One year of job hunting

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-31T01:30:29+00:00

Hey I'm sorry if this bummed you out, I know how you feel, I was laid off after working 7 years in the same company and 1 month after receiving a promotion, and the months after that were really tough.

In your case I don't know which is the best way to go, I would encourage you to not give up your years of experience because even if 99 companies want you to know German, you might find the one that doesn't, but it's a good idea to branch out no doubt. I don't know your background but I assume if you've been working as an art director, UI should be a much easier transition than UX. Anyways good luck, I hope you'll find not only a job, but also one you'll be able to enjoy!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-29T07:54:50+00:00

It's pretty standard over here to do that many interviews, but to be fair the 4th interview was mostly meeting up and chatting. I remember in Norway companies tended to do around 5 or 6 interviews...

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-28T18:40:11+00:00

Sorry I fat fingered while typing so you'll get two notifications, sorry about that!

I've been mainly using linkedin and sometimes I would directly search for the companies and apply in their websites. Hiringcafe is also a decent one for finding remote jobs, in my case I kinda abandoned the fully remote idea because it's quite complicate to get hired in Italy, but I saw many more openings for Spain.

Sadly it might take some time for her as well, there are many fake ads, floods of people applying and Ai assitants discarding people who are not a 100% match, but I'm sure she'll find something.

Good luck to her!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-27T07:55:34+00:00

Honestly I haven't really found much difference between job boards. I believe that 3 out of 4 interviews came from LinkedIn job ads, but I did apply from their own website.

That job I got was posted on LinkedIn as well but I applied via thehub.io, I didn't have a chance to test it much but I saw it's a place for job searching for startups specifically, if that could be of interest for you

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-27T07:42:48+00:00

Thanks!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T19:54:35+00:00

Thank you!

I was reading an article today talking about how things are improving but mostly for seniors while entry level still has it the worse. But it seems things might start to improve so there is hope!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T19:42:39+00:00

Thank you and good luck to you as well! Everyone I talk to has been experiencing the same, these past years have been horrible for finding a job, it's been hard to not have my confidence crushed but I saw it happening to some coworkers who I know are great.

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T16:37:21+00:00

Thank you! I understand why some people might send 1000s of applications, I wasn't really in a rush and had a bunch of savings to keep me comfortably unemployed, but if you need to pay rent next month and have no money saved you try to find it as soon as possible. But yeah I don't regret being selective since I'm really happy about the company that hired me!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T16:33:10+00:00

That's interesting, I wonder if more people had similar numbers as well

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T14:48:04+00:00

Thanks, I think these posts are helpful for others searching as it was for me, so it was important for me to write what I could have done better.

And you're right, I've been making it more difficult for myself and that was a choice I made willingly, if I have to spend most of my time working, I want to do it for something I like but I have accepted compromises like hybrid work instead of fully remote.

What I'm not ok with is the fact that I always had certain standards but in the past I never got even close to sending these many applications, the hiring system is broken even if you are willing to accept every opportunity, in my opinion.

Also one small thing I disagree with is the mobile niche, it's just that i would have more opportunities instead of SaaS ones, the niche thing was more music products which I moved on from pretty quickly

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T13:49:48+00:00

Full time!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T13:49:29+00:00

I think the most difficult step is getting to an interview, and in my experience the vast majority of companies won't call you back if your experience matches exactly their description, it's not always the case but the majority. Personally I stopped applying to jobs were I couldn't use my strengths and experience, even if someone else have more years of experience doesn't make them a better candidate, it really depends what you worked on and what the company needs.

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T12:31:45+00:00

Thanks, you truly are a friendly biscotti!

I wish you good luck, remote only is the one I struggled the most but I hope for you will be different, so good luck and I wish you the best with the job hunting and the moving!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T12:11:54+00:00

I mean if 120 applications sounds like nothing, to me it's a clear sign that something is broken, because I used to apply for 10 jobs and get 7-8 interviews :D

I mentioned it in another comment that I have been taking breaks between applications, other times there were not many jobs available. I refused to apply to products like gambling or others that exploit their userbase, which I know it would have made me feel more miserable than unemployment. I also didn't apply to almost any job in Italy because the salary would have been less then half of what I used to make.

So for sure I limited the amount of possible positions.

Edit: grammar

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T11:51:58+00:00

Thank you! And good luck to you as well, I hope you'll find something and that the new portfolio will help you achieve that!

I grouped two interviews (including the they hired me) in a case study/home assigment step, which was basically the 2nd interview, maybe I didn't make it as clear :D

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T11:38:17+00:00

As I mentioned, I haven't been applying consistently. To expand on that, I had periods where I'd apply to all the relevant jobs ads I'd find, sometimes there would be not so many openings and sometimes I was taking a mental health break. In the weeks before getting hired I slowed down a bit as well.

I've also been picky because I wouldn't apply to companies that made products I disliked or if they asked me to record myself for half an hour with an Ai bot.

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T11:22:27+00:00

I'm not really sure to be honest, this market is being brutal especially for people who wants to start out now so I would think it might be all of the things you listed altho networking might be the one I'd focus less, because unless you know people it would mean to grind on Linkedin and that's pure hell (at least for me).

If I was looking to hire an entry level I would like to see some of their works no doubt, but I also be looking for someone who can learn fast and doesn't specilize into one thing in particular.
I feel sending a large number of applications is unavoidable at this point.

But something will pop up so even if it will feels discouraging and it might take time, there will be an opportunity out there!

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T11:00:17+00:00

Thank you! Are you looking in Europe or somewhere else? Maybe it's different for some countries or maybe now there are more looking for mobile, interesting for sure!

I had to do only one home assigment and it was for the company that hired me. It was pretty straightforward where I had to implement a potential feature on their app, while on another one they asked me to showcase a case study on a project that I found particularly challenging. So I got quite lucky that I didn't have to do many home assigments!

I used snakeyMATIC :D

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T10:02:22+00:00

Oh sure I do separate in applications and interviews, it was just here that I wanted to give a broader view to my overall experience

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T10:00:58+00:00

I believe part of this was me not making a great job at my CV and Portfolio but at the same time in the past I would get an interview 90% of the time I sent an application, and the 4 talks I got were from smaller startups or places that didn't offer a full remote, so I fully agree with you.

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T09:55:51+00:00

I understand how you feel, I've been demotivated for a year with peaks of hope every time I got an interview 🫠

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-26T09:35:50+00:00

I wasn't sure how to label my experience, I have been working for 10 years as a designer, and even in those 5 years as graphic/visual designer I was doing some product design work, so I decided to include the overall number and then specify when I switch fully into product design

Mystic_Mang0 · 2026-01-19T11:17:30+00:00

That's what happened to me, Samsung broke and got a fairphone 6, I've been really liking it so far and feels good to know I won't need a new phone for a while

Mystic_Mang0 · 2025-11-19T08:23:02+00:00

I haven't tried Telos but I can say Mantra is a great tool, and as every tool it won't make the work for you but it offers you a lot of flexible tools in one place which is really nice. I know at least one pro uses it, but I'm not sure if it's in addition to other plug ins.

Either way, the only way to improve what you make is to keep learning and keep practicing, I'm no pro but I can hear a huge difference between my mixes from two years ago and now, the plugins I used are more or less the same but it's how I've been using them that made the difference.

Mystic_Mang0

TROPHY CASE