It’s been three days since the layoff.
Although I thought I’d be more alert and on my toes trying to get back to work, I actually found myself enjoying the small freedom.
I figured that I shouldn’t rush into looking for jobs just yet. To be honest, I’m not even sure what interviews look like these days. AI has changed so much of the industry, and I’ve been out of the interview circuit for a long time. Before I start applying, I want to understand what employers are actually looking for these days.
I can only assume that the interview process is not the same anymore, and I have done nothing to keep myself competitive.
For that reason, I have decided not to start applying for jobs just yet. Not to mention that I may not meet some of the required qualifications, I should spend some time practicing LeetCode and system design questions to get comfortable enough to answer questions in my own words and logic.
Just wondering, now that I have the years of experience under my belt, is solve coding questions still a requirement to get past the bar?
Need to come up with a plan. Set a goal. COMPLETE the goal. Only then may I have a better chance at getting a new job than I do now.
In order to come up with a plan, I needed to do a self-evaluation.
PUBLIC SPEAKING / PRESENTATION
Being an introvert, I suck at public speaking.
Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy communicating with colleagues. I am pretty good at chit-chat, thanks to all the years I worked at my parents’ convenience store. But when I realize I am being evaluated, I tend to go “uh…” “so…” and “hmm…” more often than usual. My thoughts end up all over the place.
From what I know, this is definitely something I can improve through practice.
TECH STACKS
One major area where I do not stand out compared to other applicants is my tech stack.
Working for a company that’s been around for more than twenty years, adopting new technologies was usually a deliberate process rather than chasing every new trend. Not because we weren’t interested, but because our software was already doing its job well. We would evaluate new tools and frameworks and migrate only if it made practical sense.
The downside is that I haven’t had much hands-on exposure to some of the technologies that appear regularly in job postings today.
That gap can be improved. I can research modern technologies and try to relate them back to the systems I’ve worked on. Understanding how they solve problems is probably more valuable than simply knowing their names.
PROJECT / PORTFOLIO
According to some LinkedIn and Reddit posts, it seems that many people maintain active public repositories to showcase their skills and continuous learning. Some interviewers even mention that an active repository can help distinguish one candidate from another.
I have to admit, I’ve never been one of those people.
Between a full-time job, family responsibilities, and trying to maintain some balance in life, keeping a public repository active was never high on my list of priorities.
That said, I do feel that I should build a few projects of my own. Not necessarily for recognition from interviewers, but for my own growth and practice. If it ends up being a positive addition when I apply for jobs, that’s simply a bonus.
After listing these points, I ended up spending most of my day getting this blog into a better state.
What I thought would be a quick setup ended up taking much longer than expected. I spent a good chunk of time configuring SSL for the site and setting up WordPress themes and plugins.
I had to bounce back and forth between ZeroSSL and Cloudflare trying to figure out why my GoDaddy-hosted website still wasn’t SSL certified.
I also found myself revisiting A Five-Minute Meeting post several times. There was always something I wanted to tweak or clarify after publishing it. I suppose that’s the downside of writing something personal.
And after all that, I ended up running my usual daily chores: cleaning the house, going grocery shopping, and playing with my daughter.
Was it productive? Yes.
Was it the highest-priority item on my list? Probably not.
It’s not about making visible progress every day. Today was about creating the space and structure needed to start making progress tomorrow.
