Interesting. I would compare experiences, because I too left a job in 2001 (startup was downsizing after acquisition and they made really generous offers for pe

Interesting. I would compare experiences, because I too left a job in 2001 (startup was downsizing after acquisition and they made really generous offers for people to voluntarily leave)... but I wasn't looking for work, I was using my severance to start a startup during that period. I figured "well, we just had a big bubble crash, so there will be lots of engineers to hire and lots of cheaper office space and everything will be better starting a company in 2001 than in 1999!" I was right, too, but wasn't quite able to capitalize on it. I did have one experience where I was having trouble finding a job for a couple months, but for me, it was because I believed the "you need a degree" claims and wasn't applying for anything that said you needed a degree. I was applying for things that I was overqualified for, as a result, and they weren't interested in talking to me because I was overqualified. Then I just started to apply for the best jobs I could that I knew I could do- whether I had what they wanted or not-- and that turned out much better.