balkulvir's journey

I was recently laid off from my position as a Shopify developer, where I had around 8+ years of experience as a Senior eCommerce Developer. My main focus was on Shopify Plus, custom theme development, app development, and working with GraphQL APIs and BigCommerce Stencil development. Since the layoff, I've been actively applying for new roles in Shopify and BigCommerce, but I'm finding that I'm getting very few responses or interview calls. I've been using LinkedIn, job portals, and company career pages to search for opportunities, but it feels like I'm missing something in my approach. I'm reaching out to this community for advice on what might work better in today's job market for Shopify developers. Specifically, I'm curious about: - The importance of referrals or networking compared to just submitting applications. - Any platforms or strategies that have proven more effective than traditional job boards. - Tips on how to improve response rates from recruiters or companies. I'm also open to freelance, contract, or agency work while I continue my job search. Any guidance or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!