| I (full stack self taught engineer) recently accepted an offer. Here's my biggest takeaways which you may already be aware of: - It's an imperfect system but a closest thing to a functioning one. - Referral is the best way in. - Apply early, within 24-48h of job posting. I setup a Tuesday/Thursday morning schedule to check and apply for new jobs. Ignored stale job postings (> 14 days). - Apply to jobs that fit your profile. If you want to switch to a different stack, work on a project/course and add that to resume. That should get you through recruiter's filter. - Spaced repetition is the real deal. The more interviews I gave the better I became, primarily because I got more comfortable. It also helps internalize all the concepts and bring it to your system A. Also experiment during your interviews to see feedback and engagement. Most results are canned responses so you have find signals elsewhere. - It's a search problem (numbers game). It's akin to finding a partner. Wider the search the better. When it clicks it makes a world of difference. The way I rationalized rejects, which is defeatist, was by thinking they know what they are doing and it's better to be rejected than to be hired and be miserable from being a bad fit. If nothing works, I for one know my worth and will build something I value. |