Job searching with one year of experience

[astral canopy]

Hi all. Looking for some advice here. Graduated college with BS in Computer Science in May 2022. Worked for a year straight out of college at a Big 4 firm and have recently been laid off. The issue I'm facing in my job search is that it seems that most roles (at least at the moment) are either looking for soon-to-be grads or people with 2-3 years experience minimum. Have gotten declined by 5 companies so far before even getting an interview. Kind of feel like I'm stuck in a pretty shitty middle area. Any words of advice? Thanks!

[frozen merlin]

just apply to the job anyway

if it says 2-3, just apply

if u read the job descrip and genuinely feel like u could do it, just apply

literally no harm in applying

worst case scenario, u wasted a couplle minutes out of your day (resume reject), or maybe even make it to the interview portion (free interview experience)

[flint acorn]

I'm ngl I did this and I got rejected a shit ton and it's really not fun lol

It definitely feels like a waste of time to apply for those roles after the 20th rejection, where it's clear that even if you pass whatever technical tests, it's still not enough because there is that guy that actually has 3 yoe and knows more than you

[flint acorn]

All I can say is yes it is probably the worst spot to be in right now in the industry. New grads have it easier right now. You will get rejected by far more than 5 companies, more like 1 thousand

Unless you're US or have a friend whose company is hiring urgently

If your resume is getting interviews (like 1 or 2 interviews a month, 100+ applications a month) then imo you're doing great, nothing more you can really do except keep applying, keep grinding technical skills

The good news is there are practically infinite jobs out there to apply to, so you can always keep applying

[frozen merlin]

i guess it depends on ur mental fortitude and own goals. If youre going for quantity and tryna just get anything then spamming jobs like that is probably the best way to get velocity

[astral canopy]

Thanks all. Yeah, seems as though i'm in a purgatory right now. Will just keep churning out applications and hope for the best

[frail yacht]

20 percent interview return rate is great when 5-10 percent is considered "normal" but you probably need more data.

what kind of response do you get if you reach out to recrutiers on linkedin? or if you ask an engineer at a target company to talk to you, do they do it?