Unemployment

You could attempt to get a job in a different field while continuing to look for a job in your field of study. I recently lost my job and have not yet started looking for a new one, but this week I will be sending in applications. You'll get something eventually, just keep looking

Congratulations on your graduation!
It's been a long time now, but after graduating I felt the same way as you.
Several months with no vision and nothing to do, I didn't want to move to a big city and be away from my friends and family.
I ended up taking a "small job" while continuing to search
In the end this temporary job went on for 6 months and I ended up finding a position that suited me close to everything I didn't want to leave.
With persistence you'll eventually find what you're looking for, you just have to keep at it ;)

I just got laid off today after nearly 2 years at my first job. I'm at the edge of the unknown.

Congratulations on your graduation! 🥳

As for job hunting... From my own experience over the decades: Sometimes it can take months or even a year or more, sometimes head hunters come knocking on your door each week. And just because they did last year, doesn't mean they will next year.
The job situation changes quickly and we all have to adapt to some degree, but there is only so much you can do.

Have you let some other people (with experience) look over your CV and your cover letters? Those are very important and can be the difference between getting the opportunity to present yourself in person or no response at all.

From what you wrote, you did manage to get some calls already, which is great. You may want to roleplay an interview with someone so they can give you feedback on how you come across, or little mistakes you might make unknowingly.

But even with you nailing everything, there still are many others out there who are competing and it can be the tiniest nuance (and how you feel on that day) that makes the difference. Don't be disheartened and don't give up trying. I am sure you will find the right company and the right job. 💗

Uncertain times and especially IT seems to suffer from high supply and dropping demand. Not unusual, that happens to all kind of industries over time. But naturally it sucks for those affected.
I'd consider moving to the capital in your case. No harm in applying for jobs there.

Been unemployed since 2020. Just doing some freelance stuff whenever it's possible to get some pocket money.

If a company has a spot for submitting a resume even if they currently have no matching positions - do that.
Companies can be lazy, and sometimes rather than posting a job listing they'll look through resumes they have on hand already and see if there's a match.

Best of luck! I hope you find something that's a good fit soon

Congratz on your graduation.
Its a long journey, finding a job is not easy. I gave like 23 interviews(16months) then got my first job back in 2023. Be patient and keep applying to every suitable vacancy.Trust yourself.

Good luck!

I suggest signing on with a temp agency. You avoid the blues of sitting at home while everyone else goes to work, you get a bit of income, and you get to know various companies and their culture as you get assignments. As a full-fledged developer, your MS Office skills might cause you to be revered as a wizard. With a little luck, you might be sent to a company where you like the vibe and the people, and those contacts could pay off later. Talk to HR while you're there and let them know your skillset.

Also, in some countries, HR could be restricted from keeping your data longer than a certain amount of time, but that won't really affect the people in the working departments that you'll meet and make a good impression on.

Oh, I don't think you should worry
Finding your first job is very difficult. It's completely normal.
Don't worry, even if you have several interviews and rejections.

Been there some years ago. Don't worry it's completely normal. Took me a few months to find a job(IT, but barely related to my studies) and I worked there for a few months before I actually got an offer matching my skills. Few month later I started getting new ones regularly. With just a bit of hands on experience it will be much easier, but just after graduation you are a big unknown to potential employers.

I encountered completely varying attitudes ranging from an offer of unpaid 6-month internship which only guaranteed that after that period your CV will be added to the pool to frank statements like "you look like a good candidate, but we're actually looking for somebody without a diploma as we would need to offer you a higher band compared to an undergraduate" So unless you had some part time job during studies you end up in a really tricky spot as a fresh graduate. Also have in mind that especially bigger companies tent to work with planned yearly budgets, so often they open recruitment in like November or December to hire people starting from new fiscal year(which may vary depending where you live)

Additionally I would suggest to keep your LinkedIn profile as professional as possible(that's where many IT headhunters look for candidates) and it's not a bad idea to go over portals like nofluffjobs or whatever is popular in your country and search for remote jobs. While it's true that it's easier to find a job in IT in bigger cities where many companies have their HQ, the pandemic changed the attitudes quite a lot and more and more offers are for remote workers, so don't limit yourself to local employers only. Remote offers usually require more experience, but who knows, maybe you'll get lucky.

Congrats on graduating Spooky!
First jobs are not very easy to get anymore. Used to be easier because you get paid peanuts but now even that is too much for most companies who prefer paying 10 people in India for the same amount of peanuts.

It seems totally crazy to me that jobs that are done primarily on computers and isolated from teamwork are still centralized in big cities. I would have thought covid and remote technology would have finally taken care of that but it seems not. So companies are totally fine hiring people at the other end of the world to do a job but if you're in the same country they are, then you need to be working in the next cubicle and pay crazy big city rents for some reason.

Don't despair. Summers are not the best time to find a job. I'm sure things will pick up.

I was unemployed for 5 months just now. Started a new job a week ago. Just continue sending in applications - the market is tough, especially for juniors. Its not that they dont have faith - its the simple fact of oversaturation. Everyone thought that IT and programming has all the money and now we have overproduction of programmers. Especially in my market for now there are only very well paid senior positions with 10 or so years experience in SW dev.

And masters in SW dev is (sorry) more or less useless. What companies want are experience in actual coding. And as an engineer to succeed you need to have "on the ground" experience. In this case actually do coding before you can actually go for engineering positions. I can of course be mistaken and you find a great job with the education alone, but especially these days the actual skill talks, not so much the education.

I have masters as well, it helps a bit, but then again I have an MBA and engineering degree. I am working as project manager for technical projects and innovation in my field and there is still hell of a competition. Some positions have hundreds of applications. And statistically speaking there will always be someone with more experience (I settled with gov institution with lower salary, but I have a new interview tomorrow, so it comes and goes.. I had first months without any answers).

Dont want to be all gloomy or whatnot - SW engineering is still a top choice these days. Every industry has a need for SW development. I would suggest just constantly do coding on your own time - make private projects, build games, apps, plugins.. Anything that comes to mind. Create a portfolio - github or wherever software devs live. Thats what will attract companies to hire someone in such a position. Find some niche you want to work in - IoT, embedded systems, automotive, cybersecurity, AI, military, physics simulations.... Something that you can go deeper into and specialize in. Generic is not good enough these days.

And yes, also work on your linkedin. If not actively posting (IMO all the AI slop in linkedin is pathetic and has no substance), at least have profile, experience, skills and professional picture there. Try to invite local contacts, go to some local events. Maybe try to find someone who has a good idea and get together with them trying to build it. That will be a brilliant experience. I for example have startup events happening in my city, where you can mingle and find partners - there was one great matchmaking event where business and technical people could come with or without ideas and find likeminded people (e.g. technical guys with idea sought management people without and management people with ideas sought technical people without ideas). In the event I actually found two technical guys who are not good at sales so I am joining them in trying to find some first clients. No salary yet, but if it goes through it will pay good.

So.... just hustle hustle hustle and hustle a bit more.

Just keep applying to all positions you come across, even if you don't think you are qualified for them. I was unemployed for a year after grad school and what helped me get on track was to start volunteering at a couple places to build experience. Connections are everything! Through one of those places, my boss let me know of an opening at a bigger office a couple hours away. I took that opportunity and was able to get that job, which was my first step in the door.

Are you able to move to the capital city to look for more employment openings? I know it can be costly and tough to uproot your life, especially depending on your family, but I've made several long distance moves for jobs. Also ask any references, classmates and professors you know for assistance, they may know of openings that you aren't aware of. Some universities have job boards too that are specific to your area of expertise.

Congrats on graduating, Having the drive to get through the harder parts of college is always a big step forward.
It sometimes seems like opportunities open for everyone except oneself. Do not take this too hard and try differently or somewhere else. I had to move for my jobs a few times in my life but in the end I usually was lucky enough get a better position out of it. I hope you see more chances than you see obstacles. 🐱

Had been in a similar predicament. But id argue it was mostly on me, rather than the job market.

Fast Forward to 2025, it aint much, but its honest work.

Enough to get me up and ready for future opportunities. Im sure things will brighten for you as well and dont lose hope.

Congrats on your graduation!
When it comes to finding a job here in Poland it's also difficult... Especially when you don't have some super duper skills or so.
I wish you all the best and I hope you find a good job very soon!

I assume the job market in Sweden is the same as in Finland - almost 0 offers (colleague's wife has found a job after seeking for >1,5 years).

After I graduated from university (also software engineer, not EU country), I've got a job in one of the banks and my salary was at the minimal level allowed by law. And at some point my salary was increased just because a new law didn't allow salary to be below minimal level :D (so I worked for "food").

Based on my experience (>10 years as software engineer) - try to learn new things just for yourself (i.e. I've started from Python :), tried to parse some sites etc) Try to learn ML and AI related stuff - in our company some guys were hired based on answers that were given by AI :D not sure how technical specialists, who interviewed, didn't notice that :)

In general - it's funny, but usually Leads and Seniors cannot pass the interview for Middle position (guys has tried to pass the interview in companies they were working at that moment). So do not pay attention to bad things, try to be positive, and you'll find the nicest job with the awesome colleagues :)

it seems that the industry has 0 faith in junior devs

I haven't looked that much, but from what I saw it feels like ChatGPT has become the new junior dev. Feels like all the listings I see these days are for senior or lead devs 🤷

I guess it doesn't help either that for years we've been mass-producing hordes of developers as if there was no other good job (I know quite a few people IRL who, when they became jobless, were oriented to programming courses for a new career in the amazing software development or, as they say, "coding" industry)... Even without AI we'd have too many, so obviously now we have waaay too many.

Lost my job in April. Been applying to every place possible.

Good luck everyone with job hunting!

Here is a GA for the thread.

Congratulations on the recent graduation, bet you've worked super hard!
As I am currently in studies of my own, I can't really offer any advice or tell you my experience, but I wish you all the best with your search!

At the moment I have a job, but I’m looking for something new because I want career growth and fresh experience. From what I see, though, getting into a good position is really tough, even with experience. For beginners it must be pure hell – it feels like the only options are to take a job outside your field or accept an entry-level assistant role (which isn’t great). Another path is to take extra courses, but those can be expensive. Honestly, the job market still feels confusing to me…

It is a great achievement to complete your masters! Wish you all the best in finding your next job! Would suggest to take up any relevant job first as it is usually easier to find the next job once you are already working in one.

I did an undergraduate in Software Engineering and also had a hard time getting contact when applying. Good grades, but not much in terms of personal projects, 1 internship. It took me a while, but annoyingly, having connections and referrals was the best way to get actual interviews. I don't know much people myself, but my friend who knew people already in companies helped me with that. Meanwhile people I knew who had connections and memorized leetcode problems (and can do live coding session, which I suck at) were not having much trouble at all. Meanwhile LinkedIn is spamming emails at me and people on it are humble bragging constantly.

One of the most absurd things I found was on LinkedIn, it has these assement test things which if passed, LinkedIn will mark you as passing their test on that skill. I was able to pass the C++ one, but not the Python one. In practical reality, I do great with python and know advanced aspects specific to it and I struggle to code in C++ as I'm not used to manual pointer management based languages. All these stupid test online are so out of touch to reality.

Luckily I ended up applying to a engineering focused smaller company (not through any connections/referrals) that valued my grades and gave me a test that actually let me solve the problem at my own time (evaluating the actual substance and quality of my coding and problem solving) and was finally able to get a job.

It useful to apply to a bunch of stuff even if your not completely interested because it lets you test out your CV and interviewing. My company recently had a guy join as an intern who was doing their master in ML as well and he did full stack work for us mostly (even though he had no experience in it), but was also able to use some of his knowledge in ML near the end of the internship, so I guess even if the role itself doesn't apply with your skillset (he had no fullstack experience, but my company gave him a chance because his grades proved he was clearly a smart person), applying to a company that can potentially use your skills can be a potential asset to them.