I understand your frustration, because I am going through a similar phase, looking for a new job without references after many years not having to. I've also be

I understand your frustration, because I am going through a similar phase, looking for a new job without references after many years not having to. I've also been rejected after what I thought to be very successful interviews, without real feedback on how I fell short. I believe one or more of following factors are at play, keeping in mind that one company would not be the same as next: - people have high bars for experienced hire, you can't just be smart and get things done, but also be able to wow the hiring manager/committee in some way. - related to point 1, someone with 5 years of experience will have a difficult time evaluating someone with 15. - if engineering expertise is hard to interview for, leadership skill is even harder. And companies are definitely more cautious when hiring for leadership roles. - there are a LOT of people wanting to join those top startups, so competition is fierce, and there is less pressure to hire a good but not amazing candidate. - interviewing is a skill in itself, just because you had so much experience does not mean you can ace interviews without preparation, especially with high expectation/competition positions. You should sit down and think hard how you can best demonstrate your experience in an interview. - lastly, it's actually quite easy to fell into a good job that makes getting next one harder, especially if that project was a failure, or uses an outdated technology.