How do you actually get a coding interview?

Career Advice
#1

I read this:

he says:

1 interview for every 5 applications.

I did 30-40 and no one called.

this guy got 60 interviews in 30 days, How does one actually get a coding interview? I am reading on the forums and other places about people actually getting interviews. How am I supposed to know what I’m supposed to focus on/improve if I cant get a coding interview.

Should I go back to school? finish all the freecodecamp projects ? pay for a bootcamp? work on completing my own projects? Train on leetcode? Maybe I get a coding interview in another ten years…

I had some people reach out to me about building drag and drop websites on wordpress/wix/webflow for not very much… I could have done that without studying coding. Writing code and solving problems are enjoyable, but… What’s the point in all this?

Edit: oh now I see he has a masters from carnegie melon… obviously much more qualified.

#2

Hi @kravmaguy !

I think you should share your resume and portfolio with the forum.
That way people can provide feedback that can help you land an interview.

Plus, a lot of the professionals on here review portfolios and resumes and provide some really great advice.

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#3

He’s got 5 years experience, that’s more relevant.

I think it’s been stressed before, but be careful with these articles. Don’t compare yourself here: this is an experienced software engineer with degree level qualifications. Yes, it is very hard to get a first job, particularly when self-taught.

It is well paid, skilled work that is often highly rewarding. Unlike almost all other jobs of a similar pay grade and required skill level, it is open to those without certification. It is, however, still a skilled job, and companies are wary of making hiring errors. Developers are expensive, software development is expensive, and generally large amounts of company profit depend upon the end result of it. Coupled to this, we are in the midst of an extremely deep worldwide recession, which is in some ways worse than 2008.

Imo do this, don’t dismiss it because you think it’s below you. As a developer, lots work tends to be boring run of the mill maintainence type stuff. The people reaching out just want help getting an end product built. Careful re price that you’re not being taken advantage of, but if the work is not difficult and you can do it quickly then take it.

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#4

To further on this one point, there is one silver lining. More people, and jobs are becoming more reliant on software moving forward. It could be something as simple as meeting on Zoom, rather than in person. Or something as large as migrating a percentage of your global workforce to be working remotely. This sort of transition was always bound to happen, but due to the pandemic this trend has accelerated.

In both cases where companies interact with customers virtually, and where employees interact virtually, software will become the interface where those interactions occur. In that sense the demand for software has arguably never been more in demand. The key is having the right skills to perform the right jobs, as tech is a big field and not all learning paths are equal. In that way there isn’t just a perfect path for every single person, as depending on the job, your background and existing experience, and different goals, there are any number of ways to go about things.

I don’t see the demand for software related jobs going down anytime soon. Not all companies can afford to invest right now, but almost every company I can think of would invest more if they could. Once the world starts turning around, I see more investment into these tools, and thus more investment into tech.

I’d argue getting into software might be one of the most future proof jobs available, so the demand will be there, and probably has grown since the last estimate was taken. However, its worth mentioning that due to tech moving so fast, you have to keep up otherwise you fall behind. This may be true for a lot of jobs, but in tech the churn is much more often.

Good luck, keep applying, keep learning :+1:

3 Likes
#5

Yeah as you pointed out that person was obviously a very qualified developer, but coming from someone who also failed to get interviews early on I feel your frustration.

I think @jwilkins.oboe advice is really good here. It’s hard to say why you don’t get interviews without knowing a bit more.

One thing I’ll say is key is to have real projects on your portfolio. Something that really jumps out at people and shows without a doubt that you’re job ready.

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