Of the people I know who got laid off in the last year, pretty much everyone got a job after seriously pursuing one for 3 or 4 months. By seriously pursuing I mean preparing, applying, networking, and interviewing for >20 hours per week. If you aren’t talking to people in your network to find warm leads and obtain referrals and introductions, you’re doing it wrong.

Things seem toughest for the very young. If you have <2 years of experience and get laid off, you are neither new nor experienced. That seems like a tough sell. Companies have a pipeline of new grads for junior roles and are hesitant to give bigger titles to people that are still relatively inexperienced. This goes double for anyone afflicted with imposter syndrome and unable to tell the story of their experience with a bit of salesmanship.

Also, even though more experienced folk are in great demand in general, finding the right role that aligns your interests and expertise with what a company needs and values is still a lot of work. You may be awesome, but you aren’t as interchangeable as somebody with say 4-8 years of experience. For leadership roles (staff+) hiring managers can get very picky and specific about what they want to see.

It’s best not to get discouraged by this but just recognize the rejections as a necessary step in the process.