Finding Work When the Job Market is Bad

How I worked through difficult conditions to land a new job in a new industry

General

In late 2023, I decided it was time to move on from my position of seven years and search for a new opportunity. I had worked in media most of my career and built up a network of great colleagues and connections in the space. Although I learned the ins and outs of the business, I became interested in developing new skills in a new industry.

Since most of my connections were still in the media industry, I decided to do things the hard way. That meant looking outside my network—my applications were completely cold introductions and went right into the applicant tracking system. Making matters worse, I also started searching when there wasn't much hiring going on. According to layoffs.fyi, there were 1,193 tech companies with layoffs and 264,220 employees laid off in 2023. Not only was there an influx of people looking for jobs due to these layoffs, but the number of new job postings was also declining.

Looking Where Everyone Else Looks

I began my search on LinkedIn and Indeed, searching for jobs like pretty much everyone else does. I had a few things on my wishlist. My must-haves were a remote position with good work-life balance and a competitive salary. I wanted either a dedicated web performance role in any industry or to pivot to an industry that did societal good, like health and wellness or climate. Other than that, I was open to positions like engineering manager, staff+ engineer, or senior engineer roles.

Having hired people at my last job, I knew that the positions on LinkedIn and Indeed had thousands of applicants within hours of being listed, especially for remote positions where the applicants weren't limited by geography. I also knew most of these applicants weren't qualified, often with offshore agencies "applying" for a single, full-time, direct-hire role. Unfortunately, these unqualified applicants added noise to the screening process and made it more difficult to identify the qualified candidates.

The key is that you have to get your application in early because companies can only bring in so many people for an interview. Even if you're qualified and a great fit, you have to get in early to reserve your place "in line." This was difficult to do because I was limited to applying to positions after my workday was over.

When it's that competitive, timing also matters because you want to make it through to the end of the screening process before others do. Oftentimes, there is only one opening, and companies aren't going to let a good candidate walk in hopes of finding someone slightly better down the line. They're going to extend an offer to the first candidate they are satisfied with, and if you take your time going through the process, someone might beat you to the finish line.

Finding a Way to Limit the Competition

Before applying to any position, I made sure to evaluate the job posting to make sure it sounded interesting and did some cursory research on the company. If it still sounded interesting, I used enhancv to tailor a resume for every job posting and wrote a unique, targeted cover letter for every single application. It took me about an hour to complete a single application, and I wanted to make sure the time I spent applying had a good return on the time I invested.

I had a 16:1 application-to-first-interview ratio on LinkedIn and Indeed, and by focusing on smaller job boards, that ratio improved to 10:1. Some of the boards I checked included:

Even Less Competition

Even at 10:1, that still wasn't great. I had already been searching for about four months at this point, and I was hoping to improve on that number even more. In my case, I was targeting the health and wellness industry, so I wondered what would happen if I threw myself into the industry like I already belonged there. I started reading the following sites to learn about noteworthy developments:

These sites didn't have job postings directly, but what they did have were announcements about companies that had raised funding recently. If a company raises funding, they are probably preparing for growth shortly after—which usually means new job opportunities.

I began compiling a spreadsheet of each of these companies, and I visited their careers pages directly to see when jobs opened up. I applied to several positions in this manner and got an interview for every single one of them. I felt like I was onto something with this approach.

I happened to come across an article on one of these sites that mentioned an engineering manager at a company called AdHoc, which worked on va.gov. I got an interview and was impressed by how they approached government services as digital products. I didn't get the job there, but I learned enough about being a contractor for the federal government through that process that it caught my interest.

I wondered if there were other companies that approached product development in the same way. I started to research the space and learned about a site called GovTribe, which had a profile on AdHoc and an index of similar companies. I compiled a list by clicking around on the GovTribe site and started investigating each company.

I eventually came across one that mentioned they were part of something called the "Digital Services Coalition." I then began researching other member organizations, and that's how I found out about Flexion. As I was on their careers page, I learned that they had an open full-stack engineer position. I applied, and after a reasonable three rounds of interviews, I accepted their offer.

Conclusion

The job hunt can be frustrating. However, persistence, creativity, and a willingness to step outside of conventional methods can make all the difference. By tailoring applications, exploring smaller job boards, directly researching industries of interest, and staying proactive in finding opportunities where competition is less intense, I was able to navigate the challenging circumstances and secure a fulfilling role in a new and exciting field.