u/WINH4X

I've been working as a full-stack developer for years (8 YOE), and I've honestly never struggled to find work before. Two years ago, it took me around 50 tailored applications to land a new job. This time, it took over 300. And these weren't random applications.

I only applied to jobs that genuinely matched my background. I tailored my resume for every single position, wrote a custom cover letter based on the job description, and even sent follow-up emails. The whole process took about three months.

Job hunting has basically become a full-time job. I used a tool to generate a tailored resume, cover letter, and follow-up email for each application, and even with that, it still took a ridiculous amount of time. On top of that, I was interviewing almost every day. That was pretty much my routine for three straight months.

After 300 tailored applications, I ended up with only two offers. One was a solid full-time position. The other was just a small freelance project, which I don't even really count.

Honestly, if I had less experience or wasn't putting so much effort into every application, I'm not sure I would've gotten even those.

With one company, I made it all the way to the fifth interview. I was convinced I had it. I even had an employee there refer me internally. Still got rejected after the fifth round.

If you're employed right now, don't assume you'll be able to find something else quickly if you leave. The market has changed a lot, and finding another job may take much longer than you expect.

If you already have a job, don't quit until you have another one lined up. Seriously. Hold onto it.

I've been working as a full-stack developer for years, and I've honestly never struggled to find work before. Two years ago, it took me around 50 applications to land a new job. This time, it took over 300.

And these weren't random applications.

I only applied to jobs that genuinely matched my background. I tailored my resume for every single position, wrote a custom cover letter based on the job description, and even sent follow-up emails. The whole process took about three months.

After 300 tailored applications, I ended up with only two offers. One was a solid full-time position. The other was just a small freelance project, which I don't even really count.

Honestly, if I had less experience or wasn't putting so much effort into every application, I'm not sure I would've gotten even those.

With one company, I made it all the way to the fifth interview. I was convinced I had it. I even had an employee there refer me internally. Still got rejected after the fifth round.

For almost three months, my days were basically nothing but interviews.

I posted about my experience recently because I thought the market couldn't get much worse than what I'd been through. Then I started reading the replies.

There were people who had been searching for a year or more. Some had sent well over a thousand tailored applications and were still looking. That honestly put things into perspective for me.

I still think the market is in a really bad place, but after reading those stories, I realized I was luckier than I felt at the time.

I also think AI is going to impact white-collar jobs much faster than most people expect. Companies are already becoming far more selective, hiring fewer people, and expecting candidates to check every possible box.

If you're employed right now, don't assume you'll be able to find something else quickly if you leave. The market has changed a lot, and finding another job may take much longer than you expect.

I've seen a lot of people asking whether tailoring your resume is actually worth the effort, so I figured I'd share my experience.

Over the last three months, I applied to about 300 jobs. I didn't spray the same resume everywhere. Every application got its own version of my resume, a custom cover letter, and if I could, I'd send a follow-up email too.

I wasn't applying to random jobs either. I'm a full-stack developer, so I stuck to roles that were actually a good fit for my experience.

The final numbers looked like this:

• 300 tailored applications
• 33 interviews
• 1 full-time offer
• 1 small freelance project (I don't really count that one)

A couple of years ago, I found a job after maybe 50 applications. This time it took six times that.

One company put me through five interview rounds. I even had an internal referral there. Thought I had it in the bag. Rejected after the last interview.

Honestly, I think tailoring my resume is the only reason I got as many interviews as I did. If I'd been sending the same generic resume everywhere, I doubt I would've made it to 33 interviews.

That said... even doing everything people recommend doesn't mean you'll get an offer anymore. The market feels completely different now. Companies seem way pickier than they used to be, and hiring processes are dragging on forever.

I'm curious what everyone else is seeing.

For the people here who tailor every resume, are your results any better?

Edit:
free job tracker
application kit generator(premium). you just paste the job posting URL and it generates a tailored resume (ats hacked), cover letter, and follow-up email.

If you already have a job, don't quit until you have another one lined up. Seriously. Hold onto it.

I've been working as a full-stack developer for years, and I've honestly never struggled to find work before. Two years ago, it took me around 50 applications to land a new job. This time, it took over 300.

And these weren't random applications.

I only applied to jobs that genuinely matched my background. I tailored my resume for every single position, wrote a custom cover letter based on the job description, and even sent follow-up emails. The whole process took about three months.

After 300 tailored applications, I ended up with only two offers. One was a solid full-time position. The other was just a small freelance project, which I don't even really count.

Honestly, if I had less experience or wasn't putting so much effort into every application, I'm not sure I would've gotten even those.

With one company, I made it all the way to the fifth interview. I was convinced I had it. I even had an employee there refer me internally. Still got rejected after the fifth round.

For almost three months, my days were basically nothing but interviews.

I also think AI is going to impact white-collar jobs much faster than most people expect. Companies are already becoming far more selective, hiring fewer people, and expecting candidates to check every possible box.

If you're employed right now, don't assume you'll be able to find something else quickly if you leave. The market has changed a lot, and finding another job may take much longer than you expect.

If you already have a job, don't quit until you have another one lined up. Seriously. Hold onto it.

I've been working as a full-stack developer for years, and I've honestly never struggled to find work before. Two years ago, it took me around 50 applications to land a new job. This time, it took over 300.

And these weren't random applications.

I only applied to jobs that genuinely matched my background. I tailored my resume for every single position, wrote a custom cover letter based on the job description, and even sent follow-up emails. The whole process took about three months.

After 300 tailored applications, I ended up with only two offers. One was a solid full-time position. The other was just a small freelance project, which I don't even really count.

Honestly, if I had less experience or wasn't putting so much effort into every application, I'm not sure I would've gotten even those.

With one company, I made it all the way to the fifth interview. I was convinced I had it. I even had an employee there refer me internally. Still got rejected after the fifth round.

For almost three months, my days were basically nothing but interviews.

I also think AI is going to impact white-collar jobs much faster than most people expect. Companies are already becoming far more selective, hiring fewer people, and expecting candidates to check every possible box.

If you're employed right now, don't assume you'll be able to find something else quickly if you leave. The market has changed a lot, and finding another job may take much longer than you expect.