Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Llevo meses buscando trabajo y sigo preparándome para entrevistas. - I have been looking for a job for months and I keep preparing for interviews.

Example: Llevo meses buscando trabajo = I’ve been looking for a job for months.
You can specify the time: Llevo dos meses estudiando español.
Negative variant: Llevar + tiempo + sin + infinitivo: Llevo meses sin encontrar trabajo.

Could I say Estoy buscando trabajo desde hace meses or Hace meses que busco trabajo instead?

Yes. All are natural, with tiny nuance differences:

Llevo meses buscando trabajo: emphasizes the duration you’ve accumulated doing it.
Estoy buscando trabajo desde hace meses: highlights the ongoing process and its start point.
Hace meses que busco trabajo / Busco trabajo desde hace meses: very standard way to say “I’ve been … for months” using the simple present in Spanish.

Why isn’t there a preposition after buscando? In English we say “looking for.”

Because buscar is a transitive verb in Spanish: it already includes the “for” idea. You say buscar trabajo, not “buscar por trabajo.” You can use buscar por + lugar/medio to mean “look around/in/by (means),” e.g., buscar por internet, but not for the direct object itself.

Should it be trabajo or un trabajo? Why is there no article?

With jobs, Spanish often omits the article to express an indefinite, generic idea: buscar trabajo (“look for a job/for work” in general). Buscar un trabajo is possible, but it can sound a bit more specific (e.g., one position) and is less idiomatic in Spain in this context.

What does sigo + gerundio add compared to estoy + gerundio?

Seguir + gerundio means “to keep on / continue doing” and carries a sense of persistence: sigo preparándome = I’m still preparing myself / I continue to prepare. Estar + gerundio just states the action is in progress now, without the “still/continue” nuance.

Why is preparándome reflexive? Could I drop me?

Prepararse means “to get oneself ready.” If you drop me (sigo preparando), then you’re preparing something else (e.g., materials, a presentation). With me, it’s you who is getting ready: sigo preparándome (yo).

Where can the pronoun go: Sigo preparándome or Me sigo preparando?

Both are correct:

After the gerund (enclitic): Sigo preparándome.
Before the conjugated verb (proclitic): Me sigo preparando. You cannot say “Sigo me preparando.” When attached to a gerund, add the accent to keep the stress: preparándome.

Why does preparándome have an accent?

When you attach a pronoun to a gerund (preparando + me), you must add a written accent to preserve the original stress: preparándome (stress on -rán-). More examples: mirándote, leyéndolo.

Is para entrevistas correct, or should it be para las entrevistas / para una entrevista?

All can be correct; it depends on meaning:

para entrevistas: in general (any interviews).
para las entrevistas: specific interviews you have in mind (e.g., scheduled ones).
para una entrevista: a single, specific interview. Spanish often omits the article for general, non-specific plural nouns after para.

Should I say entrevistas de trabajo?

If the context isn’t clear, entrevistas de trabajo (job interviews) specifies the type. In many contexts like this one, entrevistas will be understood as job interviews, but adding de trabajo removes doubt.

Can I use the present perfect: He estado buscando trabajo durante meses?

Yes, it’s grammatical. Nuance:

Llevo meses buscando / Hace meses que busco: very idiomatic for an action continuing up to now.
He estado buscando … durante meses: also fine; it can sound a bit more like a time block of activity (ongoing or possibly finished). In Spain, for ongoing durations, llevar + gerundio or the present with hace is especially natural.

Is Llevo meses de buscar trabajo correct?

No. Don’t use llevar + tiempo + de + infinitivo here. Use:

Llevar + tiempo + gerundio: Llevo meses buscando trabajo.
Or: Hace meses que + present: Hace meses que busco trabajo.

Could I mistakenly use the past participle: Llevo meses buscado trabajo?

That’s incorrect. You need the gerund (buscando), not the participle (buscado), after llevar in this construction: Llevo meses buscando trabajo.

Is sigo irregular? What are its forms?

Yes, seguir is stem-changing (e → i) and irregular in the 1st person singular present:

Yo sigo, tú sigues, él/ella sigue, nosotros seguimos, vosotros seguís, ellos siguen.