u/I-Groot

My 2026 job search so far

Got laid off in may 2026

Thought I’d share my job search experience since I’ve seen a lot of people here going through something similar.

I applied to around 1000 jobs. Got responses from about 30, and around 11 companies actually turned into proper interview processes.

Here’s where things stand:
1 offer

2 still in progress

3 finished final loop but wasn’t selected

2 cleared all the rounds, but the positions were put on hold

6 rejected after the hiring manager / second round

12 rejected at the recruiter or early stage(couple of positions went on hold mid interview, two of the recruiters were laid off and my application got lost in mid interview, couple of them rejected even after clearing initial assessments)

The most frustrating part has honestly been getting pretty far into the process and then having the position put on hold. In two cases, I cleared all the rounds and then the company basically paused the position.

The interview formats were all over the place. Some focused heavily on coding and CS fundamentals, some on system design, and some went deep into my previous experience.

One thing I’ve learned from this is that getting to the final round doesn’t necessarily mean you’re close to an offer. A lot can still happen after that.
Still trying to keep going.

All my application were cold applications.

Created a master copy, then everyday I would apply 20-30 companies with tailored resume using AI. Rest I would apply using that said master resume.

Things I observed most recruiters are hard to please now. They are brining an ai note taking and pre set questions and using ai note taker to analyze and assess your answer. I had to change how I answer in order to trick the AI note taker earlier I used to talk like a 5 year old explaining my work to recruiter now I am making few points using technologies mentioned in job description and throwing jargon so AI note taker can highlight that in notes to hiring Manager, most recruiter have stopped thinking once the AI is added.

Talk about AI, if you used co-pilot mention about mcp servers, plugins it has became hiring manager wet dream now. Create couple of stories on how you automated workflows, agents in your projects.

Hi everyone,

I bought a 2 year old Ascaso Steel UNO PID and recently noticed that water drips from the steam wand while I’m pulling an espresso shot.

The strange part is that if I run the machine with an empty portafilter, there is no water leaking from the steam wand. It seems to happen only when there is coffee in the basket and the machine builds pressure.
The steam valve/knob is completely closed when this happens.

Has anyone experienced this with the Steel UNO PID?

Took a domestic flight in US this morning. Manollu em maraledu. There was a Telugu lady sitting infront in aisle seat. It wasn’t her seat the guy came and she told him to take the middle seat. He respectfully told her he paid extra for that. She was adamant then her fellow passenger called her out. It was embarrassing. She speaks good English and is in her 50s.

Ade aipoindi ventane next inko Telugu batch ochidni. Late ga ocharu andarni agam chesaru oka 4 people and 2 kids. Blocking people and asking others to switch. Desham marina padatilu marchukoru, mala India ochi foreign lo andaru rules follow avtaru ani preach chestaru.

I’m a Java full-stack developer with around 7 years of experience and have worked at a few well-known companies. My last contract ended earlier than the originally agreed end date, and I’ve now been in the job market for more than three months.

I’ve been getting some interview calls and have reached the final rounds a few times, but nothing has converted into an offer. In some cases, the position was put on hold, in others I was told an internal decision was still being made, and a couple of times they seem to have found someone more experienced willing to work for less. At the moment, my pipeline has pretty much dried up, and I’m starting to lose motivation.

I’m also getting approached by vendors for WITCH-company contracts offering around CAD 40–45/hour. For someone with 7 YOE, that feels quite low, especially considering these are often short-term contracts with little stability. I’m finding it difficult to convince myself to accept one just because I’m currently unemployed. I did that once before after being without work for more than six months, and I don’t really want to repeat the cycle.

What’s also discouraging is that compensation for some mid-level product-company roles doesn’t seem dramatically better than what these consulting companies are offering.

I’m a Canadian citizen, and my partner’s Canadian PR is currently in process. I’ve considered moving to the US, but that doesn’t seem practical because although I may be able to work on TN status, my partner would likely have to leave her current job and wouldn’t automatically have work authorization.
Because of all this, I’m seriously considering moving back to India.

Financially, we’re in a relatively comfortable position. I have around CAD 300k in savings/investments, no debt, and a fully paid-off car. My partner has another roughly CAD 200k invested.

Given the current Canadian tech market, our financial position, my experience level, and the fact that we have the option of returning to India, would moving back be a sensible decision? Or would it make more sense to stay in Canada and ride out the current job market for another 6–12 months?

2009 lo 8 class lo unapudu aindi

It was a small local school, principal gadu oka pedda haula. Apudu chusina belt toh kodutadu.

Chala sarlu tapinchukuna, one day assembly lo unapudu 8 class tapa andarini velipomamadu. Emaindo telidu but he started surprise quiz. Nenu queue lo 3 place lo una. Galeez na koduku started asking questions from the start of the line. First two students ni pichi kukka ni kotinatu kotindu next was my turn. I answered question one second question answer rale ekada belt toh kodutadu ani pant lo susu Start ainde. He saw and told me to go to washroom. Oka 2-3 drops padinai.

That was the most embarrassing moment of my life. Fortunately no one made a big deal out of it. Next year I moved out of that school. Apudaina revenge tisukovali ani anukuntunde.

Life happened moved to different country. Today I dreamt about that incident.

Wanted this off my chest so Eroju share chestuna

A third party vendor reached out for a senior Java fullstack dev role with ai integration and offered 40 CAD on T4.

I have 7 yoe and I was in disbelief when they offered that.

Requirements

System Deisgn, ci/cd pipelines, micro services , concurrency, Kafka, deployment and AWS is required for that role and front end obviously.

I 30M went on a 7 day road trip with both of them, swear I am this close to abandoning them. Okadu itinerary ki stick avadu.

I swear dude would wake up use restroom come out go outside smoke and then come back and do his morning business have a coffee then go to shower for 1 hour. Here I am trying to finish everything in 20 mins and load car with luggage so we can have a head start. Dude has sore throat and cough would smoke a cigarettes every one hour. Would chug cough syrup and then have a smoke. I am controlling myself from shouting.

After 3 day I gave up. Gf ki naku godava na outfit baledu okate mood swingsuuu. Enduku ochem em chestunam Ardam avutaledu. My gf isn’t talking to me and I have to plan everything blindly. This was meant to be stress free roadtrip. Picky eaters won’t eat local food. Would try and be like I am done need Indian food now.

Two more days and I’ll be home and need a break from people.

Finished watching it in IMAX

I was little hesitant that the narration would be slow. But screenplay was so good to keep you hook.

Tip: don’t get a cool drink you don’t want to miss anything to go to pee.

Looking for a VPSHungary any recommendations?

I have been laid off 3 weeks ago. It’s sorta demotivating me. The first few days I unwind. I started applying everywhere and got few calls and did some assessments and interviews. I am waiting to hear from one company and don’t have anything else in pipeline.

I am unsure of how to kill my day. I am hitting gym and applying Jobs.

I am unsure of what to do with rest of the day there are only certain jobs I could apply. Building a side project yet have some time.

A few weeks ago, I was driving with my girlfriend and I suddenly told her I had a bad vibe, like something bad might happen.

Since then, several difficult things have happened in a short time. My girlfriend’s grandmother passed away, then I lost my job. I fell sick twice with in a month. After that, my girlfriend’s mom had a leg issue, and today her brother got assaulted.

Ever since I said that in the car, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that maybe I somehow sensed something or that saying it was connected to what happened. Logically I know these could all be separate events, but emotionally it’s been hard not to link them together.

Has anyone else experienced something like this
having a strong bad feeling and then a bunch of bad things happen afterward? How did you deal with it without blaming yourself or spiraling?

I recently interviewed for a Java tech lead role. Had a karat round and after two days my second round with principal engineer was scheduled. It went well. Status still shows as in business review.

I was recently laid off while interviewing for this role and this is the only one in my pool at the moment.

How many rounds do Citi conducts for tech lead role? I mailed recruiter but no response it’s been 5 days.

I was laid off in 2023 and ended up taking a contract role at a bank through an Indian consulting firm via a vendor. At the time, I didn’t push back much on the pay. it was lower than my previous role, but the workload was lighter and the work-life balance was actually decent.

Now that the contract has ended, I’ve been actively applying to full-time finance/IT roles. What’s strange is I’m barely getting callbacks for permanent positions, but I am getting contacted for contract roles through the exact same vendor/consulting setup.

What’s more frustrating is the pay. I was making around $55/hr before, and now I’m getting offers in the $40–45/hr range for essentially the same type of work, despite having more experience. And these roles don’t even offer incorporation options. It feels like I’m being lowballed repeatedly, just because they’re putting my name forward.

It also feels like the hiring model has completely shifted. Banks used to hire contractors directly, but now everything seems to be funneled through companies like TCS, HCL, Accenture, or Cognizant. If you’re not coming through them, it’s much harder to get in.

Given how small the Canadian IT market already is compared to the U.S., it’s frustrating to see so much of the hiring and the margins going through these layers instead of directly to the people doing the work.

I am applying to other roles and companies but not able to avoid these vendors since they call me when they learn I have worked at the particular bank.

Engineering chesa, abroad vela, job techukuna,Pillani premcincha.

last ki Intlo chepa, oka one year nundi gaslighting, emotional drama, with lot of difficulties opukunaru but na Pelli ki ma parents ranu anaru due to love marriage and asking me to do a register marriage and later will host reception.

Mind poindi, accept chesa. Amayi intlo opinchidni. Their family agreed to come here for the wedding. I won’t have anyone for my Pelli . Ma Annaya ki kuda ishtam ledu. Sarey opinchi India lo chinnaga Pelli chesukundam anukuna time ki project end aindi inko job ostado rado ane tension lo una. Adhey time ki na gf office lo layoffs aitunai. From last couple of weeks idaram job loss aitadi ane stress lo unam. Intlo em chepali Ardam aitale, Intlo okate pressure Pelli apudu ani ipudu job potundi ani ela chepali, loans unai. pai keli Pelli karchulu unai. I would have to bear the wedding expenses as my family won’t support.

Ani set aituna time ki mala dabba padindi.

Em jeevitham ra babu.