One TikToker is opening up about the hardships of finding work in a recent video where he shared he’s applied to more than 75 jobs and has yet to land one.
In the video, user @babywavv, shared how he’s applied to multiple jobs via the employment website Indeed after being laid off by Amazon.
“Where is the jobs at?” @babywavv questioned. “Like I’m all out of options at this point bro, and Indeed really be feeling like a scam at this point. Like it’s really just starting to feel like it’s just a bunch of fake ads at this point.”
@babywavv “Urgently hiring” 😑 #babywavv#indeed#laidoff#unemployment#unemployed#urgentlyhiring#scam#annoyedaf ♬ original sound – BABY WAVV (wavy) 🌊🛥
Indeed has not responded to the Daily Dot’s request for comment. However, on its website, it notifies users to be vigilant of scammers on the site, who it says usually have “the goal of obtaining personal or financial information or money from job seekers.”
@babywavv revealed he got laid off from Amazon in early September and claimed it was because of overstaffing. He didn’t reveal the type of work he did for the company, but he mentioned it entailed standing up for more than 10 hours a day. He also described the job as “slave work.”
“I don’t care what none of y’all say, I don’t care about y’all being like ‘you gotta be conditioned for the work life,’” @babywavv said. “No bro, I’m not standing up for 12 hours a day, then got to catch a two-hour bus ride to and from work, only getting six hours of sleep per night—not even six, like four hours because you up all damn night drinking coffee trying to stay [awake].”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amazon for comment. According to the New York Times, late last year the company planned to make 10,000 layoffs in corporate and technology jobs. The Washington Post reported in April that the company had expanded its warehouses so much that it eventually became overstaffed.
@babywavv said he’s done 15 interviews so far and hasn’t received a solid offer yet. One potential job had him wait about two months after filling out paperwork, he said.
“It don’t take that long to do a background check,” @babywavv said. “It only take three to five business days. I’ve been doing this since I was 16. I know it don’t take that long. And at this point it’s starting to feel like an insult on my intelligence.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in December, the U.S. unemployment rate went down to 3.5%, with job gains in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction and social assistance. Among racial groups, Black Americans seemed to have the highest unemployment rate at 5.7%. USA Today reported that as threats of a possible recession loom, some employers are opting to halt layoffs and implement hiring freezes instead, which is expected to contribute to slow job growth.
At this point, @babywavv said he’s no longer being picky about jobs. He previously counted out working in fast food, but his mind has changed with time.
“Where are the jobs? Where are they? Because I’ll work anything at this point. … Like I’ll flip a burger, bro. Like, give me some fucking money, dude. Like this shit stressing me the fuck out,” he said.
Some commenters on @babywavv’s video advised him to go straight to company websites to apply for jobs rather than going through Indeed.
“Start applying on company websites that helped me I believe the recruiters aren’t being efficient,” one commenter said.
Many related to the struggle he was going through in finding a job.
“[Forreal] man, I’ve been tryna find a new job for 7 months now [and] haven’t got a call back or [an] interview yet,” another commenter posted. “But I can get a email saying I wasn’t selected.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @babywavv via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message.
Update: 9:36am CT, Jan. 13, 2022: Indeed shared the following statement in an email to the Daily Dot:
“Indeed puts job seekers at the heart of everything we do. We have a dedicated search quality team who goes to extraordinary lengths deploying a variety of techniques to assess the suitability and validity of job listings. Indeed removes tens of millions of job listings each month that do not meet our quality guidelines. In addition, Indeed will not do business with an employer if their job listings do not pass our stringent quality guidelines. We encourage job seekers to report any suspicious job advertisements to us, or if they feel it necessary, to make a report to the police. We encourage all job seekers to review our Guidelines for a Safe Job Search.”
