Unemployed for 2 years, 40 years old with 9 years of experience

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skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit

I saw you mentioned you are a Web3 developer. I don’t know much about it directly, but I know the hype for it is pretty much dead. But that’s okay because as a developer with experience you can pivot.

My advice is to take a look at development jobs and take note of what technologies you are seeing often for the average developer jobs in your area. Local roles are easier to snag. If you don’t live in an area with tech that’s okay, you can find remote work as well, albeit with more effort. A lot of web focused developer jobs are using the typical things; Java, Node, Python, ASP.NET, etc in the Backend, and really the frontend is just going to be either Angular and React. I see Vue on occasion. Frontend stacks always use Typescript these days. If I had to recommend learning one FE library, it’s React. That library has a very large market share and most roles ask for it.

I’m not sure your full experience, but you’re either looking for either pure BE roles, pure FE roles or full stack roles. You need to decide what you want to go with. When I’m looking for jobs these are the typical things I see being asked for. They also want things like CI/CD knowledge, knowledge of AI tools, MySQL/PostgreSQL, etc. Just spend some time looking at jobs that are not Web3 and take note of what you see more of.

Once you figure it out, you have to put in the work to learn some of these more common technologies on your own. You’ve got nothing but time, so spend a few weeks diving into a project using a modern web stack. Build out the CI/CD and deploy it to some cloud provider like AWS. Use Claude Code to learn deeper, and also learn the proper way to use an AI tool like Claude Code. Experience with AI is being asked in all of my interviews thus far, just an FYI. Also check out HelloInterview and start learning about systems design. You will likely be given a systems design interview. You can practice systems design on your own, there are tons of videos about it. Frontend systems design is a thing as well, and you can use GreatFrontend for frontend focused systems design prep. Depending on the role, you may do Backend systems design or Frontend systems design. What you focus on depends on the types of roles you apply for.

Outside of that you need to address your resume. Once you learn a few things, work them into your past experiences. Yes, you are making it up but no one knows you didn’t have to use React or Python for some random project or develop a CI/CD pipeline for some task at work. You’ve got to tailor your resume for the job you want. Use an LLM to prep you on your new resume. Have it grill you on your experience so you can come up with ways to answer questions about it naturally and on the spot. I would also recommend leaving off any graduation dates, any links to a personal profile, etc. Do not age yourself. For your “sabbatical” you can either lie and say you have been doing some freelance work, or simply say something personal came up and you needed to take the time off to handle it. Up to you on what you want to say but whatever you say needs to be said with convincing confidence. I recommend finding a technical resume writer if I’m being completely honest. You need someone to help you here, especially if you need to pivot.

You can also pivot, for example learn about DevOps and get some cloud certifications. Put on your resume you handled X and Y thing and use that as leverage to get into an entry / mid level role. Just using this as an example, but the general gist of it can apply to anything. As for the confidence and nerves, that’s going to be on you. What helps me the most is realizing that if you don’t pass an interview you never have to talk to these people again and you also learn what to focus on. I spend days leading up to an interview prepping and talking out loud as if I’m answering interview questions from a ghost. Put your resume into Chat GPT along with the job description, and have it grill you. You can put it into voice mode and naturally speak to it and respond to interview style questions it gives you. I pretty much have my entire spiel memorized before I join the interview call. There is a lot of software interview content out there to help study for them. If you want to work in software development still, it’s going to take a ton of effort. That’s just the name of the game.

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ExperiencedDevs-ModTeam@reddit

Rule 3: No General Career Advice

This sub is for discussing issues specific to experienced developers.

Any career advice thread must contain questions and/or discussions that notably benefit from the participation of experienced developers. Career advice threads may be removed at the moderators discretion based on response to the thread."

General rule of thumb: If the advice you are giving (or seeking) could apply to a “Senior Chemical Engineer”, it’s not appropriate for this sub.

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QuitTypical3210@reddit

If nerves are your problem, propranolol.

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writebadcode@reddit

It makes a massive difference for me. I can’t believe people choose addictive meds like Xanax when there is such an effective alternative that is not habit forming.

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xamott@reddit

Listen the only time I was actually good at interviews is when I genuinely didn’t care if I got that job or not. There’s also some luck - the interview I nailed the best, the two interviewers happened to ask questions I’m good at. In that same time other interviewers asked questions that I feel exposed me as a fraud. (Some imposter syndrome but it’s a grey area.) but yeh when I didn’t care if I got the job I did amazing on the interviews and got offers. It’s the same with salary negotiation- the only way to crush that is if you’re truly okay with walking away from it. Then you win the game of chicken.

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No-Economics-8239@reddit

I love the story of how Harrison Ford became Han Solo. He was working on set as a carpenter. Carrie Fisher was doing her screen read and the person who was supposed to read Han's part wasn't there. So Lucas pulls Ford off set design to do it.

Ford is resentful. He wants the part and he's angry they didn't even want him to audition for it. So he reads it like he played the character. Lots of swagger and distain. Lucas loves it. The rest is history.

Confidence isn't just a skill you learn or a feeling you possess. It's also an attitude. An affect. Going into an interview a jumble of nerves doesn't read well. People can read a lot into your body language and tone of voice. But learning those soft skills can be as important as all the technical knowledge we require.

The first time I was 'downsized' was a major kick to my confidence. One thing that really helped is my severance package included 'career coach' sessions. They helped with putting my resume together and how to conduct and present myself during interviews. Which are completely different skills than I had been practicing most of my career. But was some of the best advice I received.

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filter-spam@reddit

My take is to start doing something else tangential/not pure dev. Like it for not, ageism is a thing, and you’ll always be fighting with ai in one way or another going forward.

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hpoluru@reddit

Just build bro, ai cannot replace engineering thiniking. Practice interviews, research and code.

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Frequent_Bag9260@reddit

Building something doesn’t make people pass SWE interview rounds.

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hpoluru@reddit

It will help gain confidence and also you might stumble upon something worthy.

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Factory__Lad@reddit

I don’t know what industry you’re in, but I’ve been round this particular block a few times. You have to somehow rediscover the joy of why you’re in this line of work in the first place, rebuild confidence, find something you like or are good at and work on it. Wish I could be more specific!

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CowboyBoats@reddit

rediscover the joy of why you’re in this line of work in the first place

oof.

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bladdersux@reddit

What an impossible thing to ask

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corny_horse@reddit

I think the thing I love most in this world is optimizing algorithmic engagement via dark patterns to create additional synergies with key stakeholders.

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St34thdr1v3R@reddit

Yeah I remember, we‘ve all been there bud

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

web3. The experience I have is mostly useless at this point. I don't know what to do

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OriginalTangle@reddit

You could implement a simple backend for something you use anyway, like the trusty Todo app or something similar.

Apart from that you should probably make sure your system design skills are up to snuff. There's websites that help with training that.

That said, the market is brutal right now. As an average dev I feel it big time and my outlook and sentiment are also worsening..

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JandersOf86@reddit

Got any recommendations for said websites that tailor toward system design skills?

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jl2352@reddit

It’s not useless. You want to dissect the software engineering bits from the Web3 bits.

I know nothing about crypto. An example could be; instead of experience building a Web3 crypto-payments system, you have experience building a distributed pipeline with redundancy and high observability for crypto payments. You change the story to focus on the bits that transfer.

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painedHacker@reddit

apply for other types of jobs in tech (QC engineer, test engineer, Product Manager, engineering manager, sales, account manager, etc), consider changing your location, lower any type of expectations, learn new languages/skills, try networking.. it's tough these days but that's what I'd suggest

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sayqm@reddit

To be fair, web3 is still recruiting, so that's not even the issue

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onFilm@reddit

Adapt, evolve. Or you'll only fall behind.

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metaphorm@reddit

switch industries. crypto is dead. it was never a thing to begin with. focus on software engineering fundamentals and look for work in a stable industry.

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EgoistHedonist@reddit

You need to upskill. Create a project that demands that you learn something new

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WildWinkWeb@reddit

Seen people saying this and I would agree, maybe try to get some of your own clients rather than waiting for someone to hire YOU.

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RevenueOk1331@reddit

Practice makes perfect. It's definitely a challenging environment for jobs, and nerves are understandable given the situation. However, the only path is forward.

Practice practice practice. Utilize connections and friends to review resumes, try mock 1-1 interviews for positions for feedback, and ultimately accept that not every interview is going to work out. It's going to be a numbers game.
Leverage connections for interviews. It's not what you know but who you know has never been truer now. This typically just helps with keeping your resume from hitting the virtual shredder for the first round of interviews, but every little bit helps. Try and find local meetup groups for engineers to talk face to face with others, create new connections, and spread the resume around.
For calming nerves, there are a variety of techniques. Getting good rest is top of the list, but I also like to try and reframe the conversation before an interview mentally. Literally think, "what's the worst that can happen?". It's easy to feel the pressure of needing that job right now or else, but at the end of the day life will go on and there are more jobs to be had. Remember that you have skills and while it is on you to articulate that, it's also their loss if they don't realize the potential you have.
Similar to the above, but focus on every day being just one day. You must do the best you can with what you have with where you are. Losing an interview, whether one or dozens, sucks, but you can't change the past. Focus on the opportunities in front of you and make the most of them.
Don't forget to have fun. A little positively goes a long way and can carry over into every aspect of life (including interviews). Go for a walk in the park, dance to some music, play games. If you are non-stop pushing yourself for a job, you'll be more stressed out and come across as desperate.

There's no one answer to the question, but I wish you the best of luck and to keep trying as that is all you can do. Be kind and easy on yourself, life sure as heck isn't.

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JandersOf86@reddit

Great response.

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False_Secret1108@reddit

Sounds like you’re getting interviews

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bloomsday289@reddit

You need propranolol. It stops your heart rate from running away and causing all the anxiety symptoms.

I went to my doctor and said "I have an incredibly hard time in interviews. Having a hard time keeps me from passing the really intense interviews... so I just have to do more interviews and I am getting stuck in that loop." He prescribed it without any fuss or further questions.

If you don't have access to a doctor, half the old people I know are on it. Just ask them for a few. My dosage is 40 MG. I tried it out once before the interview. Felt zero difference, but took a really good nap.

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GlobalCurry@reddit

+1 to this

Also don't try to use alcohol for the same purpose.

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jl2352@reddit

If possible, find someone who can help you practice interviews. Ideally someone who is direct with their honesty.

Real practice works better than anything else.

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Infinite-Concern9604@reddit

what inspired you to write this

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eufemiapiccio77@reddit

I hardly think it’s an inspirational post it’s probably poor dude needs to vent or chat. It’s hard these days

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QuitTypical3210@reddit

U responded to a Reddit llm bot bro, they are in full force in this sub and say like 3 phrases to karma farm

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CodelinesNL@reddit

No one can help you if you put zero effort in your question.

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Frequent_Bag9260@reddit

OP isn’t the only one with communication issues because this could be phrased in a much less-dickish way.

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CodelinesNL@reddit

It's direct, nothing more, nothing less. Low effort posts are directly against the rules of this sub. And if you want people to spend energy on a response, you need to put at least that amount of energy in your question.

Basic decency does not go out of the window simply because you've been unemployed for 2 years.

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Frequent_Bag9260@reddit

“Zero effort” is not direct. That’s judgemental and unnecessary.

Just because you didn’t receive all the information you wanted doesn’t mean zero effort. That’s should be understood via basic communication with anyone.

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max123246@reddit

Put your feet in their shoes for a sec. Your partner left you, you've lost your job, you're incredibly depressed. The thing about depression is that it robs you of your energy, your thoughts, your passion. Each day becomes a struggle to get out of bed. You literally don't have the space to think about applying to jobs, because it's 6pm and you are struggling to eat

Now, yes, we as outsiders can only lead them to water. But you gotta understand that depression is a loop, it feeds in on itself and makes the very things that would fix it impossible to do. Partly because depression is comfortable, it's the devil you know. You can't fail because you already believe you are worth nothing

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

I'm sorry my mind is not in the best state these days. What would you like clarification on?

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CodelinesNL@reddit

Details on your experience and your approach. You're asking people here to put in effort to help you, without giving any details yourself.

Edit your post and list your experience as well as your interviewing approach.

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Nekojiru_@reddit

Get a job. Any job. McDonalds burger flipper, garbage collector (heh), call center guy, whatever! The job will probably suck, but that's not the point. The job will help you get some of that confidence back. It will give you something to fall back and help calm your nerves because you'll not any longer be on a never ending train ride on the unemployed express.

But you know where that job really will come in big? At the interview. Being able to tell the interviewer guy that you are flipping burgers will earn you respect. It will show them that you are able to get through tough times and make ends meet. It will also lend itself for a nice story. You know how people fucking LOVE stories. Your job will create the story of "I've saved this experienced dev from wasting his talent at McDonalds" in the interviewers mind. Do you see how that sounds about 1 million times better than "I helped a guy who wasn't able to land any job for 2 years finally get a job".

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Relevant-Ordinary169@reddit

Won’t they just think: “oh this guy is such a loser that he couldn’t save up money so that way he wouldn’t end up flipping burgers?” or “let’s hire him so that way when layoffs happen we won’t need to fire our best employees… we have this guy.”?

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max123246@reddit

Just leave it off of your resume. The job is meant to get you back into the routine of having obligations and talking to coworkers. Depression is a difficult fuckin beast. Sometimes all you can do is change your environment and pray

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DeathByClownShoes@reddit

If you get an interview, what do you tell them you've been doing the past two years?

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

I built some side projects which I haven't even published yet. What should I tell them? I am panicking.

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DeathByClownShoes@reddit

It's been two years--why haven't they been published? The only thing worse than a man with a history is a man with no history. Were you in jail or what? If you can't explain what you did with your life the past two years, it doesn't matter what kind of job you're going for--no one is going to hire you if they don't trust you. So what's the story?

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

I was applying and interviewing but perhaps not as vigoursly as I should have as I was traumatized from my last experience. Then after a year the recruiter messages stopped coming and I'm now at where I am today. I haven't published because the project got bigger than I anticipated and I feel its not clean enough.

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DeathByClownShoes@reddit

I'm a former executive recruiter and I've placed people who had criminal records and more. You need to play offense--tell hiring authorities your story with confidence and without shame. If you were traumatized, tell them you got therapy or how you otherwise "got better".

Being brutally honest, it sounds like you sat on the couch in your underwear eating Cheerios and playing video games for two years. Did you volunteer? Goto the gym? Enroll in any education or training? Take care of kids? We're you depressed? How did you make ends meet for two years with no income? Saying you worked on an unpaid side project you never finished for two years is highly suspect and not going to score you any points in interviews.

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

I don't have any criminal record. I was mostly going to the gym, applying here and there, and learning Rust and coding the project. Otherwise my partner at the time was severely depressed and I was spending a lot of energy trying to help her (she left me later). What do you suggest I do in this situation?

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max123246@reddit

I wanted to say I'm sorry about that situation. That has not got to feel good

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mackstann@reddit

I'd say I took time off to care for a sick family member. Boom. It's all a game. Go play it.

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janyk@reddit

What's wrong - in the employer's eyes, looking for a candidate that has the qualifications - in sitting on the couch in their underwear eating Cheerios and playing video games? Like... what goes through their head? What's the connection to finding someone to fit the role?

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selucram@reddit

Skill Atrophy is a real thing

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RespectableThug@reddit

It makes you seem unmotivated and apathetic.

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Iannelli@reddit

It baffles me how people are unable to come up with such a simple yet effective lie. All it takes is coming into the interview with extreme confidence in telling a story. Any story. "I was taking care of a sick family member." "I took a work sabbatical." All it takes is just getting hired that one single time to change the course of your career in this situation.

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RespectableThug@reddit

The obvious answer is some kind of personal project. You haven’t said what the project is yet, so hard to be more specific than that.

I’ll be honest here: you seem like you’re all over the place in this thread. I think what you really need to do is take a big deep breath. Take a moment and collect yourself. Know that lots of people are struggling right now and you’re not alone. Start there.

Then make a list of what you need to do, prioritize it, and start knocking things off it. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s far from impossible.

Think of it kind of like dating: even if you’re desperate, you can’t appear that way, because people will be reluctant to hire you. “Everyone’s already passed on this person, I probably should too.” You need to seem like a good catch for folks to want to reel you in, you know?

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

How can I not seem desperate when they see the huge gap in the resume? Wouldn't it be obvious?

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max123246@reddit

You just say you needed the time off from work and took some time for yourself. They don't need to know anything else.

Publish those personal projects please. This is the wrong time to leave them in private. It's important to employers to know your skills haven't atrophied and you've used this time out of work to hone your skills and find your passion. These 2 personal projects are how you'll do it. But you need them to be complete, take every shortcut needed and then be able to talk about what you had to work around and why you built it and what problems it was solving for you

Read this: https://dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html

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theevilsharpie@reddit

As someone that has sat on the other side of the hiring panel for much of my career, when I see a resume with a multi-year gap, I'm looking out for two things:

has this candidate had a work experience that they're leaving off of their resume because they don't want to talk about it? Or,
has this person been in trouble with the law, and they haven't disclosed it?

Outside of those two things, people have all sorts of reasons for exiting the workforce for a few years. Things include things like going back to school, being a stay-at-home parent, caring for a sick child or relative, taking a sabbatical after a period of burnout, moving long distances and re-establishing themselves in a new community, etc. etc. etc. The specific reason is irrelevant and not really any of my business.

I'm more interested in finding an answer to the question: if you've been out of the workforce for so longer, are your skills current? If you can demonstrate that, and you behave like a reasonable human being in the interview, then you're not going to be held back by a work history gap.

Also, in your OP, you say that you're getting interviews. A work history gap will be visible in your resume -- if it's a deal-breaker, you would have never gotten called in to an interview.

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RespectableThug@reddit

I’ve been unemployed for long stretches and then rejoined the workforce before. It’s not impossible. My stint was over a year.

Again, take a deep breath. You’re making this harder than it needs to be by psyching yourself out. Being desperate will only hurt you.

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ProbablyPuck@reddit

Refine the scope. What could be your minimum viable product to go live? Also, this may be a good opportunity to dive into Claude.

I had some trauma in my life and it felt like my brain was broken for quite a while. (My kiddo's cancer relapsed. He's doing great now) Luckily, I landed a position at a software bootcamp for a bit before jumping back into the industry. That experience restored a lot of my confidence. ("Oh, right. I DO know what I'm talking about!")

Ultimately, I'd like to echo what someone else said. If we weren't passionate, we'd do something else because fuck this career without the love of the game. Reconnect with what lit that fire for you. 🔥

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raughit@reddit

^ This guy pucks

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ConsciousZebra4536@reddit

try using incognito mode for btter results

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drguid@reddit

Been unemployed for 6 months. Was offered my dream role a couple of months ago but the client pulled the funding.

I'm focusing on my side project now. Recruiters can call me when the AI slop has overwhelmed companies and they want to go back to basics.

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Double_Trouble_DD@reddit

Hi stranger,

Why don't you try online platforms like Upwork, Outlier AI, Fiver, PeoplePerHour etc...You hardly get to answer interviews. Just chats with the clients and you get hired.

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ahihidummy@reddit

I'm curious how companies process the interview session now? Do they still ask things like leet code? Or has been changed to software builder concept?

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Feisty_Hour7839@reddit

had a similar rough patch, switched to fintech. worked out.

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FastHotEmu@reddit

I'm 48 and I just successfully pivoted from native mobile to full stack. You can do it! The market is sort of shit but let me tell you, I may be older but I'm not smarter than anyone.

You can do it!

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m98789@reddit

Start your own business.

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gizamo@reddit

I'm not sure why this is downvoted.

Imo, ageism is so pervasive that getting hired back into tech is less likely than finding clients of your own, especially with the vast majority of tech going through layoffs and hiring freezes.

It's not pleasant advice, but it's more practical than the "do mock interviews" replies.

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metaphorm@reddit

they're 40, not 60.

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gizamo@reddit

If they were 60, we'd be telling him to retire already. Anyone who's ever worked at any decently sized tech company knows that the blatant, rampant ageism starts mid-30s. HR reps can practically smell their own careers getting flushed if they even pass along anyone over 40 to the hiring managers.

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wibbleswibble@reddit

Do you exercise? Start long walks or running to get into a more healthy mental space.

Look at it like this, you got jaded and disillusioned with the industry because crypto turned into a dead end. You decided to spend less time on software for a while. Now you’re ready to get back at it.

Spend time with AI. Build stuff. The joy will come back.

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New-Cod1763@reddit

maybe try a mock interview with a friend or mentor

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gokkai@reddit

I would also apply for other jobs if it's been 2 years.

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FastCow4473@reddit

i had to switch industries once, it was tough

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Howz3r@reddit

Talk to a therapist. Prob goes deeper than what you think.

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tuckfrump69@reddit

study for interviews so you pass?

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SubaruImpossibru@reddit

Study. Mock interviews. Identify why you’re struggling and make a plan to fix it.

Nobody can read your mind here. If you knew what you were struggling with people could point you in the right direction. You’re nervous because you’re not confident. You’re not confident because you feel like you may not know xyz. Figure out what xyz is and learn it.

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Emergency_Rabbit859@reddit

i'm not sure i agree with that point

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Salty_Ear_1164@reddit

Solid advice here

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chikamakaleyley@reddit

oh man i almost hit 2 yrs and i feel this pain

what are you doing to stay sharp? one thing that will be obvious is when you've practiced a lot of technical interview material, and not your actual/current skillset

how often are u getting to final rounds?

I feel like this goes w/o saying but you just gotta not dwell on the failed ones but figure out what 'the thing' was that could be a reason for rejection. As you get deeper and deeper into it, it comes down to small things, hesitation, NERVES, confidence, comms. But even then, sometimes you feel like you did solid, and maybe the other candidate was just a tad better. You have no control of that, and so you just gotta move on

One thing i tried late is contact all the places where I felt I had a good overall interview and got in touch with the recruiter/HM and asked about available openings. There were some second chance interviews at places that had open roles

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randbytes@reddit

apart from the usual things like preparation and such. Here is something one of my friend did when he had this issue. I felt it was not a good idea at that time since it could potentially break bridges. He would accept every interview coming his way even though he didn't want those jobs. He would take notes afterwards on how he reacted to questions. He said it prepared him well when he took interviews for jobs he really wanted. It worked because he got used to being nervous and learned how to manage his nerves better. Ofcourse for this to work you need to have a lot of opportunities coming your way. May be you can try this in your field.

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Major-Examination941@reddit

How many is several, should try to have interviews on a weekly basis, take any interview regardless of the company for practice

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AndyKJMehta@reddit

Looking for a mentor or interview help?

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Idea-Aggressive@reddit

A lot of bad advice here.

It’s all a matter of empathy! If you’re attending and getting the interviews, you’re already in the small minority. Remember, before the current crisis, most recruiters and hiring managers were wasting people’s time! Nowadays it’s even worse.

If you ever check these hiring managers and recruiters profiles online you’ll notice patterns. Most spend their time on interviews and they make their whole reputation based on how bad candidates look in interviews!

This becomes even harder for certain people of colour. In 20yoe, I’m yet to be interviewed by someone who is Afro/black. Why is that?

Don’t blame yourself. A lot of people don’t understand, they don’t even have to go through the door.

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hammertime84@reddit

If you want to stay in the field, do real mock interviews with others until it feels comfortable.

One path you might not have considered is local government. My wife used to work for the state of Texas and across multiple roles in multiple agencies had zero technical interviews. A friend currently working for a local school system has had similar moving around school systems over the years.

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

I am considering switching fields altogether, although I am not sure how I will have the energy to do that at this point.

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sudda_pappu@reddit

I'm in a similar situation - career gap, middle aged, backend engineer. I too need advice. Wondering if there are some career coaches i can talk to in order to get myself out of this rut.

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zynsandmate@reddit (OP)

I was also seeking a career coach as well, but I am not sure how to find a legit one.

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mountainchick04@reddit

It seems you’re struggling with some nerves, which makes interviewing much harder than it already is. One book that has really helped me is Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle McDowell. Having confidence in skills can help reduce anxiety along with chatting with a good therapist!

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