It certainly stinks as a software engineer laid off in January who has struggled to find work. The hiring bar is too high at every company. They’re actively looking for reasons to eliminate you rather than reasons to pass you. That mindset leads to an overly cynical evaluation. I find it crazy to be rejected before an initial screening at a company I’ve been referred to, yet it has happened a few times.

At this point I feel like I’m relying entirely on luck and hoping for someone to pay it forward by “taking a chance” on me even though I feel perfectly capable. Surely there’s a single company that I could work out for despite not having 5 years of experience.