I thought walking into the H&M store would be enough to get noticed

Staring at the empty application page on my laptop

I spent three hours staring at the online application form for H&M last Tuesday. It is one of those portals that feels like a black hole. You upload your resume, fill in every single box about your previous retail experience, and then you just hit submit. There is no confirmation that a human will ever see it. I remember back when my cousin got a job at a clothing store, he just walked in with a printed resume and handed it to the manager. That seems like a lifetime ago. Now, everything is funneled through these massive, impersonal systems that probably filter candidates based on keywords before anyone even looks at a name.

The weird tension of wanting to call the store

I found myself browsing forums like Albachunguk, reading posts from people who were just as desperate as I was. Someone suggested calling the local store directly to ask about the hiring timeline. I have been debating this for two days. Is it professional? Or is it annoying? A part of me feels like I should just show up in person, walk up to the counter, and be a person rather than a line of text in an HR database. But then I worry that if I do that, the manager will just tell me to go back to the website. It is a strange, suspended state of waiting where you have zero control over the process, and every hour of silence feels like a rejection.

Learning about the AI interviewers

I read some news recently about how companies like H&M and FIFA are using these AI hiring platforms, like the startup Maki. They claim it’s more efficient, and apparently, they even provide feedback to rejected candidates, which sounds nice, but it also feels slightly dystopian. Does the AI decide my fate based on how I structure my sentences or how fast I respond? It makes me think about whether my personality, which I think is my strongest point, is getting completely flattened by an algorithm. Companies mention they had massive growth after adopting these tools, but for the person on the other end, it just means one more layer of technology standing between them and a paycheck that probably lands somewhere around the minimum wage mark.

The feeling of being just another entry in the database

Maybe I should just wait for the automated email. It costs me nothing but time, but the uncertainty is the annoying part. I looked at the H&M website again today, and it looks exactly the same as it did when I checked on Monday. No update, no status change. It is just ‘Application Received.’ I wonder if the people who actually get the job have some secret trick, or if they just happened to apply at the exact moment the system was looking for someone. There is no guide for this, no secret path. Just a constant refresh of the browser tab and the nagging feeling that maybe I should have written my cover letter differently, even though I know a machine probably read it.

Trying to stay patient while the bills are piling up

It is hard to stay relaxed when you really need the work. I have been looking at other options, like seasonal pop-up shops or small clothing stores, but H&M feels like a more stable choice if I could just get my foot in the door. I keep thinking that if I just call them, maybe I’ll get someone on the phone who is having a slow day and is willing to look at my file. But what if I reach someone who is busy and irritated? I still haven’t made the call. The silence is still there, and the portal is still empty. I am not even sure if calling would change anything at this point, but sitting here doing nothing feels worse.