Job hunting in this hellish market
The market in tech is tough out there especially for anyone starting out
My husband is a software engineer by trade and actively mentors new and emerging engineers. Lately, a lot of the conversations he’s encountered, these people are gung ho and ready to enter the workforce. The current job market however is pretty hellish at the moment. That means finding a job isn’t necessarily impossible, but tech is not forgiving to junior anything at the moment. And it’s been difficult figuring out how to continue and encourage these individuals to pursue software engineering roles because of the current macroeconomic realities.
What used to work back in the day…something has changed. Starting out back then, companies seemed to take more chances and hire for potential. These days the criteria seems to be more particular than what it used to be. The majority of opportunities available are mid-level to senior-level roles. What that tells me and everyone else, companies don’t have the time to invest and grow talent because they want the talent prepped and ready to go from day one.
What can we do about it?
One of the hardest things to see is when someone has done everything (i.e. taken the course/bootcamp, made their portfolio, prepped their resume), applied to 300+ roles and crickets are the only sound they hear. Or maybe they have had the chance to interview or talk with a recruiter, but the eventual feedback is vague and in the realm of “we are looking for someone with more experience”. There is a systemic issue here with companies and their hiring practices, but we can talk about that another day.
So what can we do about it? There is only so much a person has control over, but those are also the things that need to put our energy into because that’s all we can do.
The following are a few ideas to consider and what I believe we have control over while navigating the job market.
Look at your personal brand and all the touchpoints you have (i.e. portfolio, resume, social media, etc.). What is the narrative being communicated about you? I’m of the belief of sharing as much as you can so people can get a sense of who you are. If you aren’t sure what is being communicated, you’ll need to figure out your “why”. Everyone needs a job and needs money. If you’re only in it for the money, that motivation will only fuel you for so long, especially in this hellish market.
A follow-up from above, consider your positioning and value prop. In a world where everyone has a portfolio, case studies, and a resume, how can you distinguish yourself from everyone else? In the world of UX/product design, over are the days of being an “empathetic human-centered designer” that “creates usable products” or “interactive experiences” as the tagline. Everyone is some form of those things at this point.
Don’t blindly apply. Follow up with recruiters at the companies you’re interested in and get your name on their radar.
Mitigate risk. Especially for junior [insert role], there is time and investment needed to get you up to speed. Figure out how you can reduce the risk of hiring you and have examples to support what you’re saying.
Continue learning and growing on your own terms. If you need experience, I suggest, creating your own opportunities by freelancing, hackathons, your own projects, etc. By creating your own path this is another way to show companies you can work and make stuff happen autonomously.
Be strategic in what you create. Consider creating work that is related to the industries or companies you’re interested in. And no I’m not saying do a redesign of their app.
That’s my list for now. If anyone else has tidbits that might be helpful, please share them. It’s not a candidates’ market out there anymore.