after over a year of on-and-off applying to jobs, spiraling, convincing myself i wasn’t good enough, quitting, and then dragging myself back to try again… i finally signed a job offer today.
i applied to a little over 90 jobs. i know that’s not “a lot” by today’s standards where people are sending out thousands, but honestly i’d burn out hard. i have a full-time job, so every time i’d come home and open another application, it felt like a second shift. i’d get a wave of motivation, apply to a bunch, then crash for weeks (or months) because i was so over it. plus, since i was employed (even though i wasn't super happy there), the motivation was much lower.
out of all those applications, i got 4 interview requests.
one of them offered me 10k less than what i currently make (while being a 5days/week in-office role in a much larger city than mine), while expecting way more and giving off very obvious toxic vibes. that one almost made me question everything because i was like… is this what i’m worth in this market?? is this it??
of course, there were the several several rejections. some companies straight up ghosted, others sent rejection emails 2–3 months later like ??? thanks i guess??
there were so many moments where i genuinely thought: maybe this is it. maybe i’m just stuck in my current job forever.
and then this one randomly happened, and so smoothly.
applied march 23 → they reached out april 1 → interview april 10 → references requested april 17 → references called april 22 → written offer april 24.
and they even increased the starting salary after i negotiated, which still feels fake to type.
i don’t fully buy into the whole “everything happens for a reason” thing, but i do think timing matters a lot. i’m moving to a big city (something i’ve wanted for so long), starting a new role, and for the first time in a while i feel like i’m not stuck.
if i could send advice back to myself a few months ago:
anyway. if you’re in the middle of it and feel like it’s not working, i get it. i just wanted to share some hope as the weather gets warmer and i hope it brings good luck to anyone reading!! if you have questions, let me know!