Laid off as a new grad SWE with 6 months experience...
I was a software engineer out of college do 6 months, and I got laid off yesterday. It was me, the other new grads on my team, my manager, and his manager. That did help me not feel so isolated I honestly don’t know what to do with myself. Since December, I've applied to 70 positions and got 13 rejections. The one online assessment I did was for an application that closed. The two referrals I got haven’t lead to anything either. I know it takes more applications, but I also figured that based on the ratio of applications to rejections, I figured it'd be a pretty rough job search. On top of that, for a lot of listings I've seen, either my graduation date's too early, or I don't have enough years of experience. A part that I also found interesting were that some people I've spoken to made it out to be like I was being irrational about being worried about that happening before I got laid off, just for it to play out exactly as I was worried about. It also feels like even when I have experience that I would think lines up with the job description, I still wouldn't hear anything back (either that, or get rejected). I've tried updating my resume several times with feedback from people and ChatGPT and still nothing.
I'm really worried that I'll have to work minimum wage or something completely different that what I had been working towards during college. I was also worried about having to try to do a career pivot. My GPA was <3.5 on undergrad, I didn’t do any research (only internships), and I didn't know that many professors that well, so if I were to get into grad school, it might not be that good one. On top of that, it felt like I'd be setting my finances back again compared to other people.
This is going to sound really pessimistic, but I really hate myself right now. I feel valueless as a person, and really embarrassed about what happened. I do have a support blanket, which was moving in with family (they thankfully didn't seem adamant about me working while I search), and the severance package I got. But being a SWE was literally all I had as a redeeming quality, and now I have nothing. I'm not cool, charismatic, accomplished, attractive, or good at anything. And I know that that's off-topic a bit, but it's relevant to why I feel really bad about what happened. I moved to a new city, and now I pretty much have to leave the friends I made there. Now, when I introduce myself to people, what do I say I do for work when it inevitably comes up in conversation? That I used to be a software engineer for half a year? That same reasoning (among many other factors) is also why I'd never try dating. I feel really envious of people I knew at my old company that got to actually establish longevity there over the course of 5+ and 10+ years (hell, even a nonzero number of years), when I couldn’t even make it to 1. Most of the people that I see that I knew from high school and college that are software engineers well..still are and are progressing in their careers, while mine halted. The SWE influencers that were software engineers...still are and are progressing in their careers, while mind halted. Either that or none of them have ever gotten laid off before. I really wish I could rewind – maybe things would be going better for me. Does anyone happen to have advice, by any chance?
Posted Jan 30, 2026, 5:20 AM UTC