I've been unemployed for over a year. This post might seem a rant, and probably it is, I just want to vent out my experience in this jungle called job hunting. I was laid off last year among a few other colleagues following a reorganisation that wiped off half of the development team, a year from it I am still the only one who hasn't been able to find a suitable role.
I come from a place where one of the main export products is outsourcing, and within my nationals I was able to do quite well in the RPA and automation space, nailing senior and architect roles, sometimes with multiple simultaneous offers. Until I moved to Europe, I was able to find a role at a medium-large company, the role was way less senior as roles I had back home, it felt like a relief as I got rid of a ton of stress that represented an architect role coming from working for U.S. Corporate.
While the role was not that demanding, I had quite a few other demons chasing me, the language, the work culture, being neurodivergent and facing migration, plus other personal issues derived from the process. Still managed to make it work.
Fast forward to the lay off, we had ups and downs as normal but over time we started getting less and less tasks, which lead me to believe something was cooking so I started scouting the market around 6 months before the official notice, then it all felt sudden, the notice, the rise of AI, the market shifting and me finally adapting to a new country left unemployed and up to some point underskilled.
I have been trying to land new roles ever since, gaining knowledge, improving my language domain, but still have a huge sense that the market is broken, and is really easy to feel not enough. I've been struggling to maintain my mental health and developed new coping mechanisms.
In this journey I learned quite a few things, my goal is to share my perspective and challenges, wins and coping strategies so far.
Challenges I've found
- I feel over experienced for entry roles, yet under skilled for more experienced roles
- It feels like many job posts are looking to find a finely tuned skillset leaving little to no room for skill transferability
- Language barrier, even when all internal communications are in english
- There are recruiters/companies who are just douchebags. Quoting a recruiter "Let's face it AI can do what a person can, and if AI is going to make mistakes, but people also make mistakes, it is cheaper to make mistakes with AI", was hiring for an "AI Strategist"
- Hiring managers not able to elaborate what they need
- Rejected from roles, that are filled and reopened later
What I've accomplished and learned
- How to build a CV that gets interviews
- Loose the fear of speaking on a language that I don't fully dominate
- The value of networking
- How to allow myself to feel vulnerable
- How to be humble, loose the ego
- How to ask for help
How I've been coping
- Music
- Gaming
- Sport
- Taking time for myself
- Acknowledge that I can't do everything myself
- Taking time to rest and reset
- Talking about my problems
My focus
- Improve my portfolio
- Keep upskilling
- Improve my presentation and negotiation
- Networking
It's been painful, but I'm doing my best to stay resilient. I know the right role is waiting for me, even if it involves a 180 degree shift. I hope my experience helps someone out there who is also struggling.
Top comments (1)
A year out and still feeling not enough after you were already nailing senior and architect roles back home, man that is brutal. That is not the market wiping your skill. Your subconscious decides how safe you are in a room through a filter called the RAS. New country, new language, people judging whether you belong, it reads unsafe and clamps. Knowing you can do the work does not unlock it.
You cannot logic that open with another portfolio tweak. Your brain is basically a neural network trained on every rejection and every room that felt like a test. Old data says get evaluated and it goes sideways. New data is the only update.
So get reps outside the hiring loop. Genuine compliment to a stranger. Cool shoes, nice jacket, whatever you actually notice. When that is easy, add how's your day going. Then stay in it a little longer. Does not matter how it lands. The action is the win, not the polished interview. You already started unlocking this when you lost the fear of speaking a language you do not fully dominate. Keep feeding that, and when one room gets easy find a harder one.