let go from Big 4, Chicago market is quiet

sophiasaas

Recently let go from a Big 4 firm and the job market is terrifying. Been applying since June to get ahead but barely any interview requests. What's the hiring climate like in Chicago for growth roles at major tech platforms or Series B+ startups? Open to in-house but need something yesterday.

For context, a colleague mentioned they were let go in May, applied to ₂₀₀ roles, got maybe ten interviews, still searching. Another asked about location - turns out they're in Dallas. Most postings I'm seeing are for senior growth lead or head of growth positions, which feels like a mismatch.

agencyarbitrage

Same boat here. Got cut in May, sent out a couple hundred applications, landed maybe a dozen interviews, and still nothing solid. Brutal market right now.

bigcoffee

Tough market, no sugarcoating it. Keep at it anyway, Publicis alone has a pile of open roles posted right now.

referralgrowthloop

If you see anything from Publicis, happy to refer you. just not if that's the exact shop you're coming from

enterprise-sdr

Got the axe from Dentsu last November, didn't land at Tinuiti until July. Market's brutal right now, but something comes through if you keep swinging.

sophiasaas

Rough stretch - sorry you're dealing with this. Location helps since a few folks in the community have local hiring channels or meetup groups that never hit job boards. Happy to connect you if there's overlap.

dailygrind

which side of the house - holding company level or the creative agency?

agencyarbitrage

Been there. creative Director / Copywriter here - market's flooded with senior copywriter reqs but actual CD seats are scarce. Agencies want the strategy chops without the price tag.

What's your portfolio looking like? If it's heavy on execution, might be worth packaging a couple case studies around systems you built - SOPs, creative QA frameworks, white-label handoff processes. That operational angle gets you past the "just a writer" filter faster than another headline deck

metricsmuse

Totally get the nerves. Walked away from the creative scene and took a civil servant job as a law enforcer in my country. Chose constant stability over unlimited potential. Pay works out to several times what an average family makes here, so the reframe came easy.

sophiasaas

Totally get the nerves - been through a couple reductions myself and the waiting game is the worst part.

What's helped: treating the search like a funnel. Top of funnel = lots of coffee chats with former coworkers and Slack communities (not cold applications). Middle = 2-3 targeted case studies you can send in 60 seconds. Bottom = reference calls lined up before they ask.

Also worth pinging any past clients or vendors you shipped real results for - they already know your work and often have budget or know someone who does.

Happy to swap notes on what's working if you want a second pair of eyes on your narrative.

pixelperfect

You're not imagining it. Same story on my end. nearly every recruiter ping i get lately is for a freelance senior copywriter role paying somewhere in the $40s to $50s an hour. genuinely low, even coming from agencies under the big holding companies. landed a fairly paid gig myself recently, mostly through luck. the whole market is putrid right now, and job hunting into it while you're already feeling shaken has to be brutal

agencyarbitrage

Been on both sides of this. Hiring for senior copy roles, I'd pause at ACD/CD titles on resumes - same hesitation. Turns out the concern is real: they often want strategy, not execution.