He applied to 1,600 jobs. He finally got one, but it came with a 50% pay cut

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

Since losing his job in 2023, Scott had applied to 1,600 jobs, completed 78 interviews, and depleted his savings just to stay afloat. The constant rejection had become so unbearable that he went on antidepressants. So when a recruiter from a staffing company called with a job offer last December, he hung up, walked upstairs, told his wife the news, and cried. "It finally happened," he remembers thinking.

The triumph, though, was bittersweet. The position was a six-month contract as a technician...