I spent four months searching while employed and it was one of the hardest stretches I've had. The pattern was always the same. Clock out from the day job, eat something quick, then sit back down for round two. Applying, networking, following up. It felt like a second full time job that paid nothing. The market is strange right now. Companies post roles but they want a unicorn. Someone with twenty years experience who will accept a junior salary. Or they list requirements that have nothing to do with the actual work. I questioned myself a lot during that time. Wondered if I was the problem. Eventually I found a place that felt right, but it wasn't luck. It was persistence. I sent out over a hundred applications, had thirty screens, and got two offers. The math is brutal but you just have to keep going.
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You need to stay away from banking. All are turning to AI and laying off. Look at linkden. Morgan stanley is also laying off 2500. Theyre all going down hill and will continue to do so
@de Thank you for this post. You've given me a little hope, and a plan of action for the next few months. I am in my late 50's, and feel like a dinosaur against all these young AI coding Indian engineers. I'm going to learn as much as I can from them before I am pushed out the door for being too analogue. I work hard, have good business experience here at the bank, I know the ropes, and have survived countless rounds of layoffs. But I may not survive many more. They want AI Automation Engineers now who are young and make short money, and say they can automate anything (even if they can't). I don't expect I have much time left, but I will use it to gain as many skills as I can for my next job search. I'd feel a little better if I thought I'd my full severance (or even a reasonable one), but I'm hearing those days may be over for most. The company has apparently become too greedy to not sc--w people on the way out the door since the end of 2024. And sadly, they don't even have to - totally unnecessary. But they are anyway it seems - because they can.
The labor market is objectively tight—BLS unemployment is 4.4%, well below the 5% “full employment” benchmark. That’s not politics, just data. But tight markets don’t erase the real barriers older workers face. Ageism is absolutely one of them, and so is the brutal truth that many “old‑timers” simply don’t have the AI‑era skills employers now screen for—often through automated filters that eliminate candidates before a human ever sees the résumé.
Firms today expect Day‑1 productivity, which is unrealistic anywhere. Younger workers, for all the criticism they get, constantly upskill—those “gadgets and social media” moments are their modern water‑cooler where they trade tech, tools, and trends. That creates a perception gap that hurts experienced professionals, no matter how talented they are. No labor law fixes that or even attempts to do that.
BNY isn’t the villain here. If anything, they’re pushing everyone into AI—even if the tools aren’t perfect—and giving employees paid time to learn. That’s an opportunity. Upskill on the company’s dime, build the capabilities the market demands, and it pays off.
It took me only a handful of interviews to land an offer even with the 15+ years of experience being a drag - I just chose not to relocate to Northeast where I believe jobs are plentiful
The bottom line: the market has changed. Age stereotypes are real. Skills matter more than ever. Use the platform you have now to get ahead instead of fighting the tide
Out of work from BNY almost 2 years. Ageism is real. Once they see I am not some 20-something “going for my Masters” in “accounting” it’s Bon voyage.
100 apps, huh? Lucky you.
Dont feel bad. I’ve seen alot of people saying the same thing and there is so much confusion on what to actually list on the damn resumes now to even get attention . This place has gone to sh-t and i dont see it getting better no matter how much robin fluffs in his little media interviews. This place is terrible now