But in the end you have to consider your past work, things you've built, and the value you've added to things. And, most of all, positive feedback you've received from colleagues or customers. I reflect on the fact that my colleagues have worked in my code, built entire new features of their own on top of it, and then vouched for me in job referrals that have their name on them. That's the most valuable confidence pill in your arsenal.
This has been me on occasion during the last couple months of searching. I've been worried that my work history was too disjointed to tell a coherent story. Or that I'm not actually as skilled as I thought. Or that some skills have atrophied. Or they just aren't in demand anymore.
I brought it up to a career coach (part of my severance package) and she seemed to think I was overqualified for a couple of them. I'm not sure that's true, and suspect she doesn't grok tech enough to make that assessment. But even if she's right, hell, something straightforward where I'm "overqualified" sounds kind of nice.
It matters a lot if the interviewer is not quizzing you on trivia or waiting for you to trip and fall.
> I feel more confident in judging their validity and my role in their outcomes… and calling out ones that are disrespectful.
I wish we could all do that! One overlooked aspect of this humiliating process is that it saps your confidence. I've seen it happen. After a bunch of failed interviews, the person starts feeling it's their fault and that they cannot possibly be good, and this informs their attitude for the next challenge, which they fail, and so on.