Learn to Code with ChatGPT: clickhubspot.com/kurf 🚀 Get promoted in 2025 by taking my FREE 5-Day Promotion Accelerator Challenge: geni.us/9P7CAM 💥 Continue the conversation on my Discord server with like-minded ambitious tech professionals. #accountability is **chef's kiss** and #wins is 🔥 - discord.gg/HFVMbQgRJJ 📈Transform your tech career with my free weekly newsletter - alifeengineered.substack.com/
What if you have no issues getting called back but keep getting rejected on the 2nd or 3rd rounds ? Sometimes ( perceived at least) even if I performed very well, I suppose it still could be the same issue as you describe here
My experience so far if you want to land a job as an engineer: build something that you care about. Dont build the next todo app, come up with your own idea. Ask yourself what piece of software would make your life - even if it is just a little bit - easier and build that stuff. Congrats! You just delivered value. Companys will always look out for people who deliver value.
I'm not even in the market for software engineering, but I found this video incredibly clear and useful. Thanks for putting out this gold mine for us Steve!!
Real advice from Steve!! If you want any opportunity in the real world, being great at selling yourself will put you ahead I would also add that in the recruiter/referral optimization tip, I find that the following helps: 1. Leverage first degree connections because lower activation energy to ask for the referral. Plus you can remind the connection on how you worked together in the past 2. Keep a database of recruiters/interviewers youve talked to. If you need a job, you can already hit up those people for opportunities 3. When pitching yourself, always connect your past experiences to the company's values, mission, product. Remember if you want to influence someone, draw common ground and SHOW that your experience fits into what the company wants (ie: optimize on how the other party would benefit)
Thanks for the great video Steve! Love the very direct examples around 7minute mark. It is easily understandable even as a junior engineer, and good advice to rewatch every few years
I like the last point you made, actually shipping a product to understand user behaviors. I've been creating some websites in my spare time and I've learned a lot on tips to optimize loading speeds, getting better at coding, and pricing strategies. Can't say its been helpful with hearing back from job applications, but I'm definitely going to apply some of the strategies to my current role
Have been following your videos, and was able to crack some good offers at good companies soley following your interview advice. Thank you for making the amazing content Steve! :)
On standing out from the crowd: A post-secondary student asked me which extra-curricular activities should they join to connect to the potential hiring managers. In particular, they were interested in knowing which hobbies that the managers are more likely to be involved in. I irked at the question because the interest to join an activity is not genuine, hence the in-person connection to the people may be artificial and may do the opposite from standing out. I replied to the student how I met my first boss in tech through a classical music ensemble but I've studied the field intensively for over a decade. I did not go out of my way to join the ensemble hoping for a job.
Over time, people will know those startups were/are all fake. People know the differences between poor product alignment and a shady operation. I encountered a "serial startup founder" in town. The local startup incubator gave them support (office space, access to capital etc). I was naive and got a job there. The first two employee thought that they would get rich. There was nothing that could be demo to others. The founder rented a real office to make the whole thing real. I left after a few months because I didn't want to get involved in a shady operation. The founder has left the country probably to start the whole pattern again. Yes, he put "Serial startup founder. CEO of ".
I disagree on one take, diving deep into something that has just been released is not always a great idea. I have made that mistake many times in the past, from learning the latest blockchain tech and javascript frameworks. I think more junior engineers should dive deep into established technologies such as the great examples you mentioned: redis, k8s, sql etc... other then that, great video we don't deserve all this wisdom for free 😁
I love this video, Steve. This is actual proper actionable advice, thank you! Excuse my cliché question, but if someone implements the advice you provided here but does not have a computer science degree, do you think they have a good chance of landing a desirable SWE role in today's market?
In other words regarding depth: spend even MORE of your free time on programming. Ideally, you shouldn't have a family or hobbies, and should be staring at your computer screen until your eyes bleed. Don't like it? Well no one said life is easy pal! Now quit complaining and continue doing your part to accelerate the rat race! I mean, you're not TRULY a software engineer until you know 7 programming languages, can narrate every step of a TCP packet's journey from start to finish, can implement a red/black tree from memory, can design Twitter, have 28 full-fledged side projects, and have a RUclips channel dedicated to programming... Duh!
Great video, all this boils down to is making an actual real world app people would use instead of "tutorial hell apps", this can cover depth (the more scalable and real-world ready you make your app for lots of users the more likely you are to deep dive into the tech stack), easier to leverage a network if you do not have actual work experience (you have some type of proof you know what you are doing aside from tutorials), and having an app that has real users and real money makes you stand out to recruiters.
Sorry I think this video is out of touch with the current state of hiring in software engineering. In my experience getting an interview is not the bottleneck, the key is doing *better* at the technical interviews and behavioral interviews than every other person who applied for the position. With the sheer number of people on the job market, the threshold for passing has to be absurdly high in order to filter out candidates. Unfortunately, the way to differentiate yourself today is by learning (or memorizing) leetcode solutions, and practicing enough that you can perform them live within 30 minutes. It’s a charade, where the interviewer and interviewee both pretend as if you’re seeing a novel problem and solving it in real time, when really you’re either recalling the solution or re-conjuring it based on practicing similar problems. If you haven’t seen the problem or a similar one before the interview, your chances of beating someone who already knows the solution drop exponentially. It really is that simple, the candidate who can perform the best at the interview performance will get the job. This means learning (or memorizing) solutions to enough leetcode problems / system design challenges / behavioral scenarios that you increase your chances of getting lucky and being asked one of the solutions that you know well enough to demonstrate your ‘competency’ and ‘expertise’ in the on-site interviews. So let’s be real, how to stand out in an insanely competitive tech market: keep grinding leetcode
![SahBabii - Viking [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/D37cL92JX0I/mqdefault.jpg)
Learn to Code with ChatGPT: clickhubspot.com/kurf
🚀 Get promoted in 2025 by taking my FREE 5-Day Promotion Accelerator Challenge: geni.us/9P7CAM
💥 Continue the conversation on my Discord server with like-minded ambitious tech professionals. #accountability is **chef's kiss** and #wins is 🔥 - discord.gg/HFVMbQgRJJ
📈Transform your tech career with my free weekly newsletter - alifeengineered.substack.com/
What if you have no issues getting called back but keep getting rejected on the 2nd or 3rd rounds ? Sometimes ( perceived at least) even if I performed very well, I suppose it still could be the same issue as you describe here
I swear, The Hidden Path to Manifesting Financial Power is one of the best books I’ve read. It’s life-changing.
Could you share who it’s by? I can’t seem to find it
@ when I searched the name of the book, I came up with videos related to it, so I found it
My experience so far if you want to land a job as an engineer: build something that you care about. Dont build the next todo app, come up with your own idea. Ask yourself what piece of software would make your life - even if it is just a little bit - easier and build that stuff.
Congrats! You just delivered value. Companys will always look out for people who deliver value.
I'm not even in the market for software engineering, but I found this video incredibly clear and useful. Thanks for putting out this gold mine for us Steve!!
I was listening to this audio only and for a minute there I thought Steve has a strange way of shortening the word candidate, “candy”
candy dates
unforturnately having a unique linkedin profile isn't enough anymore.
has having a good looking linkedin profile ever actually mattered tho?
Real advice from Steve!! If you want any opportunity in the real world, being great at selling yourself will put you ahead
I would also add that in the recruiter/referral optimization tip, I find that the following helps:
1. Leverage first degree connections because lower activation energy to ask for the referral. Plus you can remind the connection on how you worked together in the past
2. Keep a database of recruiters/interviewers youve talked to. If you need a job, you can already hit up those people for opportunities
3. When pitching yourself, always connect your past experiences to the company's values, mission, product. Remember if you want to influence someone, draw common ground and SHOW that your experience fits into what the company wants (ie: optimize on how the other party would benefit)
Thanks for the great video Steve! Love the very direct examples around 7minute mark. It is easily understandable even as a junior engineer, and good advice to rewatch every few years
I like the last point you made, actually shipping a product to understand user behaviors. I've been creating some websites in my spare time and I've learned a lot on tips to optimize loading speeds, getting better at coding, and pricing strategies. Can't say its been helpful with hearing back from job applications, but I'm definitely going to apply some of the strategies to my current role
Thank you. In my opinion, this is the most useful video I've seen in a while. Great!
Thank you so much for giving your clear and amazing viewpoint on the topic. I will follow these for my upcoming job hunt.
Have been following your videos, and was able to crack some good offers at good companies soley following your interview advice. Thank you for making the amazing content Steve! :)
Also, open source contributions or even leadership, especially on a project that's of value to the target company
On standing out from the crowd: A post-secondary student asked me which extra-curricular activities should they join to connect to the potential hiring managers. In particular, they were interested in knowing which hobbies that the managers are more likely to be involved in.
I irked at the question because the interest to join an activity is not genuine, hence the in-person connection to the people may be artificial and may do the opposite from standing out. I replied to the student how I met my first boss in tech through a classical music ensemble but I've studied the field intensively for over a decade. I did not go out of my way to join the ensemble hoping for a job.
A really good video. Thank you!
Best way to differentiate yourself is to create a startup, doesn’t matter if you succeed or fail. You can still say you were CEO of on your LinkedIn.
Over time, people will know those startups were/are all fake. People know the differences between poor product alignment and a shady operation.
I encountered a "serial startup founder" in town. The local startup incubator gave them support (office space, access to capital etc). I was naive and got a job there. The first two employee thought that they would get rich. There was nothing that could be demo to others. The founder rented a real office to make the whole thing real. I left after a few months because I didn't want to get involved in a shady operation.
The founder has left the country probably to start the whole pattern again. Yes, he put "Serial startup founder. CEO of ".
another day of invaluable lessons from a world-class engineer for free
Great video Steve! This is great advice right when I need it the most. Thanks!
Love your videos and the studio is chef’s kiss. ❤
I disagree on one take, diving deep into something that has just been released is not always a great idea. I have made that mistake many times in the past, from learning the latest blockchain tech and javascript frameworks. I think more junior engineers should dive deep into established technologies such as the great examples you mentioned: redis, k8s, sql etc... other then that, great video we don't deserve all this wisdom for free 😁
Terrible market, much needed video! I haven’t even watched this yet lol
I love this video, Steve. This is actual proper actionable advice, thank you! Excuse my cliché question, but if someone implements the advice you provided here but does not have a computer science degree, do you think they have a good chance of landing a desirable SWE role in today's market?
In other words regarding depth: spend even MORE of your free time on programming. Ideally, you shouldn't have a family or hobbies, and should be staring at your computer screen until your eyes bleed. Don't like it? Well no one said life is easy pal!
Now quit complaining and continue doing your part to accelerate the rat race! I mean, you're not TRULY a software engineer until you know 7 programming languages, can narrate every step of a TCP packet's journey from start to finish, can implement a red/black tree from memory, can design Twitter, have 28 full-fledged side projects, and have a RUclips channel dedicated to programming... Duh!
Starts at 6:25
I feel like recruiters don’t want to recruit unemployed engineers, they cold call engineers with a job.
Great video, all this boils down to is making an actual real world app people would use instead of "tutorial hell apps", this can cover depth (the more scalable and real-world ready you make your app for lots of users the more likely you are to deep dive into the tech stack), easier to leverage a network if you do not have actual work experience (you have some type of proof you know what you are doing aside from tutorials), and having an app that has real users and real money makes you stand out to recruiters.
Having an entrepreneurial experience makes you stand out.
your title is mispelled, it says comptetive instead of "competitive"
You need to pass that DSA interview
This is the answer
Any comments on how someone like Kyle Simpson has trouble finding a job? Too deep? Not enough jobs for such an outlier?
20 year career? Sir you look 24😮. What is your age?
Sorry I think this video is out of touch with the current state of hiring in software engineering.
In my experience getting an interview is not the bottleneck, the key is doing *better* at the technical interviews and behavioral interviews than every other person who applied for the position.
With the sheer number of people on the job market, the threshold for passing has to be absurdly high in order to filter out candidates.
Unfortunately, the way to differentiate yourself today is by learning (or memorizing) leetcode solutions, and practicing enough that you can perform them live within 30 minutes. It’s a charade, where the interviewer and interviewee both pretend as if you’re seeing a novel problem and solving it in real time, when really you’re either recalling the solution or re-conjuring it based on practicing similar problems. If you haven’t seen the problem or a similar one before the interview, your chances of beating someone who already knows the solution drop exponentially.
It really is that simple, the candidate who can perform the best at the interview performance will get the job. This means learning (or memorizing) solutions to enough leetcode problems / system design challenges / behavioral scenarios that you increase your chances of getting lucky and being asked one of the solutions that you know well enough to demonstrate your ‘competency’ and ‘expertise’ in the on-site interviews.
So let’s be real, how to stand out in an insanely competitive tech market: keep grinding leetcode
nerd