How to Approach a Software Engineering Job Search in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit 2020 employment rates like a hurricane. The BBC reports unemployment rates in the United States plummeting from 3.7% in 2019 to 10.4% in 2020. If you’re looking for work in this job market, chances are you’re discouraged.
If you’re looking specifically for a Software Engineering role however, the good news is that the software industry has been relatively resilient. Only 5% of CareerExplorer users reported losing their jobs as software engineers, vs 20% overall, according to Hack Reactor. A global shift to remote operations helps, along with the software industry’s natural tendency to look to the future and adapt to change.
But as companies change, so do application processes. As a future software engineer, you must always be on top of the newest trends and techs. Here are the key areas to focus on while on the hunt.
1. Resume
Ah, the ubiquitous resume. In 2020, your resume is as important as ever. Only now, you’re more likely to submit it via pdf or doc file, rather than printing it out and handing it to a recruiter. The upside of this as an applicant is that you’re able to include links to your portfolio, Github, blog, etc. The downside is that it’s easier than ever for anyone to apply, meaning you’ll be up against a lot of competition. Worse yet, modern companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), software that scans and filters resumes for keywords, meaning a computer may discard your resume before a human ever looks at it. It’s important that your resume is ATS-friendly and clean.
You should have on your resume at a minimum, a summary, a list of your technical skills, your best projects, and your work experience/education.
Your summary should be succinct above else. Have 3–5 well-crafted sentences that explain your identity, your soft skills, and your value to a workplace. Yes, you are complex and unique, hardly simple enough to cram into a few sentences. The unfortunate reality is recruiters are busy and may lend at best a few minutes to review your resume.
Your technical skills specifically should cater to the job description for the position you are applying to. Not only is this directly relevant to you fitting in the role, it also puts you in the best position to beat the ATS. And as tempting as it may be, do NOT add skills for the sake of fluffing up your resume. You need to be comfortable talking about any of the skills you claim you have, especially, say, to the Lead Software Engineer that will be conducting your technical interview, who will know right away. Be truthful about your technical skills, or it may backfire.
There are so many points to talk about creating a good resume, it can be an entire article on its own. Letseatgrandma has a nicely written article specifically for tackling software engineering resumes. Do check it out.
2. Code
It goes without saying, but even unemployed, you need to continue to code. There are always new tech skills and languages to add to your repertoire. But how do you spend your time wisely and code with intent?
Projects are a great way to learn and showcase your tech skills. If you make a clean, intuitive website that allow users to create profiles and save their favorite movies, you can show off your web design, backend, RESTful design, and API skills all at once. Applying to a job that requires knowledge of WebSockets and Express? Build a chat app! Projects should be exciting and meaningful to you, making them natural talking points to connections and interviewers.
Another important way to build your coding proficiency is to do code challenges. This gives you the practice and confidence to pass technical interviews that may give you 60 to 90 minutes to solve and talk through a couple of coding problems. This is helpful all around, but if you’re applying for a large company or targeting a back-end position, you can focus on problems around data structures and algorithms to hone your skills. Popular coding challenge websites include leetcode, codewars, and hackerrank.
3. Network
Look anywhere and you’ll hear horror stories of fresh university or bootcamp graduates that apply for hundreds of jobs over months without a single response. Cold, mass applying simply isn’t effective in terms of rate of return. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply, but you should supplement your applications by connecting to people. After all, people get you jobs, not the applications themselves.
Modern companies, big and small, are all over LinkedIn. If you haven’t already, create a profile and start connecting to people. Find people particularly in your field. Start your conversations friendly and formal. You might ask a Sr. Software Engineer what challenges they face, or an internal recruiter what the company culture looks like. You could try to connect to a general/external recruiter with the idea that they will look for a job for you, but realize that many times they have limited influence and/or work for commission. Make sure to keep your profile up to date. LinkedIn has an article with good examples, including two software engineer profiles.
Finding a job is not easy, especially in the current job market. But companies are hiring, and the more you do to make sure your application is up-to-date and top-notch, the higher chances you’ll have. Be efficient and stay informed, and it’s only a matter of time until you land the programming job you deserve.
