This thread is for people who are currently looking for jobs and interviewing. We have threads for various job-related topics, but I thought something like this would be useful so we can stand by each other as we look to find a new job or to upgrade our current one.

This thread is not meant to ask for jobs or to advertise an open position, there are other threads for that.

A place to share your job search and interview progress, ask questions, and support others going through the process.

Feel free to post updates along the way, even if you just want to share where you are in the process. Share any advice you have on the current job market and what has worked for you. It's meant to be a running thread where everyone in the job market posts together.

We will celebrate your successes and commiserate with you when the news isn't so good.
No negativity, only positive feelings, help and support.

Best wishes to you. How did it go?

I will also contribute. I was let go in early 2025 and I took a job making 1/3rd of what I was previously making. The role is sales focused and I like it but the current economy does not make the sales production happen. I'm on track for that 1/3rd and not much more. It's been hard to say the least.

I applied for another job with salaries much closer to my former role. Idk if I'll get them but I feel nervous how it plays out with the current sales team I'm on. They gave me a chance and I'm thankful but I also have bills to pay and future(s) to prepare for. Not sure how you thread that needle if you get the job and don't want to burn bridges at the old job. Tough to say when it's a smaller industry.

I'm currently looking, because our department at the college I work for is having budget issues. I'm probably safe, but they'll probably lay off lots of instructors.

I'm also looking because my assistant went on FMLA, leaving me working by myself with partial coverage (instructors helping out); but, I'm doing 1/2 of the work by myself, because it is quicker to do it myself than train 6-7 other people.

Other departments in the college are flush with $$, as is the college as a whole. Looking for other positions within the college, or outside as well.

I wish I could find something remote, but that aint ever happening.

Rice and Fries said:

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Best wishes to you. How did it go?

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Thanks! It took a day for me to respond to the recruiter and another day for him but we have a call set up for tomorrow!
I am going to do minimal prep to get my talking points out clearly. The job is hybrid with 1 day in the office so that works for me.

If I get it, it better be at the top of the salary range (which would be slightly above the base I made in my earlier job). Of they go lower, then I won't consider if even thought would be still higher than what I make now. This current job has great people, awesome boss lady, doing cool AI stuff, and I have flexibility and above all, mental peace. No psychos where I work. That itself is priceless.

Congrats on the opportunity and I hope it goes well!

Moving into a new industry. Sent out 250+ applications via LinkedIn but the handful of interviews and phone calls I've been blessed with have all come from connections. Feeling hopeful about the opportunities out there. Hoping to move before the end of the year.

Glad this was posted due to timing. The company I work for is being acquired by a competitor; as long as governing entity approvals go through, we are looking at closing by the end of the year. This has me, as well as coworkers, planning for what comes next.

Thanks to whoever posted to the Aggie Network LinkedIn page and the Reveille Club; it will be advantageous to join both as soon as possible.

The industry I am in seems to be shrinking by the day, and if I am not brought into the new organization, I fear it will be time to look elsewhere outside the industry (offshore drilling).

Just had my call with the recruiter of the company. He Zoomed me from Dallas. It was my first job interview since March, so I was somewhat rusty. I told myself that I didn't need the job, so there was no pressure. I am okay getting rejected. I am a good fit for the job but am I "over-qualified" or "too old"?

I am confident of being moved to the next round to talk to the VP but let's see if/when it happens.

infinity ag said:

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Just had my call with the recruiter of the company. He Zoomed me from Dallas. It was my first job interview since March, so I was somewhat rusty. I told myself that I didn't need the job, so there was no pressure. I am okay getting rejected. I am a good fit for the job but am I "over-qualified" or "too old"?

I am confident of being moved to the next round to talk to the VP but let's see if/when it happens.

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I just got an email from the recruiter, they are sending me to the next round! I would be talking to a VP who I believe is the manager's manager.

Quote:

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It was a pleasure speaking with you recently regarding the **** opportunity with us at *** and learning more about you.

As the next step, we would like you to speak via Zoom with ***, Vice President, ***, for 45 minutes and she will dive into further detail about your background and will provide more information about the position and team.

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I also had a 1-1 weekly call with my current manager, she is having me present our AI strategy to a larger group and wants me in our AI roadmap meetings, so things are developing here as well. My only complaint is I am paid peanuts and my title is low also.

Nothing so far. Have had my resume sent to different parts of the college. Also been applying for a good number of positions.

Difficult to do when my assistant is still out. She's supposed to be back this weekend hopefully.

Round 2 scheduled for next Tue. With the VP lady.
I looked her up, she isn't very technical and quite some years younger than I am. If I end up there she would be 2 levels above. I think the goal is just to check fit.

Had Round 2 with the VP lady on Tue. Went well. Fit interview. I am confident of being moved forward.

However, I am still thinking. Earlier I thought if I got it, and if they agreed to offer a Director level role, I would accept. But now I feel I should stay put because the work I am doing is good and culture is good. Though my title and salary are crap. My current company is probably better placed to help me move to the West coast.

So I will just play along and eventually not accept. I am getting warmed up on interview prep though.

After a month long process, including 7 different interviews and the hiring team actually contacting my references, I was just told that I didn't get the job.

Throughout the entire process, I was given positive feedback each step of the way and actually told that I should be expecting an offer and I was the only candidate they were still talking to. Feedback from references were all great. After I was given this info, I had two additional interviews - no idea what went wrong. The final interview was with the team from a sister company, not even the company I would be working for directly.

The only feedback I got was they were slightly shifting the direction of this role after internal convos, and I didn't have enough experience in that area (I have ~1 year of work in this area and actively working on that specifically). I don't really understand why the sudden change. I don't have enough experience? Ok, let's get to work so I can have that experience. During several of the interviews, I was told directly that they were excited about my initiative to learn new technologies and ability to get the ball rolling quickly. I don't really feel like I was given a chance to calm any nerves they had.

To say I am frustrated would be putting it lightly. The more I learned about this role, the better fit it appeared to be for me. I had even slowed my job search since I was getting such positive feedback. Now I feel like I'm starting over again.

infinity ag said:

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Had Round 2 with the VP lady on Tue. Went well. Fit interview. I am confident of being moved forward.

However, I am still thinking. Earlier I thought if I got it, and if they agreed to offer a Director level role, I would accept. But now I feel I should stay put because the work I am doing is good and culture is good. Though my title and salary are crap. My current company is probably better placed to help me move to the West coast.

So I will just play along and eventually not accept. I am getting warmed up on interview prep though.

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Just got a reject. No reason why and they claim they decided to go with another candidate who fit better. Okay.

No problem, I thought long and hard over the past few days, and this company/job was not a good fit in terms of projects I would work on and it was in the city I am in now. The only pluses would have been higher salary and title which at this point is not what I am looking for. Downside of the mission of the role would have worked against my goal long term.

Got 2 interviews out if it - good practice and I am warmed up.

My next steps are to keep applying and interviewing but only take seriously the jobs that are in the west coast where I want to move to over the next 6-8 months. Others would be for practice only.

Unless you need the money at this stage in your life, I don't understand why people anchor on titles and salary.

Do what you enjoy, that affords the best balance in the life you want to live.

Many of the highest paying jobs are absolutely miserable.

infinity ag said:

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infinity ag said:

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Had Round 2 with the VP lady on Tue. Went well. Fit interview. I am confident of being moved forward.

However, I am still thinking. Earlier I thought if I got it, and if they agreed to offer a Director level role, I would accept. But now I feel I should stay put because the work I am doing is good and culture is good. Though my title and salary are crap. My current company is probably better placed to help me move to the West coast.

So I will just play along and eventually not accept. I am getting warmed up on interview prep though.

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Just got a reject. No reason why and they claim they decided to go with another candidate who fit better. Okay.

No problem, I thought long and hard over the past few days, and this company/job was not a good fit in terms of projects I would work on and it was in the city I am in now. The only pluses would have been higher salary and title which at this point is not what I am looking for. Downside of the mission of the role would have worked against my goal long term.

Got 2 interviews out if it - good practice and I am warmed up.

My next steps are to keep applying and interviewing but only take seriously the jobs that are in the west coast where I want to move to over the next 6-8 months. Others would be for practice only.

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Just for fun, I looked at the job posting I got rejected from and it was GONE!

This is strange. They told me there are 4 rounds to the process and I got rejected after the 2nd round. The rejection email said this:

Quote:

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While we were very impressed with your qualifications, we were faced with a difficult decision, and I regret to inform you that we finally selected another recruit who we believe more closely matches what we are looking for in the position.

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If they picked someone else, then he/she would have another 2 rounds of interviews to go which is at least a week more. Why did they take off the job posting right away?
Possibilities:

• The job posting was fake and they wanted to interview a US citizen before trying to extend an H1B's visa. Did not seem like that to me when I spoke to the VP lady though I got a sense that some sections she was trying to hurry me.
• They had someone in the very end stage and I was the candidate who could upend that person and I failed to do so, so they picked him and rejected me.
• They completely canceled the job requisition completely because priorities changed.

It seems like the last one happened, but who knows? This is what the page shows now. I even logged in and clicked on the job posting link from my profile and it's completely gone.

AggiEE said:

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Unless you need the money at this stage in your life, I don't understand why people anchor on titles and salary.

Do what you enjoy, that affords the best balance in the life you want to live.

Many of the highest paying jobs are absolutely miserable.

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Good question. I am lucky and blessed that I don't need money at this point. But I feel unfulfilled career-wise. I made my money "outside" of a career which is not how I envisioned it to be. In some ways I feel like I cheated, though I did not and am completely legal.

I just want to check some boxes before I call time on my career. If I don't make an honest attempt, then I will regret it forever. I have to move West to make any headway, my miserable city is useless. I am currently in a remote job working with NYC teams.

I give myself another 6 years max.

I don't want any part of some of the highest paying jobs. I just want something that I feel I deserve and am capable to do. The H1B invasion in tech ruined the careers of so many Americans, it is not even funny.

infinity ag said:

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AggiEE said:

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Unless you need the money at this stage in your life, I don't understand why people anchor on titles and salary.

Do what you enjoy, that affords the best balance in the life you want to live.

Many of the highest paying jobs are absolutely miserable.

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Good question. I am lucky and blessed that I don't need money at this point. But I feel unfulfilled career-wise. I made my money "outside" of a career which is not how I envisioned it to be. In some ways I feel like I cheated, though I did not and am completely legal.

I just want to check some boxes before I call time on my career. If I don't make an honest attempt, then I will regret it forever. I have to move West to make any headway, my miserable city is useless. I am currently in a remote job working with NYC teams.

I give myself another 6 years max.

I don't want any part of some of the highest paying jobs. I just want something that I feel I deserve and am capable to do. The H1B invasion in tech ruined the careers of so many Americans, it is not even funny.

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Fair enough, but my point in all of this is that if you've already become financially independent you can do whatever you want to do.

Does that mean Tech? If you still have a passion and joy for it, by all means. But checking boxes has to mean something to you and you alone; nobody else will care whatsoever about the boxes you've checked.

But you may also be limiting the pursuit of other types of jobs that you may enjoy or feel more fulfillment from, regardless of what those jobs pay.

AggieMainland said:

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In the same boat with lower title and salary. In a new industry so this was the only way I was getting my foot in the door. I used to interview and hire younger folks at this level so its kind of surreal being in this position now. Feels like being in a fake reality tv show vs real life, hard to explain. Manager and director give me props for doing a good job at work but im about 10 years overqualified for the role so obviously i'm doing a good job, but i play the game, say thanks and move on. The lower title and salary will eventually become an issue but right now i'm just happy to be employed after struggling to find a job earlier in the year. Similar to the other poster, even if i get a promotion next year I'd still be way below where i should be. I'm so embarrassed at my job title that I have it listed as something more vague on Linkedin. A promotion wouldn't change that either. Don't like the feeling of embarrassment more than lower salary. But I am enjoying the lower expectations. Coworkers are mostly great and I don't hate going to work which is super weird to me. Right now I still have PTSD from all those interviews and rejections so I'm staying still and putting my head down. I'll start looking around again for a new role next year at some point.

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My situation is similar.
I started my career almost 30 years ago in tech after I graduated from A&M. I made $X back then which is equivalent to $Y today in 2026 money. My current salary is below $Y which causes me a lot of heartburn. Not that I need the money, I don't. But it is a MASSIVE blow to my ego.

My peak salary was $Z a couple of years ago before a layoff. My wife who started working 16 years after me (after kids, I guided her through things) makes much more than I do now though it is below my peak of $Z. My new grad son is in CA and makes more than I do even considering the location adjustments.

I make entry level money after A&M, a top 5 MBA and tons of direct experience. Numerically, I make the money I made in 2005. What good is it being an American when foreigners with fake degrees get into the best companies through their fixed pipeline?

I feel cursed career-wise, much like Aggie Football. It was a big mistake to stay in my Midwestern city which is slowly dying economically. I could not move because my kids had 8 years of high school back to back. Now both are out of the house so I can move. I sacrificed my career to ensure my kids would be well set. They are well-set but I personally lost out. So I want to fix that.

My current job is going well and I don't blame the company as I willingly accepted the salary and title. I was not able to find another job for a good amount of time prior so I was thankful to get this. I am very much overqualified for my job but the tech market is so screwed up by visas and other fraud that it is not easy to get another one. Everyone else is suffering like this.

I am also embarrassed about my title and have entered in a vague one "XYZ Leader" in LinkedIn. I see many people doing this. I will feel vindicated if my boss makes me "Director" next cycle. She is a Sr Director (and 13 years my junior) so making me Director is not shocking.

AggiEE said:

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infinity ag said:

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AggiEE said:

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Unless you need the money at this stage in your life, I don't understand why people anchor on titles and salary.

Do what you enjoy, that affords the best balance in the life you want to live.

Many of the highest paying jobs are absolutely miserable.

---

Good question. I am lucky and blessed that I don't need money at this point. But I feel unfulfilled career-wise. I made my money "outside" of a career which is not how I envisioned it to be. In some ways I feel like I cheated, though I did not and am completely legal.

I just want to check some boxes before I call time on my career. If I don't make an honest attempt, then I will regret it forever. I have to move West to make any headway, my miserable city is useless. I am currently in a remote job working with NYC teams.

I give myself another 6 years max.

I don't want any part of some of the highest paying jobs. I just want something that I feel I deserve and am capable to do. The H1B invasion in tech ruined the careers of so many Americans, it is not even funny.

---

Fair enough, but my point in all of this is that if you've already become financially independent you can do whatever you want to do.

Does that mean Tech? If you still have a passion and joy for it, by all means. But checking boxes has to mean something to you and you alone; nobody else will care whatsoever about the boxes you've checked.

But you may also be limiting the pursuit of other types of jobs that you may enjoy or feel more fulfillment from, regardless of what those jobs pay.

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Yes, being financially independent is a huge blessing. That's why I want to focus my energies on myself for once after giving and giving to the wife and kids. I am somewhat losing my passion for tech as I am not rewarded for the work I have put it, just one of those things. You can do a lot of work sometimes but not get the benefit of it. That is life.

My plan is to start looking for jobs in the Bay Area and move there over the next 6 months. The job I interviewed for was local and I don't want to stay here for much longer.

My life has been upside down. People have a successful career and then become financially independent. I am the other way - financially independent first, but with an underwhelming career. I cannot get time back but I want to do what I am able to in the next 6 years I give myself in a city where I can be successful.