Complete guide to the job application process
Rule of Thumb: Focus on Projects and Networking if you can’t get interviews. Focus on Interview Prep if you can’t pass the interviews you’re getting.
The majority of people search for jobs only on LinkedIn. That’s a huge mistake. Dozens of better platforms can help you land high-paying remote jobs.
Here are the best websites for finding tech jobs that pay in USD for remote work:
General Remote Job Platforms
Tech-Specific Platforms
Wellfound (formerly AngelList)
Freelance & High-End Platforms
Specialized Communities
Don’t limit yourself to just LinkedIn. These platforms often have less competition and more targeted opportunities for tech professionals.
Use a job tracker to keep your applications organised! We highly recommend TealHQ’s Job Tracker. It’s free and has a handy Chrome extension for saving LinkedIn jobs in one click.
Getting interviews is arguably the hardest part of landing a tech job. The current job market has thousands of qualified candidates competing for each position.
Understand the Reality: Online applications are largely ineffective in today’s market. Thousands of applicants compete for a single position, and automated systems filter out most resumes before a human ever sees them.
Cold Application Success Rate: Almost every software engineer (even those with top degrees and FAANG experience) can get ghosted on most cold applications if they don’t use the right strategy.
The End of the Boom Era: The peak of the industry was back in 2019 and 2020 (especially during Covid). Companies were hiring like crazy and standards were lower. That bubble has burst now, and we’re in an economic rebalancing phase with lots of layoffs to offset overhiring.
New Success Strategy: This doesn’t mean you can’t get hired - the strategy just needs to be different. Small simple tutorial projects that everyone is doing will not cut it anymore. You need to have at least one solid end-to-end product that you’ve built, deployed to production, that solves a real problem (potentially with a few paying users - not mandatory but extremely helpful).
Product Engineer Era: We are now in the era of the ‘Product Engineer’ - Software Engineers who can use all the tools they have access to ship end-to-end features, have a strong understanding of one area (maybe frontend), but also have a good grasp of the rest of the system as a whole (even if it’s abstracted away using a 3rd-party provider/library).
What Actually Works: This industry is fundamentally about showcasing your hard skills and connecting with real people. You need to interface with humans to be successful. Mass online applications are no longer effective.
Treating your job search seriously means understanding it’s partly a numbers game, especially when getting those initial interviews. Your goal is to maximize your chances with a consistent and strategic approach.
If your callback rate is consistently below 20%, it’s a strong signal that your public presence and application strategy need a deep analysis to identify what the issues could be. It means that, despite your efforts, you’re not appearing as a compelling candidate to employers.
Need Help Refining Your Public Presence?
If you’re struggling to hit that 20%+ callback rate or feel your application materials aren’t doing you justice, I offer a 1-on-1 Software Engineering Public Presence Review session.
In this call, we’ll work together to address and fix issues with your CV, LinkedIn profile, GitHub, overall application strategy, and more, to make you a more attractive candidate.
You can book a session here: cal.com/obaid/software-engineering-public-presence-review
Full refund if you cancel 24 hours prior to the meeting, or if you feel you didn’t get anything useful out of our conversation.
Despite what many career counselors might tell you, your resume is not the golden ticket to job offers. However, you still need a clean, professional resume as a basic requirement.
Recruiters spend only 7-10 seconds scanning your resume, primarily looking for: 1) prestigious companies/schools, 2) diversity candidates, or 3) niche valuable skills.
Your resume should be:
If you’re confident you can do the job but aren’t getting interviews, it’s likely because, to the employer, you don’t look like the most qualified candidate. This doesn’t mean you aren’t qualified, but your application isn’t conveying it effectively. Here’s how to change that:
For a simple, effective CV template, use this Google Doc template.
Beyond what you put on your resume, how you present yourself can inadvertently signal inexperience or lead to biases. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:
firstname.lastname@email.com) for all job-related communications. Avoid old, cringey, or overly casual email addresses.If you’re struggling to land a full-time role, or still in school or working another job, don’t overlook part-time opportunities and student positions or internships. These can be a strategic entry point into the industry:
Many successful developers started with these “foot in the door” positions before transitioning to full-time roles. They’re not just fallback options—they’re legitimate strategic paths into the industry.
This strategy is the ultimate differentiator. Building a real product end-to-end will make you look like a diamond among rocks. It’s proof you can deliver value in the real world.
In a sea of candidates with identical tutorial projects and cookie-cutter portfolios, nothing sets you apart like having built a legitimate product that solves a real problem and potentially has paying users.
Signal Strength: Anyone can follow a tutorial. Very few people can identify a problem, build a solution, and get it in front of users. This demonstrates initiative, product thinking, and execution ability—exactly what companies pay for.
End-to-End Experience: Building and shipping a real product forces you to tackle all aspects of development: product design, frontend, backend, deployment, security, performance optimisation, and user feedback—giving you genuine full-stack experience.
Tangible Results: “I built a Twitter clone” is forgettable. “I built a tool for a relative that helps small businesses schedule appointments and got 5 paying customers” is memorable and impressive.
Interview Material: Real products provide countless stories for behavioral interviews about overcoming challenges, making trade-offs, prioritising features, and measuring success.
Tutorial Projects Are Not Impressive: Let’s be brutally honest - no hiring manager is impressed by another to-do app, weather app, or Netflix clone that was built following a YouTube tutorial. These projects signal that you can follow instructions, not that you can solve real-world problems independently.
While most candidates struggle to create meaningful projects, our Company Building Guide provides two powerful resources to help you build something legitimate:
Guides on building a company: We have detailed resources on how to build a company from scratch:
Titan Platform: Our flagship product development environment gives you everything you need to build production-ready applications:
Titan provides the infrastructure, tools, and guidance to build products that would normally require a team of engineers and DevOps specialists.
Building a real product takes more time than tutorial projects, but the payoff is exponentially greater. While other candidates blend together with similar-looking GitHub repositories, you’ll stand out with something genuinely valuable.
Don’t make the excuse that you don’t have any real-world company experience.
You can get real work experience at the non-profit community: TechFleet.
You’ll work on real projects with real teams, gaining valuable experience that you can put on your CV as actual software engineering internship experience.
By far the most effective way to get interviews is through your network. Almost every successful job placement comes through a warm connection who can advocate for you.
Even the strongest resumes often get lost in applicant tracking systems. When someone internally vouches for you, your application bypasses much of the automated filtering.
Titan will help you build a production-ready product that you can be proud of and post about on LinkedIn and X.
Engage genuinely with people in your field on social media. You cannot afford to be introverted in this market.
Attend virtual and in-person events in your area (Recruiting events, meetups, hackathons, etc.)
Contribute to open source or other community projects (We have folks posting their projects on our Discord server. Offer to help!)
Offer help before asking for favors.
Be specific when reaching out about opportunities.
For university students, it’s crucial to take full advantage of campus career fairs and actively research other avenues for networking and landing internships. A simple web search for “how students can get tech internships” or “networking tips for university students” can yield valuable, actionable advice tailored to your situation.
Attending tech career fairs and industry conventions is one of the most effective ways to make personal connections with potential employers. These face-to-face interactions can significantly increase your chances of landing interviews.
Do not start doing this UNTIL you’ve actually built a product and profile online and have some skills to show for it. Otherwise, you’re mostly wasting your time.
Major UK Tech Events:
Silicon Milkroundabout (London, biannual) - One of the UK’s leading tech job fairs held at The Old Truman Brewery. Features 100+ innovative companies looking to hire tech talent. Next event: June 14-15, 2025.
Women of Silicon Roundabout (London, ExCeL) - The UK’s largest tech event for women, bringing together 5,000+ tech professionals with numerous hiring companies. Scheduled for November 26-27, 2025.
Tech Job Fair by TechFair (Virtual) - A virtual tech job fair platform connecting you with top companies and major tech employers across the UK & Ireland.
Tech Show London (ExCeL London) - A massive tech conference with dedicated career areas and networking opportunities with leading tech companies.
London Tech Job Fair (by TechMeetups) - Connects talented professionals directly with hiring companies in a relaxed environment. Scheduled for September 25, 2025.
Tips for Making the Most of Career Fairs:
The investment of time in attending these events often yields far better results than sending dozens of online applications. Many companies make on-the-spot interview offers or fast-track applications from people they meet in person.
It’s best to use Email as the preferred method of communication rather than LinkedIn. Recruiters and hiring managers check their emails daily; LinkedIn messages sporadically.
For juniors especially, building an active online presence is critical for networking and job success:
Create Meaningful Projects:
Share Your Work:
Engage With Communities:
Consistency Matters:
Once your networking efforts, online presence, or applications start to bear fruit, you’ll likely interact with recruiters. These conversations are a critical early screening stage. Here’s how to navigate them effectively:
This is your chance to learn more and assess if the role and company align with your goals.
Salary discussions can be tricky, but transparency is often appreciated.
For mid-level and senior roles, consider the levels.fyi negotiation package. Their team can provide personalised advice and even assist with negotiating your offer. They often operate on a success fee or money-back guarantee if they can’t improve your initial compensation.
Recruiters are often generalists and may not grasp deep technical nuances. Your goal is to convey competence, enthusiasm, and problem-solving ability.
Here are some common questions recruiters ask in initial screening calls and how to prepare:
| Question | Your Goal | Preparation Tip |
|---|---|---|
| ”Tell me about yourself.” | Concise overview of your relevant skills, experience, and career goals. | Prepare a 1-2 minute “elevator pitch” focused on your key achievements and what makes you a good fit for this type of role. Tie it to your real product work. |
| ”Why are you interested in this role?” | Show genuine interest and that you’ve researched the role/company. | Connect your skills/experience to the job description. Mention specific aspects of the company, its mission, or the role that genuinely appeal to you. |
| ”Why are you looking for a new opportunity?” | Frame your reasons positively (e.g., seeking new challenges, growth). | Avoid negativity about current/past employers. Focus on what you’re moving towards and how this role aligns with that. |
| ”What are your salary expectations?” | Gauge if your expectations align with their budget. | As mentioned above, research with levels.fyi. Provide a researched range or ask for theirs first if you’re comfortable. |
| ”What’s your availability/notice period?” | Logistical planning. | Be honest about your notice period, but also don’t be afraid to delay a little if you need to (2-4 weeks is fine). |
| ”What are your strengths?” | Highlight relevant skills. | Focus on 2-3 strengths directly applicable to the role, with brief examples. |
| ”Do you have any questions for me?” | Show engagement, gather crucial information, and assess fit. | Always have questions. This shows your interest. Examples: “What does success look like in the first 6-12 months in this role?” “Can you tell me more about the team I’d be working with?” “What are the next steps in the hiring process?” |
Remember, the initial recruiter screen is about making a good first impression and ensuring basic alignment. Be professional, be prepared, and let your genuine enthusiasm for your work shine through. Allow the recruiter to guide the conversation, but be ready to articulate your value.
A highly effective strategy is to bypass recruiters and reach out to hiring managers directly:
Find Hiring Managers
"Hiring" + "Company" or "Hiring" + "Job Title" to find relevant peopleEmail Process
Direct outreach to hiring managers often yields better results than going through recruiters, as you’re connecting with the actual decision-makers.
Now that you’ve actually secured some interviews, you need to be prepared for the different types of technical assessments you might face. Most software engineering roles will include one or more of the following interview types:
Always check with the recruiter or hiring manager about the specific interview process. Many companies now publicly document their process (e.g., Intercom’s Engineering Hiring Process).
Take-Home Assignments
While common, take-home assignments can be problematic for several reasons. Consider them carefully.
DSA Coding Interviews
These are classic algorithm and data structure interviews that test your fundamental computer science knowledge. Love them or hate them, they remain common at many companies because of their scalability.
If you prefer companies that don’t use whiteboard/algorithmic interviews, check Hiring Without Whiteboards for a comprehensive list. These companies often use alternative methods like pair programming on real-world problems, take-home assignments, or other forms of online assessment to evaluate skills.
Frontend Coding Interviews (For Frontend Roles)
Frontend-specific roles often include interviews focused on building UI components and testing your knowledge of web technologies.
System Design Interviews (Mid-level or higher)
These assess your ability to design scalable, resilient systems and are critical for mid-level positions and above.
Behavioral Interviews
These evaluate your soft skills, leadership potential, and cultural fit with the organization.
If you prefer guided assistance with your job search, consider these services:
Work with David - An ex-software engineer turned recruitment consultant with 20 years of experience.
Receive:
His best deal: £1,199
Guaranteed job offer within 6 months or your money back.
Job hunting is a numbers game, but smart strategy beats blind volume. Focus your energy on:
Persistence is key. Even skilled candidates face rejection. Keep improving and learning from each experience.