Wanted to share my job search results over the last month.

This is mainly for those who like me, have seen non stop doomsday posting about the current job market and was terrified of losing my job. Was informed I was being laid off in early Dec and started putting out job applications for Systems Administration I and II jobs. Results were 20 applications > 4 interviews > 2 offers > 1 accepted.

Some caveats for this:

1. I needed to move to a larger city in my state.
2. I have protected veteran status and may get preferential selection in the hiring process.

Some things I noticed:

1. LinkedIn may show 100+ people have applied to a job, but those numbers are greatly inflated by either people clicking apply and not finishing, or people not qualified and just spraying out applications.
2. Tailoring my resume to the job posting got me way more replies than before. I actually received no replies with my initial low effort resume.

While I know other people may have a different experience, I just wanted to post some positivity and hope that things may not be as bad as you see depending on your location and willingness to relocate. Wishing all those in the market the best.