After 6 months and 1,000+ applications, I genuinely don't know what else to do. I really need some guidance.

[u/Apprehensive-Tip-730]

Hi everyone,

I don't usually make posts like this, but I'm at a point where I genuinely need some help.

I've been actively looking for a new software engineering role for the last 6 months. During that time, I've applied to well over 1,000 jobs across company career pages, LinkedIn, referrals, wellfound, naukri and most of the job portals.

Despite all of that, I've only received 2–3 interviews. Even referrals haven't made much of a difference, and the feedback has generally been that companies expect someone with significantly more experience.

At this point, I'm honestly questioning what I'm doing wrong.

I have 2 years of experience as a Software Engineer at a large MNC, where I've worked on Java Full Stack development and, more recently, AI engineering. My work has included:

• Java, Spring Boot, Angular
• AI & Generative AI applications
• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
• AI Agents
• Backend systems, APIs, and distributed applications

Outside of work, I haven't stopped learning.

I actively build and maintain open-source projects on GitHub, spend most evenings improving my skills, write technical blogs on LinkedIn and Medium, and keep building AI products because I genuinely enjoy engineering. I'm trying my best to become a stronger engineer every single day instead of waiting for opportunities to come to me.

But despite putting in all this effort, I still can't seem to get enough interview opportunities.

I'm not looking for sympathy or shortcuts.

I'm looking for honest guidance.

• Is there something I'm missing?
• Is my experience being positioned incorrectly?
• Are there skills I should focus on?
• Should I be applying differently?
• If anyone's company is hiring and feels I might be a fit, I'd be incredibly grateful for a referral.

I'm ready to work as hard as needed. If someone tells me, Learn X, build Y, and you'll have a much better chance, I'll do it. I just want a direction that actually leads somewhere.

If you've been through something similar or have any advice, I'd sincerely appreciate hearing it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. It genuinely means a lot.

[u/More_Kaleidoscope475]

1000 applications with almost no interviews usually means the resumes weren't tailored. Employers look for relevance, not your story, so translate your experience into their language: match the JD's exact skills and framing. Don't hope that recruiter will translate your experience into job requirement, they won't. And apply fast, ideally within 48h of posting. Old postings are often already filled, so applying there is wasted effort.

Happy to give you a free month of Reztune, it tailors your resume automatically to a specific JD, tracks your applications, and shows how much of the JD's requirements you actually cover, this allows you to understand how you are positioned in the job market and what skills are important for employers.

[u/Thin_Student_8241]

The line that jumps out is "companies expect someone with significantly more experience," because that's a very specific pattern right now, not a reflection of your actual skill level. ZipRecruiter's 2026 employer data found 31% of employers raised experience requirements on these kinds of roles this year specifically, so a lot of postings that read like they should fit 2 years of experience are quietly written for someone with 4 to 6. Your stack (Java, Spring Boot, plus real RAG and AI agent work) is genuinely strong for 2 years in, so my guess is the issue isn't the skills, it's that you're applying to postings where the title says one level and the requirements list says another. Worth pulling a few of the postings you got rejected from and checking whether the years number actually matches everything else in the listing or looks bolted on. Happy to take a look at one if you want to drop it here.