Tricky to elect younger & more competent when the older generation is so much more practiced at the schmoozing aspect, unfortunately. Not to mention better funded by special interests who trust their predictability.

Maybe instead of declining take home assessments, then, you ask for an accommodation for an alternate assessment citing your anxiety as a disorder. If nothing else, it’ll have them think.

Though, regarding your data. You’ve gotten 12 jobs that you got without an assessment. Which… well, that sounds like a lot of jobs. Yet you say you’re eating peanut butter. So… were those 12 jobs… kind of shit? Plus, getting passed over 20 times is… not that much in tech, unfortunately. So… I kinda think you should ignore that data?

What the heck did I just read?

You refuse to fully engage in the interview process by declining take home assessments, while saying you need the money and don’t have enough to do. I… think I’ve just spotted your problem?

Look, take home assessments suck. I get it. It’s work that you don’t get paid for, it’s tricky to fit into your normal routine, etc. But one of the biggest problems I have with take-home assessments is that they favor those without kids or without gainful employment, who have the time to prioritize the assessment and give it a few extra hours. Sooooo… Kinda sounds like you’re in the sweet spot to benefit from this, and you’re just rejecting it.

How exactly you think that this is the recruiters’ fault is a little strange.

I think you just need to revise which senses you’re using to assess it. It may only look like a couple of inches… but give it a sniff, and you’d swear it’s a foot!

Sometimes it’s good to know there are solvable problems out there… however small.

When it’s getting up to 92, is the air under the house still cooler?

I’d personally worry that even the smallest A/C unit you can get would be problematic in that small of a space. Might be worth air conditioning the rest of your house and unsealing the door instead.