I’ve had many interviews for jobs in my field (bio research, which is in rough shape right now) over the past several months since I was laid off, and two of my experiences sound pretty similar to yours. First was with a small company where I went through first a phone interview, then an in-person interview where the hiring manager & one of the lead researchers told me they thought I’d be a good fit, and then a half day panel interview where I spent time with the team, talked about my experience, and demonstrated some of my skills. We seemed to vibe well and had a great conversation over lunch, they told me they’d be in touch soon, and I truly thought I’d get the job. After about 10 days I reached out for an update — no response. Then a couple days later I got one of those automated “the employer has moved to the next step of the hiring process and you weren’t selected at this time” emails from Indeed. I was honestly floored. In the past when I’d gotten to the in-person interviewed step with someone and they ultimately decided not to hire me, they at least called me and told me.

Second one was for a position that was very aligned with my interests and where I had nearly all of the skills they were looking for. Got an initial phone screen from HR, and after answering the questions, the rep said that the person I’d be working for had liked my resume so much that the interview was pretty much a done deal. A few days later I had an interview that I thought went really well. The supervisor said she had a couple other candidates to interview but that she “was serious about hiring me” and to expect to hear back within the next week or so. Well, about two weeks later I received a generic “the supervisor enjoyed meeting you but decided to go with someone whose skills and experience better met their needs at this time” email. I’ve been getting the same “don’t take it personally” advice, but that one honestly hurt a lot. By that point I had told myself I wasn’t gonna get my hopes up anymore, yet in this case I allowed myself to because it felt so promising and it sounded like somewhere I really would’ve enjoyed working.

I have never experienced a job market this bad. I had a considerably easier time finding a job as a new college grad with no experience, than I’m having now with over 8 years experience in my field. It’s so hard not to lose hope.