rage applying

Rage applying means applying for lots of jobs in one go because you’re fed up with your current one. It usually happens right after a frustrating day, a bad meeting or a disappointing pay review.

What rage applying means

Instead of quietly stewing, a rage applier opens a job site and sends off application after application. It’s partly venting, partly a genuine attempt to find something better, and sometimes it works: a new offer can be leverage for a raise or a ticket out.

Examples

• “My boss took credit for my project again, so I spent the night rage applying.”
• “Rage applied to 20 jobs, got three interviews.”
• “Don’t rage apply to jobs you’d hate even more.”

Does it work?

It can, if you still apply to roles that actually fit. The burst of motivation is useful; firing off applications to jobs you’d hate just as much isn’t.

Where rage applying comes from

The term took off after a TikTok posted in early December 2022 by a Canadian marketing professional who goes by Redweez. According to Fortune, she said she had “rage-applied to, like, 15 jobs” after a frustrating day and landed a new job with a $25,000 raise; the video passed two million views within weeks, and CNBC and other outlets covered the trend in January 2023.

Related terms

• Rage quit: quitting a game in anger.
• Quiet quitting: doing only the minimum.
• Loud quitting: open, active disengagement.
• Side hustle: paid work on top of your main job.

More workplace terms in our work and money slang guide.