‘Terrible’: 23yo’s job horror exposes trend

A young Aussie has revealed the “terrible” reality she’s currently facing and why she’s had to become “realistic.”

Australia’s job market is getting tough again after a few blissful years of employees having more power than employers.

Two months ago, Karnika found out her work contract wouldn’t be renewed, and she hasn’t been able to find a job since.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in Australia jumped to a two-year high in April this year, coming in at 4.1 per cent. The number of people classified as unemployed ballooned by 30,000. The unemployement rate is now back to 4.0 per cent.

Karnika, 23, is based in Melbourne. She works in human resources and became unemployed after her contract was cut short by three months.

“It was so s**t,” she told news.com.au.

“Some random week, they told me they were giving me one week’s notice, but I could leave at the end of the day.”

Karnika been unemployed for two months. Picture: Instagram/karnika_major

She's trying to stay optimistic. Picture: Instagram/karnika_major

It was a blow, sure; who wants to lose their job? But Karnika was optimistic she’d be able to find another one.

Two months later, she’s still spending most of her days applying for jobs while her partner, an apprentice tradesman, helps to support her.

To sustain herself, she’s picked up some casual work as a spa attendant, a job she got through her aunty. She’s thankful she’s living with her boyfriend’s family; otherwise, she’s unsure how she’d survive.

“I genuinely think I’d be homeless without them,” she said.

The 23-year-old said that between her casual work and her partner’s full-time work, they are probably pulling in around $75,000 combined. If they split that down the middle, it’s just over $30,000 each, which isn’t a liveable wage in 2024.

It is also challenging because Karnika is dedicated to finding employment but has had no luck. 

“Everyone talks about how there are so many roles, but there are 150 applications for the one role,” she pointed out.

It makes her feel hopeless about applying for roles. She’s been on the other side of it and knows how easily companies can become internally overwhelmed by applications and not even look at all of them.

“People say with that mindset, ‘you’re not going to get the role.’ But shut the f**k up. I’m being realistic,” she said.

“It is just terrible.”

She has called the experience terrible. Picture: Instagram/karnika_major

Her partner is helping support her. Picture: Instagram/karnika_major

Liam D’Ortenzio, head of people and culture at Employment Hero, said the Aussie job market has “shifted” for job seekers in the past few years.

“Gen Z and millennials are especially competing for employment in a very tough market,” he said.

“When it comes to their expectations and values, today’s job market is more diverse than ever. Let’s add to that heady mix: a global pandemic, a war in Europe, and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis across the world. It’s fair to say that job seekers are coping with a unique set of challenges finding employment.”

Mr D’Ortenzio said that the current landscape for job seekers has changed.

“While prior years saw a candidate-driven market, the current landscape indicates a tilt towards employer dominance. But this doesn’t mean that job seekers are powerless,” he said.

“Use this time to upskill and differentiate yourself from the crowd. Be proactive in learning about employer expectations and workplace trends.”

Karnika is now stuck navigating that change.

She’s also found that companies list roles they already plan to fill internally, so she’ll put in all the effort to apply for them only to go nowhere or a company will only keep an application up for two days.

“They’ll advertise it anyway and you’ll just get rejected,” she said.

She's applying for jobs every day. Picture: Instagram/karnika_major

“I’m even getting rejected for roles because I’m overqualified, or for other roles, I don’t make it past a phone screening, or I get an instant rejection letter.”

The constant rejection has been hard to accept, but she’s trying to get more strategic about her approach to applying.

“I apply every Sunday as late as possible, so I’ll be at the top of the list on Monday. In my mind, that’ll work. If you’re applying during the week when everyone else is, your application could be getting lost.”

Even though she’s working hard to stay optimistic, it is a struggle.

She worries about the financial consequences of staying unemployed for longer, and it is also hard to feel good about herself. She gets rejected from jobs every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

“I just feel bad. It f**ks with my self-esteem being unemployed for so long,” she said.

“Financially, it is an issue, and I’m not even getting bites. I’ve had a few interviews, but even some of those feel dodgy because they rush me the whole time.”

Despite how dire things are becoming, she remains dogged in her determination to find a job and get herself out of the application cycle.

“I’ve got bills and car payments. I’d be struggling way more if I didn’t have my partner, and we are living off one income, which puts a strain on him.”