Posted this comment on a previous thread. Recently switched jobs. About to start week 9. 40+ years of experience. Strong LinkedIn profile. Tired Github profile that needs an update.
I applied for only one job at the insistence of my wife because it was with a renowned company. I had to actually write out a C.V. to apply, and as of today, nine weeks into my new job, 13+ weeks later, my application is "still under review" according to the internal recruiter/manager. All other companies I spoke with were inbound leads.
I had, and still have, a lot of technical recruiters reaching out to me. Almost all of them failed to garner my interest based on a few simple questions I asked right up front. Before agreeing to interview, or even "sending over a resume" I prequalified all of the positions to ensure that it involved remote work and that the pay was within a range I was willing to accept. "Is this position remote? Or on-site? What is the pay range for this position?" A large proportion of the people who reached out did not respond to the questions, and of those that did, several gave responses that were immediate red flags or immediate rejections from me.
I interviewed with a FANGMAN company, on the recommendation of a friend, and I ultimately turned down the offer, but had it not been for my friend's insistence who works at the FANG, to "keep going" through the interview, I would have simply stopped the interview, and in fact thought about doing so several times. Whiteboarding and take-homes for people with decades of proven and verifiable experience and a couple of master's in computer subjects is still apparently a thing "to verify you know how to write code."
I had an interview lined up with another FANGMAN, which was to be a full day of "first round interviews" and then two full days with different teams to figure out where I would go. I withdrew my application once I accepted the offer for my current (new) position. The second was not a company I was interestd in, but they were doing interesting things in augmented reality.
I put in my two weeks notice, and the company I was working for made a counter-offer. Absurdly almost two hours after my last day on the job.
In all I had five offers on the table, at base compensation of $100K (absolutely absurd interview with a low-ball offer even after pre-qualifying the company to make sure the compensation was in the ballpark), $120K (reasonable interview, low-ball offer even after pre-qualifying), $150K (45 minute interview, knew the size of the offer going in, interesting work), $230K (a quick chat, then four hours of shooting the shit, exceptionally interesting work) and $260K (two full days, whiteboarding and take home (which I refused to do), career advancement).
My current position I didn't even apply for, and I don't think anyone even looked at the C.V. I got the job because of an old colleague who said "are you looking?" Having a strong network is important. My last two jobs, not including this one, both came the same way.
Total search time was from late June to mid-August. Maybe eight weeks total. I was being extremely picky with regard which companies I talked too.