“I'm applying to jobs several levels below where I'm at in my career.”

The organisation I joined several years ago hired me because they wanted to scale. They had great stories about what they intended to do, where it was going to go. Turns out their CEO is crap at his job. Like so many others out there. The scaling didn't happen. No investments procured. A pivot to an already ridiculously saturated market, at tremendous cost. Meanwhile my side of the org kept shrinking and shrinking. No amount of valid arguments could turn the tide.

I'm applying to jobs several levels below where I'm at in my career. Vacancies seem written by people without any understanding of how organisations actually work. The majority of orgs just ghost. Zero response. Or, when you do get in, you get a rejection because the hiring manager sits well below your level of experience.

With a gap on my CV, the going will only get tougher. That's where I'm headed now.