Laid off in the last 18 months? How hard was it to find a new job?

Garbage. I focused on roles that were a good fit for my resume , and initially at around what I had previously been making, and progressivley lowering as time went on , but to no avail. Recruiters almost immediately vanished and never returned. It was very unpredictable. Some months I might get a handful of interviews, most months radio silence. Interviews were weird too. There was a lot of not progressing past first round, which was usually understandable, but also a lot of ghosting after making it to final rounds and hearing good feedback. The same jobs would be posted, then deleted, then posted again.

There also seemed to be a lot of unicorn hunting, even in generalist positions.

To be fair though, it could have been a lot easier. Particularly early on, I had one criteria, I wanted to stay remote and I sure as hell didn't want to move. I was ready to accept less money, but it was no use.

Eventually everything caved in and I took a new job and had to move. Only got it because of a referral, and arguably I was less qualified for it than the numerous jobs I wasted months applying to and interviewing for. It's hybrid with three days remote, but rumor is management plans to claw back despite worrying about retention and many of the developers claiming it's one of the things that would retain them.

I really hate this field. I would kill to get out, but that seems less and less likely every year.

still looking

but I have only myself to blame

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I quit, I wasn't laid off