I was laid off in October. I have a computer science degree, 3 years of experience, and honestly thought I’d find something within a month.

Six months later I’m still here.

I’ve sent somewhere around 700 applications. I’ve had maybe 11 callbacks. Landed 4 actual interviews. Got no offers.

For a while I thought it was my resume. Rewrote it three times. Then I thought it was my cover letters. Spent hours personalizing each one. Then I thought maybe I was aiming too high. Started applying to roles I was overqualified for.

Nothing changed.

What I’ve realized recently is that timing is everything and I was always late. By the time I found a job posting, researched the company, tailored my resume and actually applied — the role had been live for 2 weeks and already had hundreds of applicants. Recruiters don’t even scroll that far down.

I also just burn out. Some weeks I’d apply to 30 jobs. Other weeks I could barely open my laptop.

Inconsistency killed me more than anything else.

Anyway. Still looking. If anyone has any advice or is going through the same thing just know you’re not alone. This process is genuinely brutal and it’s not always about how good you are.