I've been out of college for four years now, and I finally landed my first corporate job just last year. Unfortunately, my job search has been incredibly frustrating. I spent a significant amount of time working in restaurants and hospitality after graduation, and even got promoted to management, but it seems like interviewers are fixated on that part of my timeline. This week, I had two interviews that left me feeling disheartened. Both interviewers made it a point to count the years backward on my resume, questioning why I stayed in the hospitality industry after graduating in 2022. They even speculated about my age, which was uncomfortable. One interviewer bluntly asked, "so you graduated... then you did the kitchen/bar thing for a while... and then you found your first professional career job? Why??" It felt like they were judging me for not landing a corporate role right out of college, as if my career path was a flaw instead of a reflection of the tough job market. The interview processes themselves were shockingly unprofessional. The first one was for a temp-to-perm position covering maternity leave. The interviewer was multitasking on multiple screens, throwing a ton of operational details at me, and the pay was only $19 an hour with expectations for nights and weekends. The second interview was even worse; the interviewer spent most of the time talking about her personal struggles and showed me proprietary information and personal emails. I had to leave when she started discussing her religious beliefs instead of asking me about my qualifications. I can't help but feel like I'm being judged for having a non-linear career path while these interviewers can't even conduct a basic professional interview. It's hard to believe that these roles had over 100 applicants on LinkedIn. Is this what the job market looks like for those of us who didn't go straight from college to an office job? Am I already half-disqualified because I spent a couple of years waiting tables? I'm genuinely losing my mind over this whole situation.