Bombed

I see the problem. You are obviously very scatterbrained. People say "fudged" as a euphemism for "******," but then you use the real deal in the next sentence. Your metaphor is very misleading. "****** so hard you can't feel your genitals" sounds like an energetic and excellent performance. Your interview sounds like you figuratively came in your pants or lost your boner.

If your career experiences a hiring freeze in this era of labor shortage and desperate employers doubling the offered salary everywhere else, you need to change career.

I see the problem. You are obviously very scatterbrained. People say "fudged" as a euphemism for "******," but then you use the real deal in the next sentence. Your metaphor is very misleading. "****** so hard you can't feel your genitals" sounds like an energetic and excellent performance. Your interview sounds like you figuratively came in your pants or lost your boner.

If your career experiences a hiring freeze in this era of labor shortage and desperate employers doubling the offered salary everywhere else, you need to change career.

The only thing to do is keep trying. There are businesses and industries being cut back - Between the end of the pandemic and the rapid rise in interest rates, businesses with too much debt or that are having trouble adjusting to the mostly post-pandemic world are cutting back… But even in these times there are companies hiring, you just have to figure out who they are and if your skills fit their needs. You may have to check around in other areas and in other industries. I also suggest looking closely at your resume - Are there any red flags like extended periods between jobs? If there are you can expect a prospective employer to ask about that. A good résumé usually begins with a brief skills list as this is what is most important to a prospective employer. Then it has a brief employment history with dates (the year alone is good enough) arranged last to first job, and the company you worked for and your title or job function. If you have a relevant degree or training then that’s usually the last section. Keep it down to one or two pages tops - nobody wants to read a really long resume. Brevity and conciseness is key, as well as putting the most important information first… Read carefully the qualifications required for a job you want to apply for. Note any specific terms used. If your work or educational experience includes these or very similar things, be sure to use them in your cover letter or as part of the resume. Usually, at least for technical jobs, often the person or software doing the initial scanning of the resumes doesn’t really understand the jargon enough to know that sometimes the same skill is called by more than one word. They just look to see if the resume mentions the words they were told to look for in the job description. It’s a good idea to tweak your resume to show that you have the qualifications they are looking for. It’s extra work, but it worth it. But whatever you do, don’t lie - Once that is detected you are out… Before the interview go to the company website and find out how they describe themselves so you can converse intelligently about the job. At the interview itself, a competent interviewer will start off with “friendly chit chat” to help make the interviewee more comfortable. Then they usually get quickly down to business. You want to present yourself truthfully, but in the most positive light - No lies, no exaggerations. The interviewer will ask most of the questions but you should have some questions to ask about the company and the job (write them down). I figure about 2:1 is about the right ratio of questions. Your asking a few sensible questions does a few things - It helps you to understand the job better and it makes you seem smarter and more confident, and it gives you a psychological break from feeling “grilled” by the interviewer’s questions. But don’t ask questions that are likely to make the interviewer feel like they are being grilled… About questions of money or salary - In some cases the salary range is stated right up front. Trust me, they aren’t going to pay you or anyone more than the approved salary range for the job. But you might find out about a job opening more in line with your salary expectations. Do not be the one to bring up questions about salary - It will come up at some point, usually at the end of the interview if the interview went well. Keep your expectations reasonable… Oh and lastly, almost everyone of us has had a bad interview. And sometimes we made a better or worse impression than we thought. Sometimes the toughest interviewers actually have the best impression of you, so don’t just give up. Call back the hiring manager the next day and ask if there is anything else they would like to discuss to help them make their decision. It’s a way to show you are interested and helps them to remember you… Best wishes OP!