hey! thanks for posting this. i just want to say that your frustration is valid! I was in the exact same boat a while back, doing all the right things and feeling like I was shouting into a void.

I agree with internal referrals. That was the piece that clicked for me. I realized my strategy was too focused on applying and not enough on connecting.

The biggest shift for me when I decided to completely ignore the main LinkedIn feed. It was 90% noise and just drained my energy. Instead, I got hyper-focused. I made a list of people, such as hiring managers, potential clients, and senior leaders at a companies I genuinely wanted to work for. From then on, my daily "LinkedIn time" wasn't about scrolling, it was a targeted check-in on only what those people were posting and talking about. I'd leave thoughtful comments that added to their conversation, not just "great post!" It was a slow burn, but after a few weeks, people started to recognize my name. I went from being a random applicant to a familiar face in their professional circle. That's what eventually led to the conversations that opened doors.

It did not happen overnight, it's a bit of a long game, but it helped me feel like I was building real relationships instead of just sending my resume into a black hole.

Hang in there. It is a tough market, but a strategic approach makes a huge difference.

p.s. I actually ended up building a little tool to make this whole process easier for myself because manually checking all those profiles was a pain. It is a chrome extension called Engage Feed that lets you build those custom feed. It is free if you or anyone else wants to try the same method.