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Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#571

Post by queenkjuul »

Aeolun wrote: post #563
scarface_74 wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How else would someone know about me and how would I connect with them? I can change my status to “Open to Work” and have 1200 people see it My specific niche is strategy consulting along with hands on keyboard work for smaller projects and before that, I was hired at 3 separate companies by a new to the company director/CTO to lead initiatives. At that level it’s all about knowing how to “influence” and communicate.…

> experience and network How does LinkedIn factor into your experience and network is what I mean. You can’t tell me people cold call you through linkedin. If people contact you it might be through linkedin, but that’s only because their friends have been talking about you. LinkedIn isn’t what gives you work, it’s the fact that you’ve done good work for others.

Recruiters will absolutely cold call from LinkedIn, it literally happened to me this morning.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#572

Post by queenkjuul »

pluc wrote: post #457
FreakLegion wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you think all that's missing They said it's necessary, not sufficient. I have a couple dozen open roles right now, at a 50-person company. Each posting gets thousands of applications. Most are fakes, or AI-generated, or AI-generated fakes. Realistically, we're going to respond to 1%, maybe 2% of them, because again, 50-person team. Half the time, you get someone named Ralph McGuinness on for a quick code screen…

Of those 400 applications, my LinkedIn profile was viewed 16 times. LinkedIn is not as essential as everyone is trying to portray it. Especially outside of the US where people actually care about data privacy.

Every job I've applied for in the last two weeks has asked for a LinkedIn link on the application. I have more interviews this month than you've had in three years.

Just saying.

I hate LinkedIn too but i very much consider it an important part of the "finding a job post pandemic" game.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#573

Post by hlc1234 »

I feel really bad for the poster. It's quite devastating to find yourself in this situation after 25 years of experience. The job market is really competitive these days, and simply submitting a resume isn't enough to get you noticed. Leveraging your connections, asking former colleagues for recommendations, or even hiring a career coach to help you revise your resume and conduct mock interviews might help you break through faster. Come on,

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#574

Post by sanswork »

kcplate wrote: post #513
sanswork wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After that much if you're as skilled add you think you should be finding an interview coach and someone to edit your CV. Have you asked past bosses, co-workers for referrals?

> Have you asked past bosses… I am not the original commenter but I think something that younger people forget is that when you reach 2 decades or more into your career, your network starts to dry up for you. This is in addition to your skillsets and work cultural fit being suspect because of your experience and age (set in their ways, old thinking, etc…). I have been in tech for nearly 40 years. Almost every one of…

Surely your current boss or recent colleagues aren't out of the market though.

I've been developing for over 25 years and my early bosses are almost certainly retired but I still have connections from back then in colleagues that are still wording I could reach out to. Unless you stopped interacting 40 years ago you should still have current people regardless of time in the industry.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#575

Post by sanswork »

more_corn wrote: post #284
sanswork wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After that much if you're as skilled add you think you should be finding an interview coach and someone to edit your CV. Have you asked past bosses, co-workers for referrals?

Have you tried searching for a tech job? It’s not possible these days.

Plenty of people are getting hired so it's still possible but as with always a referral is the best way which is why I suggested that.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#576

Post by s5300 »

it_is_beautiful wrote: post #249
bix6 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To get out of the isolation cycle you have to stop isolating yourself. Go for a walk and talk to a stranger. I talked to a random dude for 45 mins the other day and he showed me all the fish he’s caught. Epic. Sounds like you like software. Go to a software meet up and geek out. The friends will come but even a 5 min conversation can have a huge impact on your psyche so just get out there in a way that you feel comfo…

The issue is deeper, I think. When I go to software meetups, I feel bitter. I used to have friends in technology, but most of them I cut off without a word, and those that reach out I resent. When I'm outside of my hometown, I feel like I can't relate to anyone, and when I'm back... it's hard to describe. I'd rather disappear than have anyone see or think about me. It's hard to even go get groceries now. I used to ha…

[dead]

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#577

Post by Aztar »

pluc wrote: post #112
gruin wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to ask, but is this another of those comments where there's an unmentioned criminal record lurking behind the story?

Nope

Are you by any chance applying to european jobs while residing in canada? This is a big no no. At the least you should have an address in the country you are applying for and a local phone number.

Applying with a CV from Canada with canadian details would probably eliminate you from the process early on. I say this as someone who was trying to work in the UK while living in Germany. The minute I changed address/phone things started to look better.

You may even mention this on your CV sayong that you are looking to move or already moved to that country.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#580

Post by johnh-hn »

mrbombastic wrote: post #492
johnh-hn wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the thoughtful comment. It's funny you mention this, because I've wondered about something similar. But I'm not sold on computers being controlled primarily through voice while CEOs demand a return to the office. It would make an office too noisy which makes me think remote work would be a necessary precondition for it. You're correct about becoming an independent developer though. This whole experience…

Fwiw and you probably know but being almost legally blind puts you in a protected class, most employers would make exceptions to allow you to do your job. And it would be entirely reasonable to say that you need speech to text tools to work and don’t want to bother other coworkers. Edit: was speaking from a US perspective before realizing you were in the UK, but would be surprised if you didn’t have even better prote…

Sorry for the late reply. Thank you for the consideration and for your research too. I am actually largely fine with development as a whole. I've created many workarounds that make working about as comfortable as it can be.

My current problem is different: getting interviews at all.

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