I work in tech and I've been unemployed for about 1.5 months now and have been interviewing like crazy. Despite having five years in my field, I haven't gotten past round 2 for most employers (not to mention so many companies nowadays demand you do online assessments before you even get to speak with a person) because there are two disciplines in my career. Without giving anything away, I've primarily focused on discipline A up till now because those were the roles I've been offered and there was never any room for me to tackle discipline B type of work. Needless to say, I've been looking for an employer who would be willing to train me in discipline B, and I've also been studying on my own. I'm very upfront about my experience and what I bring to the table, as well as offer contact information if they ask to speak with former employers. I told these guys “Hey, this is what I know, and here's a track record which shows that if I am placed in a position where I can learn, then I'll be able to master discipline B in no time!” The team lead also told me how much he appreciated that I mentioned this to him, because apparently they're a big believer of offering training to current employees and building them up. This was a sentiment which was echoed by all the team members as well.
The last interview I had was 2 hours long, and I spoke to four team members for half an hour each. This was after a 30 minute HR call a month ago and a 1 hour long zoom interview with the department head. It didn't even take a full week for them to come back with my rejection letter, which was the most stunning part because they warned me ahead of time I'd probably hear something back around Friday.
The thing is, I'm not even mad at this specific company. Everyone I interviewed was super nice, down to earth, informative, and seemed like they liked what I had to offer. I get it… it's just business and they have to do what's best for them as I have to do what's best for me. But it still SUCKED getting that rejection email. I normally know better than to get too invested in any one business or job, but this seemed like a great opportunity to really get a well rounded experience in my field. It seemed like the type of job I could stay at for a while. Yes, I know you're supposed to job hob every two years or so, but right now I'm looking for stability more than anything else. The pay was average but still better than my last job. It was also a full-time remote job which would have allowed me to relocate to any state within the U.S. This was important because I recently moved in with my family to help them out, but I don't want to stay in this state. I'd like the flexibility of being able to relocate. I have another 2nd round interview tomorrow elsewhere, and I'm waiting to hear back from a place this week that I did 4 interviews at (right before giving me an offer, the position was frozen and instead another similar role was opened in a different department. So I had basically the same 3rd round interview with new faces.
It's such a scam that so much of our basic survival needs depend on what amounts to patronage by companies. Without selling off the majority of your life to them, you're stuck in life and can't move forward. Worse, you won't be able to afford the basic survival needs like food, water, shelter, healthcare. I have another friend who's also struggling to find a job and he needs insurance because of specific health issues. So for in order for him to live, he has to basically pray that a company will agree to buying his life and time for their needs. It's ridiculous. I'm gonna prep for tomorrow's interview and hope for the best, but I'm so disheartened right now.
EDIT: Before anyone mentions it, I am applying both to full-time remote jobs as well as in-person jobs… although let's be honest. In my field, in-person jobs are a relic.