The job market is so crazy nowadays!

The job market is so crazy nowadays!

I've been applying and interviewing since October 2024. I got through to several recruiters who told me they would pass my resume to a HM, only to go cold after that. Whenever I would follow up, they respond with an automated rejection email.

I've gotten to the HM interview stage a couple of times but I never seem to get past that stage.

To be fair, I've interviewed (and got rejected) for several roles that are currently still open after weeks/months so that makes me think it's not all my fault. I've also been in situations where the HM left the company in the middle of the application process and there was one instance where the entire team got laid off.

However, there are 2 roles for which I thought I would have been the perfect candidate so I was curious to see who ended up getting the role. Turns out that in both cases, these were people with far less experience than me (only 2-3 years experience in my field). Looking at their LI profiles, I'm not sure I would have even given these people a chance for an interview if I had been the HM.

For reference, I'm at senior manager level and only apply to Sr. Mgr roles, requiring at least 5-7 years experience. I have about 8 years experience in my field (marketing) and industry (tech).