I’ve been doing the job hunt all wrong.
Like many of you, I’ve been on the hunt for a few months now and it can be exhausting. Sending application after application and hearing nothing back is demoralizing.
A few weeks ago, I attended the Commit Your Code tech conference in Frisco, TX, and it truly changed everything for me. I met an incredible community of developers helping each other learn, grow, and navigate today’s job market, especially through the 100Devs and CYC Discords.
I’ve been in the industry for over six years, but the most important thing I’ve learned recently wasn’t technical — it was personal.
I realized I’d been naive about how the job hunt actually works now.
Back in 2021, when dev demand was at an all time high, I was spoiled. I didn’t have to apply for jobs. A friend made an intro, I interviewed, and BOOM, hired immediately. For better or worse, that market’s gone now, and for a while, I was still acting like it wasn’t.
I’ve had to accept that I can’t take employability for granted anymore. The game has changed. I need to be proactive in new ways: by networking intentionally, building real connections, and creating a visible online presence.
This shift hasn’t exactly been intuitive for me. Funny enough, we’re expected to pivot constantly on the job, by learning new stacks and new systems; when it comes to our own careers, that same adaptability can be hard to find.
But here’s the thing: problem-solving is what we do.
Does this market kind of suck? Absolutely.
Can we master it like any other new challenge? Definitely.
So if you’re out there grinding, wondering if it’s still possible, know that I think it is. Rethink your strategy. Build proof. Connect with people who are learning and sharing too.
It’s not easy work, but it beats sending 1,000 applications into the void. You’ve got this. 👊
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