Thanks for the thorough response, I feel like you and I aren't so dissimilar in terms of background and perspective in various categories. It's somehow reassuring, because although I haven't been through previous downtowns in the broader economy, I have got through dark periods of years where I couldn't land anything, and I have ended up without more than a car roof over my head. This time is just.. uniquely intense. What I anticipate happening is that like you say, I'll land some random interview and it'll work out, or I'll go back to being a barista or general labor if I can land something there. I'm not really seeing contracts working out yet.

Your experience with interviews and rate of response feels very familiar. Roles I'm definitely qualified for and interviewed well with just not turning out at the last step, and every other variation of it being a dice roll.