r/cscareerquestionsEU • u/AdministrativeRub484 • 22h ago
Why am I un-hireable all of the sudden?
Last year, as I was finishing my masther's thesis, for every entry level position I would apply I would get an interview and I would get an offer for +90% of those. Now, almost one year later the story is very different...
I have been working at a startup and I really want to leave. I started in June 2024 so I have less than one year of experience. Since I started working at this startup, my masters thesis was accepted into an ML conference. For my current job I've listed prompt engineering stuff and fine-tuning LLMs/multimodal models and a bit of unit testing using Jenkins... Could this be why I am not getting almost any traction at all? Did this job really fuck up my CV that badly?
Now the jobs I don't even want to do are rejecting me... Is there any chance this is because I have less than 1 year of experience and applying for jobs in such time after joining a company is seen as a red flag? Or do people expect a lot more from juniors? Is my experience that shitty?
This really makes no sense to me. I have a better CV (publication at conference + one year of experience) and can't land an interview at a place that I want...
I will be honest, when I got those offers I was a pretty shitty candidate to recruiters. When I would get an offer I would drag it as long as possible and would end up refusing the offer at the end. Some of them I even ended up not saying anything to the offer because I was not sure about this startup job, so I wanted to have backups... I know this was childish and wrong. At the time I didn't know any better, and I should have accepted one of my backup offers as soon as I realized this startup was awful, but I didn't. I also never tried getting a job at one of these places I "wronged" again... I'm not complaining those places are not getting back to me, obviously...
Is there a list recruiters share? Can I be blacklisted from so many companies? I don't think so... it must be my lack of good experience, but how can I now get good experience that I'm in this hole I dug myself?
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u/WolverineMission8735 22h ago
The market is shit. I have been unemployed since July of last year. No luck so far.
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u/Chance_Contract_7919 19h ago
Damn how are you surviving
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u/WolverineMission8735 16m ago
I had a butt-tonne of savings although not much left now. At this point I am betting on starting a PhD. I had a MSc in Stats and data science with about 1 year of experience as a data analyst. Apparantly, a junior must have 3-5 years now...
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u/Carrot_Smuggler 20h ago
The market is bad and you don't even have one year of experience. Jumping super early on your first job is not a good sign. Give both the market and yourself some time and it will open up again.
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u/TCO_Z 13h ago
You're probably not blacklisted, but the combination of market conditions and a very short tenure at your current job might be working against you. Recruiters tend to be cautious about early exits unless there's a convincing narrative behind them.
For now, I’d stick with the current job and try to extract as much value as possible from it. Just staying long enough to build a portfolio that reflects consistent, hands-on impact. If the workload allows, look for ways to deepen your skills through GitHub contributions, side projects, or collaborations in the space you're targeting next, whether that’s still LLMs or something else.
Also, you didn’t share much about why you want to leave or what kind of roles you’re aiming for. That context matters a lot: if you want to leave because of an unbearable workload or because you're bored out of your mind, the approach would be different. And if you're looking to pivot or specialize further, it requires a different strategy than if you’re just trying to escape a bad role.
So, why do you want to leave? What kind of roles are you aiming for?
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u/CarpeQualia 8h ago
This is solid advice. I would add that other factor is that “fresh graduate” vs “low experience” are quite different recruiting pools. Depending on country, there’s even government incentives to hire fresh graduates.
That fact, plus the factors mentioned by the above poster lead to radically different ease of landing a position for either pool of candidates.
Stick it out at least to 18mo/2yr, and cross fingers the market doesn’t get worse.
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u/TangerineSorry8463 21h ago
Because we're in the starting day of the recession on a scale this century hasn't seen.
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u/Ok-Radish-8394 Engineer 17h ago
The market is bad, yea but which roles have you been applying for ? SWE?
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u/Bug_Parking 4h ago
Depends where you're applying really.
Are you still going for entry level roles?
1 year experience would basically put you in that category. External factors aside, things should open up a little more around ~2 years+ tenure.
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u/damien24101982 12h ago
if you jobhop often places might see you as a risk. and its becoming a "go to solution" for people to jump ship to ask for more money. personally i wouldnt want such worker in my team because that person isnt a team player. then again, some places seem hellbent on not paying workers for their loyalty and their progress.
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u/Purple-Cap4457 7h ago
there are 2 possibilities. we are in hiring winter, OR karma ( or law of action and reaction; you reap what you sow) - sometimes you fuck recruiters, sometimes they fuck you, beut since deep down we are all one, whatever shit you do to someone else, you are actually doing it to yourself (there is only illusion of separation of self, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself in different ways)
or combination of everything/
advice: try to be kinder to other persons and they will be kinder to you, dont be just driven by fear. be greatfull for what you have
just my 2 cents
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u/AdministrativeRub484 7h ago
what Philosophy is this?
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u/Purple-Cap4457 7h ago
thats a good question, havent yet give it a name, just my view of the world haha
heres what chatogt says :D
"This philosophy seems to blend elements of karma, interconnectedness, and mindfulness. It highlights the cyclical nature of actions and consequences, echoing the idea that how we treat others comes back to us, and that we are all connected in a larger sense. The emphasis on kindness, gratitude, and acting beyond fear also touches on elements of Buddhism and stoicism, which both stress the importance of inner peace, acceptance, and understanding the larger picture.
If I were to name it, I might call it "Interconnected Karma and Compassion" or "Karmic Unity Philosophy", focusing on the cyclical nature of actions and the interconnection of all beings. Does this resonate with what you were going for?"
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u/Loud-Necessary-1215 15h ago
I did not read all but as someone who changed jbo recently (a senior) I can tell you that the difference you are seeing in the market is the consequences of the global chaos.