> I've also never personally experienced the tech trope of being in high demand, getting multiple great offers or amazing salary/perks. It seems a lot more uphill than the experiences that other people share online.
Interviewing people over the past 25 years, not at FAANG level, but Fortune 1000 down to VC funded startups, I can put people into three buckets. Bucket one is people who clearly don't make the cut. Bucket two is people who seem to have basic skills and knowledge, but when you drill down they don't understand things in depth. Bucket three are people clearly head and shoulders above the other two groups. I would say if interviewing six people, one winds up in bucket one, one winds up in bucket three, and the rest wind up in bucket two.
Bucket two people are interchangeable - you see they have been working for a while, you feel they can handle the simple tickets needed - but what about the more complex ones?
That is one problem with being in this group - of the last six interviews, four others were just like you. Unless they have a recommendation, there is no incentive to hire them. Because out of every six interviews, you usually find someone who can answer almost every question in more depth than the five others.
I think this is the model to have in your head. If your manager's manager has 36 Javascript developers under him, if you're not in the top 6, you're not going to be a "high demand, getting multiple great offers or amazing salary/perks".
Of course the times have an effect on these things to, the bar is lowered and raised. Some people used to make six figures doing stuff in Adobe Flash, and then demand for that dries up and the smart ones have jumped onto the new thing. Things can go both ways at once. Your local job market may have dried up some, but the country might be more willing to hire remote-for-the-next-few-months right now. Although that could have good and bad effects.
The wrong approach is to go on an interview and think you passed or failed some bar. The correct approach is to imagine five people like you, all working your job, four of whom can get basic things done and have basic knowledge. You have to clearly have a better depth of knowledge than all of them, your code samples have to be more up to date and complete and better than theirs, your 30 minute code solutions have to be better etc. You're competing with five other people, four of whom have basic competence, and you have to clearly distinguish yourself from them. That is how you reach the "high demand, getting multiple great offers or amazing salary/perks" category.