I applied to over 6,000 jobs and relied on a food pantry after being laid off. Here's what finally got me hired.

John Huân Vũ applied to more than 6,000 jobs over 16 months after being laid off in July 2024. John Huân Vũ John Huân Vũ applied to more than 6,000 jobs after being laid off from PayPal. To get by, he relied on a food pantry, SNAP benefits, Buy Nothing groups, and his church community. In the end, he found a job not through job boards, but through a work connection he'd previously helped. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with John Huân Vũ, a senior consultant at Visa who lives…