Microsoft laying off 7K people just made job hunting 10x harder for us

I’ve stopped applying to anything unless I know someone inside. it’s not even about qualifications anymore, it’s about who can cut the line

I feel this so much. recruiter told me last week they had 1,200 applicants for ONE product role. and that was before the Microsoft layoffs

this is exactly how it felt when Google and Meta did cuts too. hundreds of super qualified people suddenly in the same pool. it just makes it impossible for the rest of us to even get seen