The Job Hunt is Brutal Right Now
Been on the job market for a bit now. Let me tell you, it's not great out there. Here's what I'm seeing.
Real Talk: The Market is Rough
I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. The tech job market in 2025 is... challenging. I've been casually looking for the past few months, and what I'm experiencing is frustrating to say the least.
The Numbers Game
In the past 8 weeks, I've:
- Applied to 47 positions
- Gotten 12 automated rejections within 24 hours
- Had 4 recruiter screens
- Made it to 2 technical interviews
- Received 0 offers
And I'm not some junior dev fresh out of a bootcamp. I've got 15+ years of experience. The market just doesn't care right now.
What I'm Noticing
AI is Screening Applications
I'm 90% sure most of my applications never reach a human. The instant rejections, the generic responses... it's all automated. And honestly, I get it from the company's perspective. They're probably getting 500 applications per posting.
But it means your resume needs to be ATS-optimized, keyword-stuffed, and still somehow readable. It's exhausting.
The "Senior" Title Means Nothing
Job postings for "Senior Developer" now want:
- 10+ years experience
- Expert in 5 different frameworks
- System design experience
- Team lead experience
- Masters degree preferred
That's not a senior dev role. That's a principal engineer or architect. The title inflation is real.
Interview Processes Are Insane
For one position, the process was:
1. Recruiter screen (30 min) 2. Hiring manager call (45 min) 3. Technical phone screen (1 hour) 4. Take-home project (4-6 hours they said, took me 8) 5. Technical deep-dive on project (2 hours) 6. System design interview (1 hour) 7. Culture fit interviews x3 (3 hours)
That's like 15+ hours of interviewing. For a job that ended up going to an internal candidate.
What I'm Doing About It
Networking More
Cold applications are a black hole. I'm spending more time on:
- Discord communities (Coder Life, obviously)
- LinkedIn connections with actual conversations
- Local meetups when I can find them
Side Projects
Keeping my skills sharp and having things to talk about in interviews. My recent stuff on GitHub gives me concrete examples to discuss.
Being Picky
I've stopped applying to everything. Quality over quantity. If the job description has red flags (looking at you, "fast-paced environment" and "wear many hats"), I skip it.
To Other Job Seekers
You're not alone. This market is hard for everyone. Don't let the rejections get to you - it's a numbers game and the numbers are just bad right now.
Keep building stuff. Keep learning. The market will turn eventually.
And hey, if anyone's hiring a fullstack dev who's been around the block, hit me up 😅