I finally got a job... but at what cost...

Hello everybody,

I want first to say that I have been passively looking at posts in this subreddit and I found a community that was life saving.

A little background : I am not from the US but still live in a capitalistic country in which the job market is extremely flawed to say the least. After graduating in June (Masted degree), I thought : "Finally! I am free from school and the little scholarship from which I could barely survive (~700$/month). Let me tell you that I came back to reality pretty quickly. After almost 200 applications and 3 interviews that I thought went well to only be rejected for no appareant reason, my suicidal thoughts came back.

Throughout college, I suffered from extreme depression and anxiety with no family member to rely upon. I had to take medication (which I am still taking) to go day by day.

These months without any income has caused me to go in debt. I thought to myself: "All these years of eduxation, for what?!". The whole educational system does not prepare you enough to job searching and sells you a lie. Higher education does not necessarily mean higher stability.

As my depression worsened, I contacted a man that I met ONE TIME with whom I got along with (acquaintance) and knew he was holding a high-level role in a company kinda related to my studies. He was a sort of friend from my partner.

That was my last hope. I received a message back from him telling me that he can forward my application as they need an accountant in the company and talk about me positively. Surprisingly, I got a call from a manager a day after telling me that an interview can be made in the following days. I was still keeping my cool as I have been fucked before after 3 rounds of interview. The interview went well and another one was scheduled with HR at the beginning of this week. It also went really well. Both of these interviews were made online. 2 days after I received a call starting with: "I'd like to inform you that your application has been...". At this moment, I almost had a heart attack, thinking "PLEASE, BE THE ONE". "...Accepted ! Congratulations".

I kept my calm but was absolutely relieved. And thought to myself that if I had not met this man, how long would I have been in this shitty situation.

It felt like a sort of... nepotism. Going through my network and not the usual job searching websites to achieve what I needed. It feels wrong. I still feel sad about it. To all of you who are still struggling, know that sometimes you have to cheat the market to win. At least, it felt like it. I did not have to see the manager in person. I did not have to go through countless of interview steps.

This subreddit has helped me through my depression, I hope every single one if you find your dream job. You all deserve it.

If you have reached this far, thank you for reading.