Remembering the dot-com crash of '01, when the tech jobs aint there, they simply aint there, and no amount of c.v / resume polishing will change that. No-one should take this personally. At times like that its maybe best to do something else to earn a living. 2001-3 I did a couple of ski seasons in a hotel, unrelated to tech. In early 2004 got a not-fantastically-paid-but-using-good-skills job with a startup, then mid-2005 a new job with a return to "proper rewards that recognised my skills". So, sometimes that market is down, and you gotta be flexible. People worry about forgetting all their skills. That didn't really happen to me, but I mucked about with Linux on the side, and that was useful for getting the next job. Not sure what today's equivalent is. AI muddies the waters here. Of course, when you have a family, being without tech compensation can be a problem. My answer to that is, its essential when entering the tech industry, to recognise it as a "feast-and-famine" / "manic-depressive" industry. One day it pays big bucks. Next day no jobs. So, manage expenses and financial commitment accordingly and put something aside.
Yup. The challenge I think a lot of people are having is that ‘01 was 24 years ago, so for a sizable percentage of the industry (80-90%?) it’s outside of their living memory. Certainly outside of their professional experience.
It’s a harsh change from the prior ‘always get a raise when you change jobs, barely have to interview, change jobs every year’ type bubble that has been expanding for a very long time.