Things have been getting a little better at my job lately — at least, I don’t feel like a complete failure anymore — but I’m still looking for something that is more aligned to my skills and talents (and pays closer to what I was making before I got laid off; my current job was taken at a 29% pay cut). Recently a friend of mine mentioned that their job was looking for someone new for a role that they thought would be great for me, and they even put my resume in front of the hiring manager, who said I should apply when the roles became available on the job site.

So I did.

Unfortunately, the job site didn’t have a place to put where I was referred from, so I couldn’t put in my friend’s name. But I told them, and they passed that info onto the hiring manager.

I made it past the first round of screening, which means I got an email that said “you are still in consideration; please be patient”. So I was patient.

But then I got the email that said I wasn’t selected for an interview.

Damn it. I had really high hopes that I’d at least get in front of a human, because once I get in front of a human I interview extremely well and usually get to the third or final round before getting rejected.

It’s virtually impossible these days to get a job without knowing someone working there. I keep applying, keep getting rejected by the employer’s AI. When I get an in, I take it, and I get rejected anyway. But I guess it could be worse; I have a new coworker making the same as I am but in his previous role he reported directly to the CTO, which suggests he was making at least double the salary we’re getting now. People at those high levels are taking all the mid-level jobs now after being laid off, which leaves nowhere for mid-level career path people to go — they can’t move up, and they can’t move around. They’re stuck.

Better get used to disappointment.