Hi all,

I'm a data scientist with about 10 years of experience, most recently at a consulting firm.

I took a sabbatical for personal reasons, ended up leaving my job, and began looking for a new job about 4 months ago.

The job market has been tight, and the recent layoffs obviously add to the supply of data scientists out there with big tech experience.

I saw a bunch of new postings from Apple, Google, MS, and other big companies go up recently. Do i have a chance at this or is this more of them taking a look at former tech folks only? 

Not gonna lie, I sympathize with those who were laid-off, but there already was a severe lack of positions, and I'm concerned that this rush to refer and get these folks new positions may negatively impact those already on the market. 

Are hiring managers for the still-open positions even giving cold-call applicants a chance? Or is it all referral-based with preferences for experience at a Meta or Twitter.