What can I do differently to find employment?

3 javajosh 3 7/21/2025, 3:28:32 PM
I've been actively looking for a job for the last 18 months, and having no luck. I've applied for many roles, both directly and, occasionally, through recruiters. All of these roles were very close to my existing skillset (webapps with Java, React or Angular, microservices, k8s, distributed messaging, ETL, etc), but recieved no response.

I've signed up for various job boards (indeed, ziprecruiter, jobboutique, jobhire.ai, etc) and I only get misleading "X is interested in you!" spam email from them. I'm not sure where or how they get their data, but it seems very low quality. I've taken to only applying directly or, on occasion, through LinkedIn.

Not that long ago I would have 10 recruiters with offers in a week of showing availability on LinkedIn. Now this. I'm not averse to working harder to find a role, but now I can't even get an interview for a heads-down corporate job, let alone anything more interesting.

Any help or advice appreciated.

Comments (3)

kradeelav · 8h ago
What level are you/years of experience do you have? Advice for Manager+ is pretty different from somebody with 2 years of being an independent contributor, or none.

I've heard from several people the one somewhat reliable in is knowing somebody on the inside of the place you're applying to. At this point having somebody being able to vouch for you is helpful to separate your resume from the slosh pile.

It's rough out there. Wishing you luck.

javajosh · 7h ago
I have 25 years of experience, including at prestigious places like Blizzard and JPL. However I've worked for a variety of startups, none of which succeeded.
bavarianbob · 7h ago
Post your resume