A senior software engineer’s emotional post about struggling to find work despite 25 years of experience has struck a chord online, with many tech workers saying it reflects the harsh reality of today’s hiring market.
Andrew, a veteran techie, shared his frustration in a post on X after allegedly applying to more than 2,000 jobs without success. In the post, he questioned whether years of experience had become “worthless” in an era increasingly dominated by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and AI-driven hiring tools.
“I have a hard time believing that I am just unhireable. But I have an even harder time believing that my 25 years of experience is somehow negated by the format of my resume,” he wrote.
The techie said that he had sent dozens of emails to hiring managers asking for feedback, but claimed he had received “ZERO response”. He also alleged that some ATS systems unfairly classify certain professional backgrounds. He claimed that his research into popular hiring software revealed that words like “founder” and “freelancer” were sometimes interpreted as “unemployed”.
“So, now add to everything else, I am being punished for running successful businesses for over a decade,” he wrote.
{{/usCountry}}“So, now add to everything else, I am being punished for running successful businesses for over a decade,” he wrote.
{{/usCountry}}The techie said the prolonged job hunt was beginning to affect not just his finances but also his confidence and future plans. “Kind of at the end of my rope here. I have to start thinking about what retirement looks like, and I am just plain NOT HIREABLE. Career change at this point doesn't seem likely. I have literally never done anything professionally other than write software (at least, not since college anyway),” he wrote.
“This is actually going to start affecting my way of life, my standard of living, not to mention the people that count on me to provide,” he added.
Concluding his post, Andrew clarified that he was not seeking sympathy and was simply venting about a situation many others appear to be facing.
Social media reactions
The post quickly gained traction online, sparking debate around AI-led recruitment systems, age bias in tech and the challenges experienced professionals face in the current job market.
One user wrote, “Don't let these rejections or anyone or even yourself make you believe that. If at all, these are perhaps the best times for domain experts. AI makes coding a commodity but specialized skills and domain experts are needed to guide it. Just that industry is slow to understand it.”
“I feel you, I have been applying to jobs for 4-6 hours a day the last five months with very little to show for it. Even coded a program in claude code to customize resumes and cover letters. Maximize ATS, having implemented it the last two-three weeks it does seem to have a higher hit ratio. May make it public on github in the next week or two. It's your computers against their computers and just assume hiring managers are extremely lazy,” commented another.
“The hiring system is punishing exactly the wrong people. Someone who built successful businesses for a decade shouldn't be auto-rejected by an algorithm. 2,000 applications with your experience is crazy proof the process is broken, not you. Wishing you a breakthrough soon,” wrote a third user.
“You are correct, these are broken times due to ATS/AI systems that are obliterating real experience into scores. It’s like boiling down 25 years of deep experience into little simpleton snibbits of matching words to get attention,” said one user.
“It is a mess out there, potentially more so to those of us who have been around for a while. Networking on social media the only thing that's been helpful this time around. There has got to be a better answer! Wish I had it as well,” wrote another.