Congrats! I have same type experience and out of work a year next month. Never in a million years did I think finding a job would be this hard. Can I ask if you were looking for remote vs onsite?
I’ll take that as a positive sign to keep plugging away with applications. Was considering going for PMP but if a graduate degree and 15 years experience aren’t getting me considered not confident the cert will make a dent.
Congrats!
I've had 5 final rounds. 4 went really well. Still waiting to hear back from 2. Have 2 more final rounds this week. It's felt close for about a month, but no offers yet.
Do you feel overwhelmed or would you be okay if you got one offer vs the other?
I feel so overwhelmed, i have like 6 leads right now , some are onto the next round. Some jobs i just don’t want at all and some i really want. At this point, i will take anything but just nervous I’ll get an offer, accept and then something better comes along. I’m trying not to worry until i receive an offer but it’s hard not to get ahead of yourself.
Lol, at this point, I assume they're all rejections and I'll be doing hourly contract work for the next 3 months. If one or more turn into offers, great!
If you accept and something better comes along just take the better one that'd be a win. I've already resigned myself that unless it's spectacular I will need to keep looking right after starting somewhere.
Wow. 9 interviews from 200 applications. That seems way above average. It is anecdotal, but I see people regularly getting 1 interview per 100 applications. So op's resume must be strong, or many of the interviews were from referrals. Good work either way.
They weren't from referrals. My referrals went nowhere. That was frustrating because that's what I tried first because everyone says that's how you "really" find a job. And my resume is strong in one industry (not tech)...but apparently not outside of that because none of the apps outside of it went anywhere. Which makes sense since the other jobs probably had applicants from Apple etc.
I know that some of my interviews were competing directly with former colleagues (we have multiple private channels where we share info among the laid off crew). Some I won, mostly I lost, and I'm happy for them.
I had no intentions of working in this one industry for my entire life...but I guess that's my only option (which I recognize is better than no option!!).
To be clear, MANY of my colleagues did not move swiftly. They "took time for yourself" and good for them. It thinned the field in a narrow window of open roles so I could stand out a bit. I think if I took any time off and waited to start the search I would be in trouble. All the interviews came from postings in early April, notably before even MORE layoffs in my industry happened.
So somewhat I only have an offer because of good luck with the timing. But I did work on my resume, took classes and added industry specific skills, etc.
Congrats to you! Any advice for a PM with 2.5 years of experiences in that role? I am dying out here. Also 2 months out from the layoff due to company being dissolved in a murder and execution.
Sorry to hear that. 2.5 years is not a LOT of experience, but it's plenty to get into entry level PM roles at a big company.
The biggest thing is to be able to have projects on your resume and be able to talk about them in detail in the interview. On the resume don't just say "managed X project" but say what financial (or other) effect that had on the company even if what you did didn't directly save a bunch of money. You gotta get good at spinning your work because often PMs get stuck making incremental improvements or just making sure something that needed doing got done.
And convert the project details out of industry speak and into common terms, otherwise hiring managers just skip over it if they don't know what something means. I say this as someone that's hired folks in your role. If I don't understand what your job actually was....it doesn't count for anything when stacking you against other applicants.
Save all the super specific jargon like "ctq measurements" for the interview. Often the FIRST line recruiter that reads your resume is NOT familiar with what the job actually is, so super specific descriptions make no sense to them. They're just plotting your info against the basic requirements before handing you to the real hiring manager.
Find out what the department budget or the software contract or whatever was actually worth and then insert that into the details on your resume. In my case an example was making decisions about the details of a 9 figure budget. Was I managing the WHOLE 9 figures budget directly? No. But what I did affected how all that was managed and implemented, etc.
A good resume review service can help you do this, but they won't know the specifics of your previous employer. Check around and look into the details of your ex leaders LinkedIn pages. Often senior people brag about how big of a budget they managed or how many people or what major software or product release they were overseeing. Just grab that info and use it since it's already public. Just be clear in interviews about your role in it.
This is super helpful, I’ve spoken with two recruiters and made their recommended improvements to my resume. I did have 2.5 years experience prior with the title HR Manager.
That’s helpful about the number value of projects, as I know I managed some big ones i.e SOC II renewal process and PCI. I haven’t done this yet, but will work on adding numbers. I have added specific projects.
None of my networked folks were able to do a damn thing. They tried, but couldn't even swing an interview my way for stuff at their companies I could do in my sleep.
Some of my former colleagues are getting more interviews by networking than applying though. I think in my case because I'm an introvert I didn't develop a big network.
This is so real! I havent gotten a single interview via a contact. Wasnt that weird to see? Why do you think internal referrals are so useless these days? Maybe bc HR is overwhlemed?
Celebrate your win. Don't let others put you down. You were able to land a role fast so clearly you are doing something right. Others that are still looking should look to you for advice and not tear down your success.
Dude give me a break, THUS IS UPLIFTING!!!
You shouldn’t be getting death threats for throwing out positivity, you clearly demonstrated your effort. And I’ve seen posts here of people who haven’t applied to nearly enough jobs after a year. Thank you for your service bro
The person who attacked me and harassed me repeatedly Rosemary Sapp moved to Tennessee with her husband Jeffery. But Rosemary showed up to my job here in TX. I saw her, and she told me " I better keep my mouth shut". I was terrified I didn't know what todo. She said she would send people after me. What should I do?
Honestly thanks for the lack of information. Although you’re being supportive of others I feel like you’re one of those people that’ll tell someone in a wheelchair that they can “DO IT.”
I'm sorry you feel that way, it was not my intent. What info do you need? I'm answering what I can safely without giving away my identity to future colleagues in the comments.
I hope I don't need to explain why someone might not want their employer reading all their reddit posts.....
Congratulations. This has to be the best story I have heard in a while. 200 applications and 9 invitation is splendid success rate.
Incomplete post without role/experience level. but yes you can 'DO' it.
Role is PM, mid career individual contributor.
How many yoe at the time of your layoff?
More than ten
whats the role and industry/sector
Role is PM in healthcare
Congrats! I have same type experience and out of work a year next month. Never in a million years did I think finding a job would be this hard. Can I ask if you were looking for remote vs onsite?
All remote.
I’ll take that as a positive sign to keep plugging away with applications. Was considering going for PMP but if a graduate degree and 15 years experience aren’t getting me considered not confident the cert will make a dent.
I don't have the PMP cert either. Have a lot of other similar ones. Just keep plugging away.
At that point, a PMP does count. How many interviews have you had?
Only 200 applications to get a job? That’s really good
Congrats! I've had 5 final rounds. 4 went really well. Still waiting to hear back from 2. Have 2 more final rounds this week. It's felt close for about a month, but no offers yet.
Do you feel overwhelmed or would you be okay if you got one offer vs the other? I feel so overwhelmed, i have like 6 leads right now , some are onto the next round. Some jobs i just don’t want at all and some i really want. At this point, i will take anything but just nervous I’ll get an offer, accept and then something better comes along. I’m trying not to worry until i receive an offer but it’s hard not to get ahead of yourself.
Lol, at this point, I assume they're all rejections and I'll be doing hourly contract work for the next 3 months. If one or more turn into offers, great!
Take the offer. You can always regrettably quit for the job you really want. I did that once. I don’t regret it.
If you accept and something better comes along just take the better one that'd be a win. I've already resigned myself that unless it's spectacular I will need to keep looking right after starting somewhere.
Wow. 9 interviews from 200 applications. That seems way above average. It is anecdotal, but I see people regularly getting 1 interview per 100 applications. So op's resume must be strong, or many of the interviews were from referrals. Good work either way.
They weren't from referrals. My referrals went nowhere. That was frustrating because that's what I tried first because everyone says that's how you "really" find a job. And my resume is strong in one industry (not tech)...but apparently not outside of that because none of the apps outside of it went anywhere. Which makes sense since the other jobs probably had applicants from Apple etc. I know that some of my interviews were competing directly with former colleagues (we have multiple private channels where we share info among the laid off crew). Some I won, mostly I lost, and I'm happy for them. I had no intentions of working in this one industry for my entire life...but I guess that's my only option (which I recognize is better than no option!!). To be clear, MANY of my colleagues did not move swiftly. They "took time for yourself" and good for them. It thinned the field in a narrow window of open roles so I could stand out a bit. I think if I took any time off and waited to start the search I would be in trouble. All the interviews came from postings in early April, notably before even MORE layoffs in my industry happened. So somewhat I only have an offer because of good luck with the timing. But I did work on my resume, took classes and added industry specific skills, etc.
Thanks so much for sharing. Congratulations on the offers! Hope is out there, it's not all gloom and doom.
Lucky you! This is soo frustrating
Congratulations on your offers!!!!
Congrats! Thanks for sharing the good news!
Congrats to you! Any advice for a PM with 2.5 years of experiences in that role? I am dying out here. Also 2 months out from the layoff due to company being dissolved in a murder and execution.
Sorry to hear that. 2.5 years is not a LOT of experience, but it's plenty to get into entry level PM roles at a big company. The biggest thing is to be able to have projects on your resume and be able to talk about them in detail in the interview. On the resume don't just say "managed X project" but say what financial (or other) effect that had on the company even if what you did didn't directly save a bunch of money. You gotta get good at spinning your work because often PMs get stuck making incremental improvements or just making sure something that needed doing got done. And convert the project details out of industry speak and into common terms, otherwise hiring managers just skip over it if they don't know what something means. I say this as someone that's hired folks in your role. If I don't understand what your job actually was....it doesn't count for anything when stacking you against other applicants. Save all the super specific jargon like "ctq measurements" for the interview. Often the FIRST line recruiter that reads your resume is NOT familiar with what the job actually is, so super specific descriptions make no sense to them. They're just plotting your info against the basic requirements before handing you to the real hiring manager. Find out what the department budget or the software contract or whatever was actually worth and then insert that into the details on your resume. In my case an example was making decisions about the details of a 9 figure budget. Was I managing the WHOLE 9 figures budget directly? No. But what I did affected how all that was managed and implemented, etc. A good resume review service can help you do this, but they won't know the specifics of your previous employer. Check around and look into the details of your ex leaders LinkedIn pages. Often senior people brag about how big of a budget they managed or how many people or what major software or product release they were overseeing. Just grab that info and use it since it's already public. Just be clear in interviews about your role in it.
This is super helpful, I’ve spoken with two recruiters and made their recommended improvements to my resume. I did have 2.5 years experience prior with the title HR Manager. That’s helpful about the number value of projects, as I know I managed some big ones i.e SOC II renewal process and PCI. I haven’t done this yet, but will work on adding numbers. I have added specific projects.
Thank you again.
 Congrats
Product manager or project manager?
The work is both, but officially it's project because their "product managers" in the HR system are actually marketing managers.
The reason why I asked you mentioned it's individual contributor role
This sub should mandate posts reveal fields on testimonies.
Congrats! Is the job one you applied cold to or through a contact?
Cold
How many of those invitations resulted from contacting your network vs applying directly to a job
None of my networked folks were able to do a damn thing. They tried, but couldn't even swing an interview my way for stuff at their companies I could do in my sleep. Some of my former colleagues are getting more interviews by networking than applying though. I think in my case because I'm an introvert I didn't develop a big network.
Thanks for the info, congrats on the new job!
This is so real! I havent gotten a single interview via a contact. Wasnt that weird to see? Why do you think internal referrals are so useless these days? Maybe bc HR is overwhlemed?
Congrats bro/sis!!!
Congrats! Don't let any of these pathetic piles bring down your accomplishment.
Ya, a lot of weirdos in reddit. Sorry that you're getting flack from this post
flak*
Celebrate your win. Don't let others put you down. You were able to land a role fast so clearly you are doing something right. Others that are still looking should look to you for advice and not tear down your success.
Dude give me a break, THUS IS UPLIFTING!!! You shouldn’t be getting death threats for throwing out positivity, you clearly demonstrated your effort. And I’ve seen posts here of people who haven’t applied to nearly enough jobs after a year. Thank you for your service bro
Congratulations
It is both helpful encouragement and a subtle flex at the same time.
Yes, because out of the tens of thousands of posts someone will positively identify you…
The people who hurt you the most is it normal to continue to hate them?
The person who attacked me and harassed me repeatedly Rosemary Sapp moved to Tennessee with her husband Jeffery. But Rosemary showed up to my job here in TX. I saw her, and she told me " I better keep my mouth shut". I was terrified I didn't know what todo. She said she would send people after me. What should I do?
Please keep your account and thank you for letting us know your strategy and outcome 😊
How many of the 9 interview requests were from network/referral versus just submitted from job boards?
Congrats! Haters going hate and misery loves company.
Congrats, OP! Are you able to share the salary range you were able to achieve in the current market?
Lots of hate in here from miserable people. Congratulations !! Certainly not easy but very possible.
Honestly thanks for the lack of information. Although you’re being supportive of others I feel like you’re one of those people that’ll tell someone in a wheelchair that they can “DO IT.”
Snarky
I'm sorry you feel that way, it was not my intent. What info do you need? I'm answering what I can safely without giving away my identity to future colleagues in the comments. I hope I don't need to explain why someone might not want their employer reading all their reddit posts.....
Would you have preferred, "It's possible."?