[qthrowayq0909]

" I've been in the market for a couple of months, and I have no idea what employers are looking for"

IMO that's because they (employers) too have no idea what they are looking for. It's a mess and only getting worse.

My 2 cents is just say yes to that rare proposal that comes after one or 2 interviews. And yes, they do exist but almost everyone passes them because "if it was so easy the role must suck". Well, the possibility of role sucking is exactly the same if you went through 10 hoops to get the job.

[actsasbuffoon]

I’ve been doing this for a long time now, and I’ve had good results from companies with humane interview practices.

Places that treat candidates poorly tend to treat employees badly, and companies that drag out the interview process tend to miss out on in-demand talent.

As a result, places that respect your time and well-being have been more likely to have good engineers who have stuck around. Places that are toxic and/or bureaucratic tend to combine bad hiring with high turnover and create a terrible environment.

[CadmiumYellow]

My current company has the most humane interview process I have ever experienced. When I started I was shocked by how many good engineers had stuck around for 5+ years, a few for more than 10. That's crazy for a non-FAANG non-legacy software company. It turned out to be a great sign that the company respects one's time and well-being!