Laid off from a startup in February, he started counting. By the end: 1,662 applications and 59 interviews — 24 recruiter prescreens, 23 first rounds, six second rounds, six final rounds. Nine months.
The arithmetic is the story. Roughly one interview for every twenty-eight applications, and a final round for every ten interviews. Along the way, offers so low he ignored them, then took them seriously in month three; every one of those ghosted him.
He thinks the mistake was filtering for remote only. Hybrid and on-site would have meant more shots. The offer he accepted starts in November, fully remote — the filter held, eventually.
He closed with the detail that made the post land: he had been waiting months for a reason to use the same happy-cat image another poster had used.