[ericmcer]

Yeah the market has been brutal since interest rates went up.

anecdotally: I applied lazily around in late 2020 and was drowning in offers from big names.

In mid 2023 I started applying again and it was absolute silence. I was a much stronger engineer, my resume was better with 2+ years at big co, but I was getting nothing. It was a huge wakeup call that your abilities are not as important as the market.

So if tech gets hot and engineers are in demand take every penny you can get, because once it cools down they will not want you.

I did eventually find another job but it took 6ish months, my advice is the obvious stuff, get your resume strong, make sure you can crush any interview you get, and lean on your network. I don't think learning new technologies or doing elaborate side projects is worth it unless you enjoy doing it.