1,000+ applications, 2 interviews. Then 3 weeks on Arette.

Oyewole olusoji — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 17:54:53 +0000

One of our users spent 6 months applying for design roles. More than 1,000 applications led to 2 interviews. Then they joined Arette, and 3 weeks later they were hired.
We don't think the lesson is "apply more." Job boards reward volume, and that wears people down. On Arette, you show your projects, employers see real work, and Maya helps you tailor your resume to each role.

Here is what he did differently. Instead of sending the same CV everywhere, he asked Maya, our AI, to tailor his resume. Then he asked Maya to suggest jobs that matched it best, and he applied to those. Three weeks later, he was hired.

If you are tired of the numbers game, join Arette at usearette.com. List a service too, and share your instant offer link anywhere, with 0% fee when a buyer checks out through it.

1,000+ applications, 2 interviews, then a UI/UX design job in 3 weeks on Arett

Oyewole olusoji — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:38:32 +0000

A UI/UX designer in our community spent six months looking for a job. In that time they sent more than a thousand applications and got two interviews and No offers.

Their portfolio was not the problem, two other things were.

Fake jobs... many listings on the big boards were not real. Some were old, some were collecting CVs, and some never had an open role. A big share of their applications went into listings that were never going anywhere.

Real design jobs got hundreds of applicants within hours. In a pile that big, good work often never gets seen.

Six months of this wears you down. You start to think the problem is you, and usually it isn't.

Then they joined Arette. Three weeks later, they got their dream job.

I'm the founder of Arette, so I'm not neutral, and I won't claim Arette was the only reason. They did the work and passed the interviews. But their story shows what we built Arette to fix.

Arette is a tech talent platform with a jobs board, a place to showcase your projects, and a vetted talent pipeline for employers. For a designer, this matters a lot. A CV cannot show how you think, but a case study can. On Arette, employers see real work before they ever talk to you.

If you are stuck in the same loop, here is what I would take from this story. Apply to fewer jobs and choose the real ones. Put your best work where hiring people can see it. And look for places where employers come to find talent, not only to post listings.

You can see how it works here: https://arette.xyz/jobs

Have you been through a long job search? I would like to hear what it was like.

DEV Community: Oyewole olusoji

1,000+ applications, 2 interviews. Then 3 weeks on Arette.

1,000+ applications, 2 interviews, then a UI/UX design job in 3 weeks on Arett