493 Days of Unemployment and What I Learned
After quitting my job and a long struggle, I finally found a new opportunity.
September 15, two years ago, and resigning from a ~4-year job was a turning point in my life. It marked the end of my migration journey to Turkey and the beginning of dozens of questions about my career path. Three months later, I still hadn’t fully understood the situation I was in. The crisis that had begun months before my resignation (admitting failure and starting treatment and ending it) eventually forced me, after much resistance, to step out of my comfort zone and seek change in my professional life.
During this period, I decided to rebuild/relearn as much as possible of whatever was left from my previous life that had been waiting for focus and closure. One of the outcomes was a project I’m proud of these days: Durnam, a suite of Azerbaijani Turkish language tools. Some things were removed with a deletion approach to make room for new ideas. One of these was a project I had worked on for two continuous years but eventually realized that no one wanted to use it. So I quietly removed it without announcing it.
Alongside all this, freelancing, this old love-hate relationship, also came alive. I worked on a few very exciting projects for friends, which eased some financial pressure. Following the advice of a few friends, I also tried to make this channel a bit more formal, which, however, wasn’t very successful.
Another effort was to create a Passive Income channel. Writing was the easiest and most accessible option for me. A premium Medium account and around 40 consistent posts yielded nothing more than $3. Not surprising. If you’re not already a recognized figure (which I wasn’t), either you need a highly viral post or you settle for just $3.
And of course, alongside all this, the grueling job application process began. Over 15 months and 5 days, or 493 days in total, I submitted more than 3,000 applications through various channels: LinkedIn, other job platforms, referrals from friends and acquaintances, personal research, and a thousand other ways. Every single one ended in failure due to these reasons:
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Being Iranian
This was the main reason the process dragged on. No one really wants to hire an Iranian, especially someone who has lived in Iran. -
Not being physically present in the country of the job
Almost 99.99% of the LinkedIn applications I sent weren’t even seen because their system filtered out applications from outside the target country. So I had no chance to compete. -
Fake job postings
There are various reasons for this, from tax benefits to advertising to show the company is active, or simply to display their name on job sites. -
Unstable global economy
My timing was unlucky. Between the AI revolution and the post-COVID market corrections with waves of layoffs, the programming job market was pushed to the brink. -
Vibe: the invisible energy shaping our world
Some simply don’t like your appearance, name, or way of speaking!
Finally, in early January, I received a message from a recruiter who wanted to discuss a job opportunity. In other words, I have to admit that ultimately, finding a new job “by me” had failed. It was just a stroke of luck that broke this chain of failures, allowing me to start somewhere that meets every factor I was looking for.
Words cannot capture the mental strain and pressure I endured. My only advice is: hold on tightly wherever you are until your new position is finalized.
In any case, this process is over, and I’ve started the new calendar year, and solar year, with new and pleasant circumstances.
Forward: arazgray.com/493-days-of-unemployment-and-what-i-learned.ink