It's not like I haven't been applying to jobs. At this point, it's actually part of my daily routine to log on to various job sites every morning and go on an application spree. But, usually, I never hear back from any jobs I apply to, or if I do hear back, it's a rejection email 3 months later.
In total, I've had 1 interview through traditional job applications in the past year, and 2 interviews from talking to people on HN. (thanks HN!)
This is just crazy to me. Back when I properly got into the industry (circa 2022) I could land an interview every couple of weeks. But now, there's nothing. As far as I can tell, my resume and CV are both good (I've received feedback from several different people), and I think I'm OK at writing cover letters. It sort of feels like nobody is looking at my applications or anything. I'm curious if anyone has some insight into this beyond "there's a recession"?
It's getting pretty bad out here y'all, I'm running out of instant ramen and my wife's boyfriend says I have to stop asking him for money.
mmarian•7h ago
Are you going for junior dev roles? If you're not getting them, maybe consider applying to tech adjacent roles (IT, customer support at tech companies, etc)?
Arch485•7h ago
> I'm struggling to figure out what you're good at
Can it not be all of them? :p
That's one of my big challenges with resumes. People assume I can only be good at one thing and/or assume that I'm lying about my work experience.
I can get _really good_ references from all of my previous employers (because I am legitimately good at everything on my resume), but I never seem to get to that point.
Historically, if I get a technical interview, I get the job every time. The challenge is getting the technical interview.
wilkommen•3h ago
wilkommen•3h ago
FloorEgg•1h ago
It's the same for products. Products with very narrow niche value props are immediately attractive to the few people with those specific needs. When you sound like everything to everyone, people are naturally less likely to believe you and the only way around that is a strong recommendation/referral. (Not a name you list on resume, but someone the hiring person trusts saying "you should really consider hiring this person, they are exceptional").
The more specifically relevant you can be to their needs, the more you will stand out.
This is as true for products as it is for resumes, especially when considering that people "hire" products.
3rodents•1h ago
A person should be able to look at your resume and visualise what you have done and what you could do for them. What game(s) did you work on? What PHP frameworks did you work with? What were the internal tools you built?
“We need someone to do x, is this the resume of someone who can do x?”
The job market is tough and fixing your resume might not be a silver bullet but it is at least something actionable :)