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aguillaume t1_itoutz2 wrote

Reply to comment by coaster132 in [OC] My aggressive (and comparatively sad) 1-month job hunt as a software engineer with 6 months experience, before accepting a counter-offer from my current company. by coaster132

34 applications in a day !? :0 In my experience sending the same 'ready made' CVs to all companies does not yield great results... And I think you have accumulated data to support that theory. When you try to apply for an other job I suggest you go for quality over quantity.

In the past I've made a generic CV will all my skills and experiences, that I then customize to the specific company. Include only the tech they use, and explain how you have transferrable skills for the tech you don't know. Don't forget to focus on 'soft skills' team work, personal development...

I moved from the UK to France about 2 years ago, I picked companies that seemed good and that had a tech stack I liked, companies that was worth putting the effort of making a custom CV for... I must have sent 10-12 CVs in a 6-8 month period. Prob got 8 initial interviews, and ended up with 3 job offers to choose from in the end.

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NeophyteBuilder t1_itptizh wrote

Wow. That is a lot of applications, at about 15 mins a piece…. That is dusk till dawn with food and bathroom breaks….

Let me guess: LinkedIn quick apply button?

Having been through this mill a few times (former BI / DW engineer and now product manager at Director+ level)…. and hiring a lot of people over the last 27 years…. (UK, California and now Virginia).

Finding a job takes time. At my level, 6 months is a safe bet. And the quick apply button has generally been a waste of time especially if you send the same resume to every job. @aguillaume has the right idea - take your base resume and tweak it for each job. There are keyword / phase engines out there that allow you to compare the posting to your resume for scoring -> this is exactly what job application engines do. If your resume has a low match score, it goes into the bin.

Especially for less experienced roles like yours, which have far more applicants.

Slow down when applying, look at the company website and pull out key points on their products. And try to work your resume and perhaps cover letter to mention some of those. And just a 1 page resume due to experience (I have seen people like yourself stretch it to 2 with high school projects)….

Finally, try some networking and attend some in person Meetup events. They are a great place to start. I don’t know about coding anymore (stopped that over a decade ago), but if you can find the equivalent of “Product School” which does local meetups for people starting their PM journey…. Hiring managers are always there.

You have looked once and accepted a counter. In my experience you will be looking again in 6 months. Start prepping now. And the best luck.

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duskfinger67 t1_itpg5jd wrote

I've been doing this recently.I might shortlist 30 companies in a day, but then you do half an hours research, find someone who works there who might be willing to have a chat, and then shoot your shot.

I cannot recommend linkedIn Premium enough for this - if you edge LinkedIn a bit and look like you are not sure about getting it, they will often give you 50% of a couple of months. No job search will last more than a few months, so you are looking at less than £50 to get instant messages to anyone in the companies you are interested in.

I have had 100% success rate at getting to interviews for companies where I do this, and near 0% success for canvas style CV-and-send applications.

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