> I have references, but most of them are barred behind NDAs You don't need to worry about this. Reference checks usually don't involve many detailed technica

> I have references, but most of them are barred behind NDAs You don't need to worry about this. Reference checks usually don't involve many detailed technical issues that would fall under an NDA. > I feel like I've picked the wrong career or that something is wrong with me I don't think that's the case. First off, and you might not recognize this yet, but hiring is really slow during the holidays. Any time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day is basically completely dead. September and October are also particularly slow, as this is the start of school for families, which can be a tricky time to get someone to relo. Decision makers aren't in, people are on vacation, year end stuff abounds. People are fairly checked out, and it can be hard to get an interview panel together. It will pick up in January with the new year. Hit the "Who's hiring" thread on HN and apply to a lot of places in short order. As a (somewhat) successful employee with 15 years of experience, each place I've worked has had a story behind it, and they aren't at all alike. I've also bombed a fair amount of interviews that probably would have changed my life, like TwitchTV. It happens. It's a numbers game. You don't know if someone else better has applied. Or that the person has picked a topic that you know about or not. It just sucks particularly hard to feel that lack of control. You sound like you're doing the right things. My leetcode is also terrible, and somehow for interviewing anyone it's all about leetcode BS these days. So if you can pull that off, I think you've got it. After all, you did it once. You can do it again. To counter the feeling of a lack of control, I think you really need to take advantage of what you do have - time. And programming is cheap, and you can stay at home! Maybe work on those side projects. Brush up on leetcode, or learn some new skills that are marketable, hot, and maybe you're interested in. Even just doing a few tutorials can make you sound like a badass these days. Make the time productive, so you don't feel like you're doing nothing or feel helpless. Sometimes those actions can lead to new developments. Do you think you did well in the interviews? What do you think went wrong? Nothing is a perfectly valid answer here. Managers don't have any more idea what they want than customers, so job descriptions might not line up with what they interview for. There might be some other applicant. If there is a point of weakness, work on that! Good luck. You can do it.