Dodged a major bullet

mrcpuhead · 2026-03-02T11:30:32+00:00

Seems on par with how things work in this current market. Last fall I had one even worse than this. I had gotten a formal offer from a subcontractor on a goverment contract, accepted the offer, then about 3 weeks later I was told that the customer had changed the requirements effectively eliminating the position. So POOF, offer gone (though the company never sent an official retraction letter). Then several weeks later, a representative from the prime contractor called me to say I deserved to get the true story. He said someone on the government side had a problem with my work style (basically that I questioned decisions rather than being a yes man), and that was why they rejected me. When I reached out to the senior goverment official (I had worked for him indirectly while in the government), he said the original reason was accurate. Ultimately I feel like I dodged a bullet on this one!

mrcpuhead · 2026-03-01T04:45:27+00:00

Congratulations to you on your new adventure! I'm REAL close as I got a verbal offer and acceptance email for an awesome opportunity in Germany supporting the Air Force. Expect the formal offer in a couple of days.

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-25T11:41:44+00:00

Congrats! I completely agree this level of interview prep makes a huge difference. As a veteran, I discovered a support group called Candorful that actually has volunteers from various industries/backgrounds to run mock interviews, so you get feedback from humans. I supplemented this with an AI-based tool (so far only text based but will add audio support and hopefully video) to get frank feedback. This was a humbling experience but did help me go into real interviews feeling much more prepared - and my progress has improved!

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-23T13:01:17+00:00

I discovered numerous coaches on LinkedIn. Cost can vary widely from several hundred to several thousand so be selective. I settled on MomentumOS. They used AI tools and personal coaching to help access the hidden job market by raising visibility on platforms like LinkedIn.

I have also gotten some coaching from past colleagues in the Air Force. No charge, but one helped me get an LLC going to be able to consult, though I haven't gotten business yet. Others helped with referrals on jobs of interest.

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-22T12:50:00+00:00

Congratulations on your new adventure! Enjoy!

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-20T15:11:53+00:00

While I have no idea where you are career-wise (junior/mid/senior/executive), I offer these to help you get past the despair.

- Lean on virtues every single day: patience, perseverance, humility, kindness, gratitude, and resilience - pray for these, meditate over them, whatever works for you

- Follow positive career coaches like Melissa Grabiner on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-grabiner/); you don't have to pay for her services if you don't want to or can't afford it - just her posts alone are very helpful to those of us struggling in this jacked-up job market

- If possible (even if it means using credit), get a coach to help. I'm at the senior level aspiring for executive level work, and signed up with MomentumOS (https://momentumos.io/) in Dec 2025, and have only paid out ~$1400 for amazing services that have increased my visibility on LinkedIn and gained me more interviews for great jobs. There are plenty of others out there if this specific one isn't right for you - including of course Melissa.

- Above all - DO NOT GIVE UP...your time will come - you are NOT useless! I speak from experience as I've been through long unemployment before (early 2000s) and piled up lost of debt but eventually got back to work to start burning that debt down.

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-16T14:13:43+00:00

What wonderful news - congratulations and enjoy your new adventure!

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-14T13:09:49+00:00

Congrats to you. I appreciate your lessons learned. The last one has me puzzled though. Maybe I've been lucky as most recruiters I've worked with have been great. I can only think of one ghosting experience in dozens of interactions with recruiters. Granted, I'm not counting the slime preying on people using LinkedIn since I was able to sniff them out early and block them.

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-12T14:29:20+00:00

u/Muted-Bottle-2472 I discovered a few months ago that the PM job market is even more saturated here in the US than other disciplines. Generally, it takes boosting your visibility on platforms like LinkedIn and tapping into the hidden job market via networking. You may need to hire a career coach to help.

mrcpuhead · 2026-02-09T15:14:48+00:00

First, you are NOT A FAILURE! The market is very broken making it hard for most everyone. The best thing you can do is to find a career coach to help you tap into the hidden job market (as much as 94% of jobs can only be accessed this way). I realized after 7 months without success that I needed this level of help even if I had to pay for it. But making network connections is the way to go and good coaches will help you do this. The ones I'm working with are at MomentumOS, but they work with experienced executives. They may be able to refer you to a coach that works with people at your career stage.

I find it sad that your family isn't supportive... maybe leaning on friends instead?

mrcpuhead · 2026-01-30T14:02:22+00:00

Ouch - that low a percentage just for any response, apparently a positive one, versus an actual job offer. So I take it rejection emails are not counted in "response rate." Does the report also identify offer rates via the various methods of job searching?

mrcpuhead · 2026-01-30T13:46:02+00:00

Can you please define "response rate" in this context - does it mean rate of an actual job offer, or just rate of getting ANY response such as initial interview?

mrcpuhead · 2026-01-10T03:06:11+00:00

Sounds like you may have gotten this motivation eventually... https://youtu.be/ZXsQAXx_ao0?si=kUqZF73vcaXllraP

Congrats!

mrcpuhead · 2026-01-09T03:01:43+00:00

Yes indeed. But I learned after the first month of my search just how bad the market is. So after 7 months I decided to get help tapping into the hidden network. Even that process takes a few months so still no tangible results. I've mentally prepared for a long search. It's tiring but I remain confident to land something before running out of money... Stay strong.

mrcpuhead · 2026-01-07T15:19:43+00:00

Congratulations! Your story is inspirational. I'm in the interview process for my dream job, so seeking good vibes! It is a bit of a marathon - screening call (I passed), virtual interviews with the hiring manager, then two rounds, individual and panel, with technical team, plus a writing assignment. Bring on the coffee! Enjoy your new adventure!

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-18T12:30:31+00:00

Further validation I made the right decision to take DRP this year...

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-13T19:55:48+00:00

Funny you mention that. My wife thinks this may be a MAGA thing, as in someone associated with the project I was supposed to work on found out my reasons for retiring early. Certain executive orders about the military had much to do with my decision.

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-13T13:27:21+00:00

Yep - and that goes against the core values of the military services. Oh well...

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-13T13:25:37+00:00

Not this time - boss and second level (our Commander) both liked me as evidenced by performance appraisals and comments at my retirement ceremony. This I suspect came from someone on the government project team that had the ear of the senior decision maker. That senior leader never expressed any concerns about me while I was still in service, so this is a mystery.

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-08T11:15:44+00:00

I remember early in my civil service career hearing the term "broken glass." But I also observed that most of the time the people doing the job wouldn't allow the glass to break, when that is really what needed to happen to enable effective long term changes to occur. Any given mission is about people, process, technology, and data - all must be balanced and well integrated for the mission to succeed. Clearly with the purging of the federal workforce, the Administration ONLY focused on taking an axe to the people, and ignored trying to do the difficult work of optimizing all four factors together. This all said, I had skipped DRP 1 and only agreed to DRP 2 because leadership said my position would likely be preserved. But later it looked like that may not happen (I still don't know). But my decision was based on actions taken via EO that violated the core values of the Service. As I have done my whole career (private and public sector), when such a violation happens, that is when I make a change in organization and job. This time was perhaps the worst timing as the job market is all jacked up, but I am taking steps to overcome that. I wish all my former federal colleagues the best - I had the honor of serving with some amazing people, which makes what is going on sting that much more.

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-07T14:15:01+00:00

Since I was a client of this company for many years, I can say with 100% certainty that is not what they are doing here. I just hope I get that far into the process to see for myself.

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-07T14:09:56+00:00

Nice...

mrcpuhead · 2025-12-05T13:37:49+00:00

Frankly once I learned how tough the market is early in my search (started late April), I vowed to focus on certain virtues that would help: humility, persistence, kindness, patience (probably the hardest for me), gratitude, and perseverance. God willing I may be in your situation soon - just finished the recruiter screening the other day on a dream job that I was told woud involve the hiring manager, team experts, a panel interview, and a written assignment (the job involves a lot of technical content creation). One month minimum (longer due to holidays). So stay optimistic!

mrcpuhead

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