[itstotallykyle]

Been applying since January after a startup layoff and seeing mixed results. I have 14 years of experience spanning datacenter ops, Security certs, and all 3 major clouds. I’ve led hundreds of people across multiple technical disciplines.

Right out of the gate, I was getting great callbacks and final rounds. Then, around April, the pipeline completely dried up. I’m doing the work for EVERY application like generating custom resumes, tailored cover letters matching their culture, and engaging with leadership on LinkedIn.

I’m down to one lead at my partner’s company, but it’s a long shot. It feels like a lot of DevOps/SecOps/IT leadership roles are evaporating. Partially because companies are over-indexing on AI/LLMs to handle architecture complexity without realizing what those tools actually lack in practice.

After climbing the ladder for over a decade, I’m worried about the future of the market, but I’m not ready to stop fighting. Has anyone else with a leadership/infra background hit this exact same wall since April? How are you pivoting your approach?

[nigel41]

Keep working the process. It sounds like you're doing all the right things with custom applications. One thing I've found helpful for getting past those initial HR filters is really dissecting the job descriptions for keywords they're looking for - and extending your professional narrative arc to the priorities, investments, values, direction, etc. as articulated by the C-suite (know your target better than any competing applicant). A tool like ApplicantPrime can help with that (free, btw), basically reverse-engineering what the company's ATS and hiring managers are likely looking for. It might help give your tailored resumes an extra edge.

[interactivecode]

Wondering what happened in April, around that time layoffs started including at my job. No reason at all aside from “AI” and the C suite wanting larger profits.

[untrust]

April is the start of the second fiscal quarter, so companies had completed Q1 and were doing quarterly earnings reports. The stock market was trending downward all of Q1, so it was probably an attempt to reduce costs to ensure that Q2 would have better numbers for the Q2 earnings reports.

[confidantlake]

If you are leading hundreds of people then you really should not be cold applying to jobs. Someone in your network should bring you onto their team.