The job market is looking bleak today. Employers seem to have impossible standards and expect job seekers to lower their expectations just to get hired. One man became more aware of this as he spoke to a recruiter about a social media position.

Content creator Patrick Mazuca shared how a recruiter told him that 15 years of social media experience was the minimum requirement to earn the higher end of the salary range for the position.

A recruiter told a candidate that 15 years of social media experience was needed to qualify for the higher end of the salary range.

A recruiter reached out to Mazuca with a role to help a small company manage its Instagram and TikTok profiles.

When explaining the salary band for the position, he learned the lower end was around the amount he makes at his job right now, and the upper end was $20k more.

He informed the recruiter that to even consider the position he would need a salary on the upper end of the band, but was informed that wouldn’t be possible. When he asked why, she told him the company wanted someone with 15 years of experience in Instagram and TikTok to receive a higher salary.

: Job Applicant Rejected After 5 Rounds Of Interviews Claims The Recruiter Admitted They Never Intended To Hire Externally — ‘They’re Just Playing Games’

What the job seeker knew that the recruiter didn’t know was the years of experience were impossible to meet for a hilarious reason.

Sure, it certainly feels like social media has been around for a lifetime, but take a second and think about it. Facebook, the boomer of social media, was launched in 2004. So, how old do you think Instagram and TikTok are?

“They are not going to find anyone with that amount of experience because Instagram is 14 years old and TikTok is 8 years old, so those people don’t exist,” Mazuca said.

Oops! Sounds like this company is just looking for someone who is young and hungry, but they really should have done their research before setting the salary requirements.

In regards to the job market, Mazuca sagely pointed out, “Everyone wants everything and the impossible on a shoestring budget, and never forget that.”

: Retiring Boomer Admits 4 Ways The Job Market Is More Difficult Than It Was When He Started Working 35 Years Ago

The job market has become extremely difficult to navigate.

From unrealistic requirements to multiple rounds of interviews, the job market has become impossible, and if you spend just a few minutes on LinkedIn, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

A combination of economic concerns, a new president and party coming into office, and high inflation have created a wait-and-see approach to hiring. So, while companies are able to take however long they want to hire applicants, people searching for jobs become hopeless as they go without hearing from companies for months on end.

Career coach Eliana Goldstein told Fast Company“It’s harder to get an offer these days. In the past, if you did certain steps, it was pretty much guaranteed you would get an offer. Not to say that you’re not going to get an offer now, but I do feel like timelines are a little longer.”

She went on to note, “Before, employers kind of felt like they had to just snag whatever talent they could. With the abundance of talent out there, they feel that they can feel a little bit pickier.”

If staying in your current position is not an option or you’ve been laid off, Goldstein said to try not to get discouraged. Keep applying, make sure your resume is updated and optimized, and most importantly, network. Call on people you know and ask them about openings. Ask them to introduce you to people who might be able to help, and put yourself out there.

: Recruiter Rolls Her Eyes As Candidate ‘Blames’ Their 2 Year Resume Gap On The Job Market — ‘It’s A Red Flag You Haven’t Found A Job’

Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.