a very tight scheduled regular project. The other being a once in a while initiative project which was handed over to me.

The first project is fine and all but the second project is what makes me cry.

The nature of work is of course a bit hands on but the design vertical does not have any system/process to deal with the stuff. Have to rely on people of other vertical like production etc. for help(lets say transfer of big parts from point A to Point B) Which sometimes i do get help for after begging for help. but most of the times i am left on my own and get zero help from my managers.

No support externally. No support internally.

People treat me like i am asking them for personal favours.

I personally feel that my manager understands the situation but is helpless and himself has 3 projects to manage. He does not clearly take stand for me enough.

I get asked to do things based on my "PR". How am i supposed to build a PR with a person who i have never talked to in my entire life and tbh, short talk does not help AT ALL. i have tried it everytime and it is of no use when the person in front of you just does not want to co operate. Its not like i am asking for a file present on his computer right? i am asking for a complete manpower and equipment to transfer/ do stuff for me.

i am being crushed between the deadlines of the first project and constant asking of updates for the second one while being made to make stupid ppts regarding the delay everytime. The second project every step takes 1-2 months as nobody is willing to co operate.

In addition to that, a new person has joined the team. Is relatively a fresher, but has the irritability factor of an itch in the butt. confidence is protrudes probably more than any senior management for god knows what reason. Unbearable to work with. Tries to show off work by "assigning" work on email which he was supposed to do instead. Has not been loaded with work as of yet and is therefore a lot more irritating. It feels like he genuinely feeds his ego by "assigning" me work. I dont take orders sorry.

Regarding the quitting. I've always wanted to do a mba. But im stuck with a 2 year bond and a 3 month notice period. Giving CAT this year, but really think wont be able to make it due to high standards of colleges i am aiming.

Will quit in June next year. So i could leave this hell by September.

My question is how do i build up the courage to actually work here with sanity for the next 6-7 months? I dread everyday. My call logs look like a spam callers phone. I get so many calls asking for follow ups. I make so many calls asking for follow ups it is crazy. I hate the asking/begging/following up for work. No work here happens which i can do by myself. I will always require the help of somebody and i will have to follow up/request/beg just to get my work done. How is this sustainable?

I break down everyday. I come back from office everyday only after 8:30 pm. My sleep schedule is gone.

How do i actually survive this place for the next 6-7 months?

TL;DR :

Stuck in crazy work environment for the next 7 months with zero support for the work deliverables expected from me. How do i ease off the mental load on myself?

I have around 5 years of backend engineering experience, including 2 years at a global investment bank, and I'm deciding between two offers in Bengaluru. I'd appreciate perspectives from engineers who've worked in either environment.

Offer A — Large US-based e-commerce product company

• Role: Software Engineer 3
• Compensation: 50 LPA total, including base and RSUs
• Stack: Java
• Pros: Customer-facing product engineering, familiar tech stack, potentially broader future opportunities.
• Concerns: Lower fixed salary and the impact on future salary hikes.

Offer B — Global quantitative hedge fund

• Role: Software Engineer
• Compensation: 50 LPA base
• Stack: C#/.NET
• Pros: Higher fixed pay and an opportunity to build deeper expertise in financial systems.
• Concerns: Potentially demanding work culture and moving away from Java.

What I'm trying to understand:

1. Which path offers better long-term technical growth, ownership, and engineering challenges?
2. Does product-company experience open more doors, or can finance/hedge-fund specialization be equally valuable?
3. How much does switching from Java to C#/.NET affect future opportunities?
4. Is the higher fixed pay worth a potentially worse work-life balance?
5. Which option would leave me better positioned for my next switch in 3–5 years?

I'm not necessarily targeting FAANG. I want to become a stronger engineer, work on challenging systems, and keep my future options open.

TL;DR: Would you choose a product engineering role with Java and RSUs, or a hedge-fund engineering role with higher fixed pay but a different stack and potentially tougher WLB? Which is better for long-term growth?

I am a Motion Graphics Artist in a company. It's been 7 months since I joined here. There have been lot of issues there (refer my old post) like delayed salary, low end PC, no learning experience, etc. So, I am looking for different job. My MD saw me talking in a call and immediately knew that it was an interview. Later, he called me for a 1-on-1. And asked the reason. So, I told everything.

Then, he said that company is in tough times, there are 2.5 crores pending dues from the clients and bla bla bla. Then, he told me that if I am not happy working there, I could leave without serving NP and said that I am wasting productive time taking 5 min interview calls during working hours. He is ok with many boys taking smoke breaks every now and then and also he himself smokes btw. He also asked me that how I can't be supportive during company's tough times. I really felt angry hearing that but I can't take that out. Will the company be supportive if any employee is in tough times? So he gave me time until EOD to decide whether I want to stay or not. I told that I will leave. And then he said that tomorrow will be my LWD.

My question is, what should I tell to recruiters regarding this? I am anxious that whether I will get a job or not. I also have Face-2-face interview tomorrow which ofcourse I will request to reschedule as my LWD will be tomorrow. I also fear whether the current company will consider this as a termination. I am okay for a month or two without the job. Need genuine advice.

I work in taxation and have been dealing with intense work pressure, including working beyond office hours. My sister is getting married in December, and my parents are elderly and need support with the preparations.
I requested WFH to help my family and also requested a transfer to my home-location branch, where my company has an office. Both requests were denied.
To make matters worse, I’m prediabetic, and my doctor has strictly advised me to follow a proper diet and lose weight. With the current workload and expectations of working after office hours, I barely get time to focus on my health.
I understand that teams have business requirements, but I feel like I’m expected to sacrifice my health and family responsibilities for work. I want to continue my career, but this situation is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
Am I being unreasonable for expecting some flexibility? Should I escalate this to HR, keep pushing for the transfer, or start looking for another job? I’d appreciate honest advice from people who have dealt with similar situations.

Hey guys, I’m a fresher architect based in India. I’m about to join a big form in New Delhi. I’m looking for tips to form a good first impression. This is so that I can get a good salary, I get to work on good projects, I make good contacts that I can use when I open my own practise a couple years down the line, etc. Since it’s a large firm, I think a good first impression will go a long way. Please help me out.

Hi everyone

Im 22 years old, and I've gained experiences worth 2 years only through internships (3 months in sales)

I recently got an offer from a start up sales company that focus on US clientele, as their sales executive.

The pay is 25,000 a month, 6:30 pm to 3:30 am.

I applied because it's just a 2.6km ride to the office and it's a big co-working space that's open 24/7 and has security

They are a 4 month old company, and there's just 4 employees as of now, and they're looking to expand to just 10 or 15.

I'm a female, and it's a law in my state that companies that have female employees working after 8 at night, has to have cab services with gps trackers for their safety.

When i asked the founder about this, he tried reassuring me, saying that there's police all around the area and it's very safe. But no cab services as of now, maybe later yes.

I'll have to leave at 3:30 in the morning after my shift, and i plan on taking an auto for commute.

Do you think I should ask for a travel allowance at the minimum? For a 4 month old company they are doing pretty good.

I'm genuinely so confused and need help, this is my first job and I don't want to fumble it because it's just 5 days working Saturday Sundays off, which no other company i had applied for the last 6 months has been able to provide

Thank you sm!

Thanks to AI, my 4 yoe as a graphic designer and my M.des in UX Design is totally worthless. I have been unemployed for almost 2 years now. Moreover, I took an education loan for my M.des and the EMIs will start from next year.

So, what are my options here? How can I earn some money urgently? Please help 🙏🏻

In my business unit, there are few IJPs posted for promotion to a higher band. However, all those IJPs are already rigged, they have already identified the candidate and posting just for showing how fair the system works.

I talked to my leader but it's obvious he doesn't see me as a potential candidate to appear for these IJPs. I didn't even receive interview calls for IJPs of my own business unit.

This has left me feeling demotivated as I am looking for a promotion in the same business unit for last 1.5 years. The company is good and quite flexible when it comes to leaves, login logout times.

The situation is same for other Business units IJPs, when I apply to them I don't get a response and most of the times the candidate is already identified.

Why the hell these companies post IJPs. Just pick your buddy and promote them.

This is just a rant.

I'm a fresher at a large IT services company, currently working in a support project. I was allocated to this project after completing the company's .NET full-stack training, and it's been around 3 months now. There's just one other fresher on my team, a female colleague, and we report to the same manager.

I've been noticing a difference in the way our manager communicates with us, and honestly, it's getting frustrating.

- I've asked him twice if we could connect, and both times he said we'd connect later, but it never happened. It's been over 3 months since our last proper call. I've also messaged him several times about KT, access and work-related stuff, but quite a few messages have gone unanswered.

- At the same time, he seems to have regular calls with my colleague. I've seen them on calls lasting 30 minutes, an hour, and even close to two hours.

- There have also been a few instances where she got information or guidance directly from him that I wasn't aware of. I've had to find out about certain access requests and processes through her and then figure out how to do them myself.

- One incident that particularly bothered me was when our manager gave her a basic KT on our domain and then asked her to explain it to me the following day. I was available that day, so I don't understand why we couldn't have gone through it together in the first place.

- She also worked on a ticket with help from our manager and another senior team member. I wasn't informed about it or involved in the troubleshooting, so I missed out on an opportunity to learn how these issues are handled.

- I've tried approaching other team members for KT, but most either redirect me to the manager or aren't available because they work different shifts.

I'm not upset that my colleague is getting help. Good for her. I just want the same opportunity to learn and contribute instead of being left to figure everything out on my own.

I don't know why this difference exists, and I'm not trying to jump to conclusions, but it's hard not to notice the pattern.

Would you try to make things work in this situation, or start preparing to switch in the next 4–6 months? I'm worried about switching with so little hands-on experience, but I also don't want to spend a year in a project where I'm barely learning anything.

TL;DR: My manager gives my fellow fresher more direct guidance, KT and hands-on opportunities while often leaving my messages unanswered. I've tried getting help from others, but I'm still struggling to get enough exposure to the project. Should I stick it out or prepare to switch in 4–6 months despite having limited hands-on experience?

My company has a very open and friendly culture like no one asks what time you come or what time you go You don’t even have to ask permissions to take a leave just send a message on WhatsApp group that’s it Even work is really low volume as the team size is big Recently I started noticing social media team’s performance is really poor they are not creating good content or ads. Most of the time they come up with reasons of why things don’t work. Do lazy work using AI to create scripts and just send it to me for approval To change this we started weekly meetings so we can guide them and show what should be done even after that it’s same also started Saturday brainstorming even after that it’s same They always make careless mistakes and just send it for approval I have to sit and find them and correct them How would you correct this

I've resigned from my current company (A) after getting an offer from another one (B). My official last working day at A is 11 Nov. B wants me to join on 9

Here's the catch: 10 and 11 Nov are Diwali holidays at A, and I can take approved leave on the 9th. So in practice I'd do no actual work for A after 8 Nov. B is fine with me starting on the 9th.

My concern is the paper trail:

A's records and relieving letter will say last day = 11 Nov

B's records will say joining date = 9 Nov

That's a 2-3 day overlap on paper. If I later apply to a third company (C) and they run a background check or employment verification, could this mismatch cause any issue? Would it look like moonlighting or a red flag?

Has anyone been through something similar?

Please help me out

Edit 1: B is Australian company hiring me for a remote role, they won't give PF as such. The hired me as independent contractor

All I want to know is if it will become a problem with the company C (later on if i change)

Edit 2: As per the suggestions given, I requested my current company to allow me to leave early, based on my situation, they agreed.

Thanks to all

Would you take ₹55 LPA in your current industry or switch for long-term career growth?

I'm 25, a Tier 1 engineering graduate with \~4 years across e-commerce and electronics GTM/strategy.

I currently earn ₹45 LPA and have an offer at ₹55 LPA, potentially reaching ₹60–65 LPA. The role involves a larger business but similar work.

My dilemma: take the money and build deeper expertise in electronics, or use this stage of my career to move into AI/tech or pursue a top global MBA?

I'm aiming to maximise long-term earnings and leadership opportunities, but I'm concerned about becoming too specialised. How much do company brand and industry matter compared with ownership and measurable impact?

Would love to hear from people who've made similar decisions, especially hiring managers and professionals earning well in GTM/strategy. What would you do in my position, and why?

Hey guys, I am a senior software dev in a pretty good workplace. Fully remote, good salary, great WLB and easy work. Our team lead put in his papers some time ago. I am now being expected to perform a part of his duties which increases my workload. When I talked to my manager about it, he said I will be officially "promoted" in the next review cycle - which happens in Q2. Till then, I am expected to perform said duties, but with no change in job title, or increase in salary.

This feels a bit odd to me. Just wanted to understand if this is a common practice, or something to be worried about.

Bangalore, private SaaS startup. Looking for advice before I respond.

Timeline:

• My August salary was never paid.
• On September 17, I got an email from leadership saying the company was cutting costs due to funding issues. My notice period started that day, with a last day of October 15. The email said I'd receive all salary, notice-period compensation and dues, and encouraged me to look for jobs outside.
• My offer letter says the notice period is 90 days. I was given 28.
• No work was assigned to me after September 17. I applied for WFH in the HR system and stayed available.
• Now, two days before my last day, HR says:
  • I "didn't work" during notice, so it will be treated as loss of pay
  • I should retroactively apply for leave for those days, which would use up my 20 days of encashable leave
  • The FNF statement will take another two weeks just to be emailed, with no date for actual payment
  • I must return my laptop on my last day

Roughly what I'm owed: August + September + October 1–15 salary + 20 days' leave encashment ≈ ₹2 lakh, possibly more if I'm owed pay for the unused part of the 90-day notice.

Questions:

1. Can they treat company-initiated notice as loss of pay when they told me in writing to look for jobs and assigned no work?
2. Am I entitled to pay in lieu of the remaining notice under the 90-day clause?
3. Should I return the laptop before the FNF is settled, or does keeping it put me at risk?
4. Is a legal notice or a Labour Department complaint the better first step?

I'm consulting a lawyer too, but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through something similar.