CAN'T LAND A JOB! What Should This New Developer Grad Do?

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Hey folks, I'm here in Arizona. I am going to LinkedIn for a question that came in in my messages. So, big thanks to this person for sending it in. Of course, it's anonymous because it's sent in on social media. Uh, so this individual is a recent grad from university in Canada, which is where I'm from, which is awesome. Um, they graduated last June, so I guess it's almost been a year. And they said, uh, they've been struggling to be able to uh get any call backs for for jobs. So, um, they wanted some advice on how to navigate this has felt kind of like demoralizing, of course, uh, that makes sense. And, uh, any thoughts that I might have on this. So, um, try my best to walk through this on some thoughts I have. Um, I I don't think that I, you know, disclaimer, I don't think I have like a silver bullet solution for anyone on this kind of situation right now.

Um, but I'll talk through it. Friendly reminder, if you're interested in having questions answered, leave them below in the comments. Otherwise, look for Nick Cosantino on LinkedIn, which is how this person found me, or Dev Leader on any other social media platform. It's also my main YouTube channel. Okay, so this is, I think, a very common thing going on right now. And I'm not saying that to just like like minimize it, like sucks, man. Everyone's going through it. Too bad. Um, I just I'm saying it because I don't want you like this person or you the the you know the viewer um to feel like you're sort of alone or it's like a you problem necessarily, right? Um I did ask this person to send me their resume. I have it in front of me. I am going to do a resume review for them, which is something that if you're interested in totally for free on Dev Leader, my main YouTube channel, look for the resume review series.

There's instructions for how to send that in. Um, but I was like, "Hey, like I'll make a code commute video for you. I'll talk about this kind of stuff. I'll do a resume review for you. I do have the resume here." Because I wanted to see if like on the surface, right? Like I don't know how many jobs they're applying for. I don't know the frequency of that. Is it they do a couple a month and then they're like, "Yeah, like it's not working." I've had people um in conversations like talking of upwards to like, you know, 80 to 100 applications per week. And I know that sounds like insane because I don't know how I personally could ever do that. Like that feels uncomfortable. My point is that other people are doing that and like some of your competition for jobs, they are applying to 80 to 100 jobs per week.

I realize like this is the kind of thing I'll say it on a YouTube video and like people will automatically dislike the video and get upset. I'm not saying that I think that that you need to do that. I'm not saying that, oh, like it's the system's not broken. It's just you, you have to apply more. I'm just saying that other people are doing that. And if other people are doing that and you're not, like you are automatically more like at a disadvantage. Again, I'm not saying I support it. I'm just telling you that that's sort of like a reality. So, I don't know how many jobs this person is applying to. Um, at a quick glance, like I'll do the resume review separately on my main channel. At a quick glance, though, their resume looks looks good for uh an entry- level position, right? They have projects on there that I think make sense.

They've talked about them calling out the technology. Uh, the for I don't know like this is a the format of this resume like remind not reminds me of mine. Not to say that that means it's the best, but it's like it's pretty standard, right? education uh like they have their uh work experience which is limited in this case because they're you know they're brand new looks like they've been doing some freelance work though for training AI awesome call that out they have projects call it out they have technical skills call it out flows really nice so I think they've done a good job with that but I don't know the volume of applications I don't know um the types of companies they've been applying to I asked them for a little bit more context and and they kind of said they're like sort of open to what uh to anything kind of thing.

So they're eager to get started which makes me I'm speculating, right? So if I don't have exact context, I kind of have to fill in the gaps and make assumptions which um leads to probably inferior sort of analysis of this, but I feel like they're probably a little bit scattered with what they're applying to. If that's the case, um there's a miss potential missed opportunity for a tailored resume for certain types of jobs. So, just to give you an example, if this person was like, I'm willing, I'm just going to make this up. I'm willing to go do web development. I'm willing to go do mobile development, and I'm not really interested in like embedded software development. Just to give you an example, what I would recommend doing is like resume at a glance looks good. It's got the right pieces, right? I haven't done the analysis on it.

Got the right pieces. Could you make multiple versions of this and do like all these projects and this experience? Can I focus this more on web development? Can I focus this more on mobile development? Have two versions of it. And that way you're not trying to generalize it so much that you're you're missing out on opportunities to really call some things out. It might be even trickier for someone who's more junior that doesn't have a lot of like a lot of experience to call out, but it's one opportunity where you can like basically with a little bit more effort, you can tailor their resume a little bit more. I'd also recommend um because tailoring rums if you're going to be doing a lot of volume is a pain in the ass, right? It's just more and more work. So doing a custom resume for every job you apply to, probably not going to work.

So I'd recommend a couple variations if you know there's a couple of types of work you'd like to do. And then I would say if there's companies where you're like, "Oh man, like that would be that would be it for me." I would perhaps do something even more tailored for that one perhaps. Um, it's tricky because like I said, if you don't have a bunch of the experience called out, might be hard. But if you're like, "Okay, I I know that this place uses this language, this text act focuses on whatever, like is there any way that you can try to call that out more just to be more aligned? It might not be the best resume to use in general. It might not be the best resume for those mobile application jobs or web development jobs, but it might be better tailored for one of these like companies you're really focused on.

So, meta point is like don't be afraid to do a little bit of tailoring and um going to an extreme and tailoring every single one I think is probably going to be overwhelming. So, wouldn't recommend that. But that's sort of my thoughts on the resume part. Um, on the job application frequency, I would say my my guess for most people is like apply more. I don't know the number this person's doing. Probably apply more. It increases your surface area. Um, I would say that there's probably jobs that will say like you need to have x number of years of experience even for like a entry level position. I would apply personally. Um, this isn't just my opinion on this. I to just for context, I've had my skip level manager who's like partner level at Microsoft. My own boss is partner level at Microsoft and my skip level is part I don't know.

I don't know how it all works, but um he's up there. So, he joined a live stream that I was on like that I was running and he left in the chat. He said something along the lines of like doesn't matter if the the job position says like x number of years of experience, whatever. is like apply like you might as well apply. Other people are doing it. It It's not a doesn't mean like oh that it's a guarantee that you're going to get it. Like some companies might be like very very much like we wrote it. We're filtering you out. Some companies might just say it because they know that it might dissuade people and they'll have fewer resumes to go through cuz there's a lot of people applying to stuff. I just feel like it's a missed opportunity if you're reading through the work and you're like, I feel like I could do a good job of that.

And then they're like, oh, but you need to have one full year of work experience. You're like, I haven't even had like a job yet. Go apply. I would recommend it. Um, so that's the second part. The next thing on here is like because it's been a year, um, there's probably I don't and I haven't really talked to this person about this, so they might already be doing this. This might not be helpful for them. might be more helpful for for you as the viewer. Um, I would say that there's potentially this opportunity that might not have been capitalized on, which is just more networking. Um, this is going to sound kind of like kind of biased because yes, I am a content creator. Yes, I'm very active on LinkedIn. I'm going to be talking about going on LinkedIn and posting and engaging with people. And you might be like, "Yeah, that sounds all cool for like content creators, but like I think that's kind of I'm not about that." Hear me out.

Um, I just want to say networking in general, okay? Like you pick the implementation of it or implementations, but I think that there is a huge opportunity for people to be networking. Okay? So, I have personally received interview opportunities without ever having applied through a like primary channel, without having submitting a like having a resume submitted, right? Multiple times. And I'm not saying that because I'm like, oh, it's because I'm special. It's because I'm better. Not at all. Not at all. I'm just I'm just a guy who's been doing software engineering and like as an engineering manager for a while now. I don't think that I'm special or better than anyone else. I'm just giving you this as an example. Okay. So, multiple times it has happened to me. The current the current role that I have at Microsoft, I've switched teams. The current role that I have at Microsoft I I applied to sort of after because I have to go through the process and go through the channels.

But I had the conversation earlier, which means like I didn't go apply, submit my resume, and cross my fingers and hope it happened. I had I had had a conversation about the role before that. Okay, so that's one example. And sure, that's an internal transfer. You might say that's not fair. I have had other interviews where I did not even apply. You have to end up applying to go through the process. But like to have the opportunity, I did not apply. I was reached out to did not even have a resume submitted. I never went to the job portal and said, "Pick this one. I'm going to submit my resume and do all the steps." All of it skipped because of networking. So, how often does this happen? It's not that often. But like the point is if you're in a position where you're able to network effectively, opportunities can come up.

And if you're able to if you're able to basically shortcut some of the biggest challenges in the whole like workflow of getting a job, then you're at a huge advantage. Right? This person's saying they're not getting call backs for their resume for these jobs. are applying to the example that I just gave you where I was saying I didn't even have to do that means that I skipped the entire part that this person is stuck on and again not because I am better or special just from networking. Okay. So what I would recommend to this person I'm pointing at my phone that's like where I had their their LinkedIn message up. That's why I'm doing this. Um what I recommend to this person and for you watching this is like if you're like I am not doing any networking aside from like you know applying to jobs.

You should be doing this in some capacity in parallel and this is going to look different for everyone. So if you're like look social media not for me I can't stand being on it. I don't want to talk to anyone on social media. Okay. Is there anything in person that you could do or digital like uh meetups or anything like that? Can you be finding some way to network with people? Can you go to job fairs and get connected with people? Could you be going to meetups? Could you be doing hackathons? Could you be exploring online communities where you start building projects with other people? I'm not here to prescribe the implementation. I am saying that networking can be ridiculously helpful because it doesn't guarantee an opportunity, but it increases the surface area for luck. It's kind like this is going to be a terrible example, but like if you never bought a lottery ticket, you're never winning the lottery.

I'm not like suggesting go buy lottery tickets, but I'm just saying if you're actively doing something like networking, there's at least a chance that this can happen. Now, if you're willing to be more invested in it, then I do think platforms like LinkedIn are helpful. Personally, um there are people there are people that engage with my content uh on such a regular basis that I feel like I understand them much better. I'm not in a position I'm not have like open headcount on my team. Um I'm not in a position where like I'm hiring for side projects or anything like that. But I'll tell you, there are enough people that interact with me on a regular basis where I'm like, hm, if I had headcount or I was hiring for my project or something, was looking for collaborators, I'm like, I at least know there's a few people that I could reach out to where I'm like, I engage with you on a regular basis.

I know enough about you that you've made this connection with me. So, it's kind of interesting, right? I don't have that type of opportunity, but if I did, those individuals have increased their surface area for luck. So, I would recommend if you're not totally opposed to it, I would suggest get on LinkedIn if you're not already there. I would recommend if there are companies that you're interested in, say it's Microsoft, say it's Amazon, say it's a smaller startup, it's a local startup, it's a smaller local business, whatever it is, right? Try to see if you can find individuals that work there. And if you are unable to do the searching and filtering effectively, start trying to look for other software engineers or people that are just like talking about software development in general, what I would recommend from there is not to go blast them

with your resume and saying, "Please give me a referral because this is the kind of thing where uh it's a little bit off-putting." And what I mean by that is like to them you're a complete stranger. So, when you're asking you're getting a request from a complete stranger that says refer me to this job, it's like, how how can I number one, how do you expect me to refer you if I don't know you? Because part of a referral is that you're sort of speaking on behalf of someone. So, that's asking a lot of someone. You might not realize that when I'm asked for for referrals, I do not refer people unless I've worked with them or I know them personally because I I literally cannot attest to that that individual. It's not like no hard feelings. I've had people that engage with me on stuff and they're like, "Hey, by the way, like could you refer me?" And I'm like, I honestly like I can't.

It's like I'm morally against it because I feel like I'd be lying. But I said, "Hey, if you're interested in roles and stuff and you have questions about them, I will try my best to answer. Like, I want to help you, but I cannot refer you if I don't have the context to be able to do that. It's not it's not fair for me." I do the resume reviews on Dev Leader now because of this kind of thing where people are like, "Hey, here's my resume. Review it." I'm like, "I don't I don't got time for that. I'm sorry. I'm busy." It's not that I don't want you to be successful. I just quite simply do not have time for that. And now instead when people have what I would say are less direct sort of in intrusive ways of asking for that and people are talking with me and they're like hey by the way like could you do this?

I just say like hey if you're okay with it like I'll anonymize your resume I'll review it. It cost me like depending on the resume review like 30 to 70 bucks. Cost me to get it edited but it's free for them. So I'm like at least I can put some content out. but it's going to be helpful for other people as well hopefully. So, I'm trying to find ways to do that. But this is through people networking with me. They're at least reaching out and doing this kind of stuff. So, this is an opportunity for you to be trying to connect with other people, right? It doesn't have to be me on LinkedIn. Go connect with other people. You're this bald guy with the inside on his vacation. I'm in Arizona on vacation in the hotel room making YouTube videos. Uh, I'm just waiting for my wife to come back from a conference, so I'm just making videos.

But, you know, if you're like, I don't I don't want to connect with this guy. That's fine. Like, go I would just recommend engaging with other people, but have meaningful conversations, right? I'm not saying go find creators and you have to go comment on every post they have, but like literally just start engaging with people. Start having conversations. Then once you're kind of commenting on stuff and having conversations back and forth, it might be talking about different tech stacks. It might be talking about software development process, whatever. You might have some thoughts on that. Share those thoughts. Then from there, maybe move into the DMs and say, "Hey, by the way, you know, I've been seeing the stuff you're posting about. Be really curious if you wouldn't mind sharing with me some information about like what is it like in the role you're at at company X?" Being genuine, right?

Like not hey, can I get on a call with you? Hey, like refer me. Hey, review my resume. just like just if you have a moment to spare and you've already kind of built that bit of relationship through comments and stuff. Hey, would you mind giving me a you know what is a could you spend a couple minutes like writing me a message about what what it's like for typical day for you or your favorite thing about your job kind of thing. You start to build up some of those those connections, right? Um over time you can start doing things like hey by the way I've been like seeing more about what you've been posting about. Really liked what you said. um you know, is there a recruiter you could refer me to?

Like could you connect me with someone or like uh you might even find a job posting on the company portal like depending on the size of the company and stuff and say hey do you have any more information about this or do you think that there's like a hiring manager you might be able to refer me to? I'd love to follow up with them. Basically like could you point me in the right direction instead of like give me give me give me like being directed somewhere is less of an ask. These are all just like little things that you can be doing over time. It is not something that you rush into and then start demanding things and expecting results. It just doesn't really work that way. So, couple of different ideas here. Um, in general, I just want to acknowledge like I I understand that this is like a very difficult time for a lot of people that are going through this process.

Um, I am absolutely not of the mindset I work at a company that's very heavily focused on AI progression. Okay? I work at Microsoft, co-pilot everything, right? I am not of the mindset that we just replace engineers. I don't I don't think that that's what's happening. I think that there's some companies that are trying to do it because they're, you know, they're drinking the Kool-Aid. I think AI is here. It's not going away. It's only getting better. But there is such a long way to go before AI is going to completely replace a developer in a way that is uh sort of scalable. To give you an example, could I pull up cursor or copilot and replace a developer by going to tell it to build stuff? Sure, except I'm spending 10 times as long handholding it and guiding it through stuff. So I replaced someone and I just took up more of my time, right?

Like it's it's not there yet. So I think we have a long way to go where even developers will be using tools like this to be able to have like, you know, they can multiply their impact being, you know, they can be the ones directing several agents at once to go and build different features, refactor code, whatever. I think that will happen much like sooner rather than later. But you can't do that effectively. My opinion, you can't tell things. You can't tell AI to go build software effectively if you don't even know what's going on. You need people that understand how to build software at some capacity. So, um, all of that said, just because like I think that there's a bit of a a pendulum effect happening where like the pendulum's swinging super far one way where everyone's like, "Oh, we don't need developers. uh like this is the way it's happening and it's like buckle up because you're about to find out you going to need some developers.

Um and I think there's also a wave of a lot of junior developers because a lot of people keep blaming AI for this stuff. It's already been like debunked with some of the hiring graphs and open position graphs. Um there was and I've talked about this in other videos. I don't say the word on the channel cuz I think it ends up probably getting hit for performance reasons. There was something that happened a few years ago around like I don't know 2020 or so where the whole world kind of changed and there was a lot more people working remotely and every single company that had a cloud offering skyrocketed in terms of their hiring and what they were outputting. Does anyone remember that there's like a weird little time like no one really remembers like what was going on during that time because it was all over the place.

Yeah. During that time there was a ridiculous amount of hiring. It was explosive. Guess what happens when you do completely unscalable things for a period of time? You go, "Oh that doesn't scale. Guess we have to hit the brakes pretty hard." So, there's that effect. And then there's the whole AI scare on top of that. So, I think there's a pendulum effect. I think that we'll see it kind of come back. Um, what is that going to look like? the rate of that happening. Does it return full swing? I don't know. But I just want to acknowledge that I realize it's not a not an easy process right now. And I I don't want people to give up on it because I think there's too much in media right now that's like, "Oh, just give up if you're not already in the industry." No. Change your strategy.

Try different things and stick with it. Uh don't stop building The worst case scenario, the worst case scenario is you don't get hired, but you keep building stuff and you stumble upon something where you're like, "Hey, this is pretty cool. Might be able to do something with this." So, stay with it. Hope that helps. I'll see you next time. Take care.