Let’s start with this: If you're navigating endless interviews, ghosted applications, or another rejection email in your inbox—you're not alone. And more importantly, you're not the problem.

At New Leaf Career Consulting, we’ve seen firsthand how broken and impersonal today’s hiring processes can be. We’ve heard the stories:

• Seven rounds of interviews with no closure.

• A dream opportunity—until it disappeared without a word.

• "You were a top candidate, but we’ve decided to go in a different direction." Again.

These aren’t just stories—they’re experiences that leave people exhausted, second-guessing their worth, and wondering if they’ll ever get a fair chance.

The System Is Flawed—Not You

You weren’t born with 5 years of experience.
Someone took a chance on you.
Someone trained you, coached you, believed in you—even when you fumbled.

So why are so many of you out here shutting the door on new talent?

We’re seeing it every day at New Leaf Career Consulting:

• Smart, motivated people getting ghosted

• Talented newcomers told they “aren’t a fit” after one generic interview

• Job postings asking for the moon, and offering minimum wage in return

It’s exhausting. It’s demoralizing. And it’s creating a workforce crisis.

Here’s the truth:
If you’re in a position to hire, you’re also in a position to build.
To mentor.
To TEACH.
To become the kind of leader you once prayed for.

Let’s be honest—if a hiring process drags into five, six, even seven rounds of interviews, something is broken. At New Leaf Career Consulting, we work with talented professionals every day who are ready to bring their energy, skills, and ideas to the table. But too often, they’re stuck in hiring limbo, facing endless interviews with no clear decision in sight.

So, what’s going on?

1. Fear of Making the Wrong Hire

Managers often fear the cost of a bad hire—and that’s valid. But the solution isn’t endless interviews. It’s clarity. The best hiring decisions come from well-defined roles, strong screening methods, and trust in the interview panel’s judgment. Over-interviewing doesn’t eliminate risk—it just delays progress and risks losing top candidates to faster-moving companies.

2. Lack of Internal Alignment

When multiple stakeholders aren’t on the same page about what they’re looking for, the process gets stretched out. More rounds are added to gather input, clarify expectations, or re-ask the same questions. This isn’t strategic—it’s indecisive. Smart hiring starts with internal clarity before posting the job.

The job market is shifting—and fast. As technology, values, and workplace expectations evolve, millennials and older workers alike are finding themselves at a crossroads. Whether you're 35 or 65, you’re not imagining it: the world of work is changing, and it’s not just about AI or remote work. It’s about identity, relevance, and redefinition.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening—and how you can stay empowered through the change.

At New Leaf Career Consulting, we hear it every week:

“I just don’t know what I want to do next.”
“I’m good at my job, but I don’t feel connected to it anymore.”

Here’s what we’ve found after working with hundreds of clients:
When you feel stuck in your career, it’s usually not because you’re in the wrong industry or role. It’s because something deeper is out of alignment.

That “something” usually falls into three buckets:

• Your values aren’t showing up in your work.

• Your strengths aren’t being used.

• Your interests have evolved, but your job hasn’t.

Why Alignment Matters

It’s easy to think of work as just a paycheck. But the reality is, most of us spend a third of our lives at work. If it doesn’t fit who you are anymore, that disconnect shows up as:

• Low energy or burnout

• Apathy about your tasks

• That nagging “I should be doing something else” feeling

There’s something powerful about the image of a wheel.

It turns. It rolls forward. It carries weight, endures wear, and adapts to terrain. Sometimes it speeds down a smooth highway; other times, it grinds slowly over rocky, uneven ground. But regardless of the pace or path, a wheel in motion represents progress. And in many ways, our career journeys operate the same way.

When my father was dying of cancer, there came a moment no one prepares you for—a point when the doctors gently look at you and say, “It’s time to consider removing the lifeline.” That word—lifeline—cut through me. It was the thing keeping him with us. And it was also the thing reminding us that letting go was inevitable.

We made the decision as a family. It was painful, it was honest, and it was final.

Years later, I lost a job. And unexpectedly, that word came back: lifeline.

Losing a job, especially one where your identity, income, and rhythm are entangled, can feel like being disconnected from a source of life. No, it’s not the same as losing a loved one. But for many of us, especially those who’ve built a sense of stability in chaos, our work is the tether that keeps everything else functioning.

You find a job posting that feels like a perfect match. You tailor your resume, draft a thoughtful cover letter, complete an hour-long application, maybe even take an assessment. Then you wait. And wait. Eventually, you get the email: “Thank you for your interest, but we’ve decided to move forward with another candidate.”

Later, you learn that the person who got the job was already working there. An internal hire. A referral. A "favorite." It stings—not just because you didn’t get the role, but because it feels like your time and effort were never seriously considered.

The Problem with “Open” Searches