Anyone else struggling to get a new job? I’ve been in consulting for 10 years and funding it very hard to leave it. It’s been 6+ months and over 100 apps with no offers. I don’t know if this is normal now days or if I’m doing something wrong.

I'm having the same problem. I feel like it's age descrimination.

Oh it's definitely normal. The system is really broken. By the time a job is even posted on LinkedIn, it is often either filled or hundreds of people have already applied. If you even hear that they have 'moved on to more qualified applicants' after a couple of months, consider yourself lucky.

🙋‍♀️ it’s a weird job market. But yeah; I’ve been seriously searching for 3 months and have only made it thru interviews with 2 companies. Hopefully I get an offer next week….

I’ve heard from a few recruiters that the market trends have shifted, and industry players no longer value consulting experience as much as they used to. If you’re just applying to jobs online, it’s going to be a long and slow process. Best option is to use your network. Jump to an ex client if you like them enough. Or work through exec recruiters.

I would echo another comments and focus entirely on networking. Consider cold applying utterly useless. Connect with people at the companies on LinkedIn. Recruiters and employees. Identify recruiters to reach out to. Directly email them if you can. You have to get creative and treat it like a sales job. Your goal should be identifying the hiring manager and recruiter for an opening and then directly reaching out to them. Even better way is to have a referral ping them internally to flag your application. It’s really tough out there. But I have gotten interviews through what I laid out above

It’s an extremely strange and difficult market... My background is almost 25 years of experience in finance, systems, & process improvement for various large and small companies. The past seven years consulting for myself, six of those years under contract with the state. State & Federal don’t pay well - 98% of the time go with low bid. That said, I started to hit the market hard in September 2024, just landed one in May 2026. Let that marinate… of course reached out to my network but found many gave generic check the job page. Had a few people in my network reach out about positions but the companies ended up closing out and or changing the scope and lowering the pay.

Many recruiters were difficult to work with they had limited to no understanding of what I had accomplished in previous roles or could t see the correlation between the roles I was applying for. Think basic - you see a role, read the description and think I’ve done that - that’s 100% in my wheel house - you apply. Crickets… several things I ran into resume issues too long, too short, doesn’t explicitly have identical titles to that of which I was applying for (this was huge!) literally had several interviews where I would explain how my experience matches the ask or JD - to only be asked if I had ever held or been a “blank” role title before”. If I said no but the title I held was similar just not identical it was a no go.

I can honestly say many recruiters & LinkedIn was a complete waste of time - stale postings, ghost positions, or too many applicants. I had better luck with Indeed or direct applying. I ended up landing current role through networking at a company I previously worked. Applied to an insane amount of positions ball park close to a 1000 - using one of over 150 resume iterations. I found companies want the same verbiage used in JD on your resume causing each application to be tailored. Keep in mind that you may never even hear back about your application. Use AI to review your resume against job descriptions- don’t pay for resume service or sites that claim they do that. Just pay for AI like ChatGPT and have it review and score and make recommendations.

It’s a numbers game… have to put them out. Also be prepared for multiple stage interviews coupled with panel interviews (that make absolutely no sense). Be prepared to be messed around by recruiters - went five rounds with a company was the chosen candidate got the offer $70k less than the range previously discussed.

Couple others said it - put out the numbers, network, get creative! Prior to this my career consisted of being pulled to companies through networking or direct recruitment. Hadn’t used a resume in 14years - which the resume game has completely changed and flat out doesn’t make sense.

Stick with it - stay positive - don’t sweat rejection emails or ghosting that’s the norm these days. There’s a light out there - you might need to swap tunnels! Good luck

10 years!? You must know so many ppl that already left your firm and landed somewhere! Typically ex-consultants hire ex-consultants bc they understand the toolkit and how to apply it

15+ YoE ....18 months and going

I’ve been doing ~50 apps a week and get a couple interviews every couple weeks. 100 in six months unfortunately might not be enough

I have been looking for 1.5 years after having my contract cut. The main thing that got me traction is reaching out to ever placement agency that has a book of business with gov consulting companies.
Talk with the recruiters and get them helping you look. Referrals seem not to have any weight anymore. Submitting directly to companies website and linked in post have given me very little traction.

I was on my job for 26 years, it’s been almost a year trying to find work. I don’t know what it is but nothing coming through for me.

I am also having a hard time finding consulting work or any work for that matter. I have over 10 years experience and no interviews. Many other consultants have went into other directions and even left the industry, so it is hard to find a new network. I am still applying.

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Yes. Big time. It's been tough. Been hunting for over a year. Took a break as it was disappointing but still searching

I am getting some results

Ditto with Instructional System Design. I think that they look at my resume and dates of my graduations and either think that A) let's not even bother asking because we don't want to pay for that knowledge, B) he won't have the AI/programming skills that a more recent graduate will have (M.S. 2014)), or C) they have been employed for quite a few years and they will be more savvy about policies and procedures (not as likely to be pushed around with staying late and last minute changes). I agree with the ageism comments. Furloughed in December of 2025.

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Also, how are gaps in employment being addressed? Do people put something in the cover letters, or is it best to be a "freelancer" on your resume?