[shaftway]

I've actually had really positive responses. I'm fairly senior (~20 years of experience). I was laid off by Meta in 2022, started at Block 3 months later. Laid off by Block in 2024, started at a smaller company 1 month later. Decided to leave that company in early 2025, contacted one company from a HN Who's Hiring post and took that job. That ended up being a poor fit, and I went back to a FAANG around July of 2025.

In the last three transitions I applied to a grand total of 5 companies.

Also, looking at the recruiter emails I've been getting, they've been ramping up over the last few months, and I'm back up to one or two cold emails per week.

But again, I'm fairly senior, and I have deep domain knowledge in a few key areas. I understand the market is brutal if you're early career or your knowledge isn't "T" shaped.

[Rapzid]

Also getting lot's of direct recruiter and engineering leadership pings.

[etimberg]

Eng leadership pings seems to be one of the few strategies that's been working on the hiring side for finding great talent the last few months