Just got laid off from first job ever - feeling hopeless

Hey everyone — I few days ago I was told my role is being made redundant, and around 50% of the company is being laid off due to budget cuts. I had a feeling it might be coming, but I didn’t realise things were this bad.

Since 2020 I have just been husting to finish uni, working part time, paying off my debts, and then rushing to crack an interview for my first big boy job and then after 4 years of working I get laid off. I know people have had it much worse but I still feel like crap.

Since getting the news, I’ve been pretty overwhelmed. This was my first proper job after Uni.

I went into full apply and started applying like crazy — tailoring resumes, writing cover letters, the whole lot. I’ve put in 30+ applications in the last 3–4 days. Some roles are a perfect match, others are more like 80% or 60%, and I’m trying to be realistic and apply to adjacent roles too.

But now I’m hitting a wall — I’m exhausted, and then I feel guilty when I’m not applying. On top of that, seeing 100+ applicants on LinkedIn makes it feel like I’m shouting into the void.

For those of you who’ve been through layoffs/redundancy before:

Is this “high volume + tailored” approach actually the right move?

How did you pace yourself without burning out?

Any tips for targeting a niche field (even through you have 60-70% of other skills for other roles) when there just aren’t many openings?

My work domain is: Kubernetes/HPC/Linux/IaC/Automation...etc etc

Would really appreciate any advice or even just hearing how others are coping. And how long do you set the boundary or the time box? As in how long should I put into the search for the right job (nische field) compared to grabbing whatever I get next. And since im in IT/Tech applications dont get assessed until the applications are closed and then it takes 1-3 weeks for the recruiters to actually get to it.

I wish I had a knob I could turn and fast forward time by a few months.

Sorry for the rant and TIA.