Getting A Job In Tech is Harder Than You Think

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►Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
1:02 - Getting rejected from tech jobs is normal
1:15 - Reason #1
2:30 - Zip Recruiter sponsorship
3:16 - Reason #2
5:18 - Tip #1
6:46 - Tip #2
7:40 - Tip #3
8:22 - Tip #4
9:05 - Tip #5
9:17- Conclusion

BUSINESS INQUIRIES
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[Bukola]

Spicy Video Title 😅 Thanks for watching! This video isn't meant to discourage you, just to show that getting rejected is normal

[Lolaleeeelalol]

It's when you get a job everyone starts blowing your line. When I got my 2 offers and accepted I started getting multiple interviews and I got 2 more offers from previous interviews.

[tedpiano]

I have one tip to add, the opportunity for you to ask the hiring manager your own questions at the end of an interview is probably the most crucial part of the entire interview. Not asking great questions at the end of the interview is like catching a 90-yard football pass only to celebrate early and fumble the ball on the one yard line.

The Q&A portion of the interview is the only part that you truly own. You can ask whatever you want. You can turn the conversation in any direction you choose. This is huge because it allows you to employ a few psych techniques that help you create positive associations in your interviewer's brain and leave a lasting impression.

I started asking these 5 questions, in this order, and I started getting invited to final rounds at FAANG, and now I have an offer from a F100 finance tech company, and a pending offer from an MBB consulting firm:

1) "What is your favorite part about working for

(This is the softball. It's a great lead off that does two things: 1) This one gets the interviewer off-script and talking about something that's personal to them. 2) It gives you insight into the culture and the people who work at the company, both of which are huge factors)

2) "What is the biggest challenge your team is facing right now?"

(From the interviewer's perspective, this question shows them that you're interested in their problems – that's a great thing. On your side, this question is one of the most important in this list. It helps uncover information that you can later use to solidify your chances of landing the role or negotiate a higher salary. It's also a good chance to show your critical thinking skills if you can take an outsider's stab at their problem and come up with an answer that's interesting to them.)

3) "Let’s fast forward one year – you're looking back on this hire. What did they do to exceed all your expectations?"

(In the eyes of the interviewer, this question is gold. You are essentially saying “I want to know what success looks like so I can come in and absolutely crush this role.” On your end, it will give you some great insight into the abilities you need to have mastered in order to perfect the role. I loved this question when I was interviewing because it let me know whether the role catered to my strengths (requiring less effort to succeed) or if I would need to learn new skills to excel). If you get a good answer here in an earlier round, use the themes of the answer in the later interview rounds.

4) "What is the most unexpected lesson you've learned while working at

(This is the one question that sets you apart. It's totally unique. Don't be surprised if you get a “wow, nobody's ever asked me that!” It's also the most “sticky.” By that, I mean that almost every person I interviewed with mentioned this question in their feedback. They might reflect deeper on their own afterwards on lessons that might have been more worthwhile to impart, which is really just keeping your interview alive in their head.)

5) "Tell me a little bit more about you, what do you like to do outside of work?"

(This is your closer. You've talked about business for 30 - 60 minutes, now it's time to get personal. The reason this question is so powerful is because it not only has people talking about themselves, but it also gets them talking about their interests – things that make them happy. Hopefully, you did some research on your interviewer beforehand giving you an idea of common interests. If so, steer the conversation in that direction and you are golden. Next thing you know, you've talked for an extra 15 minutes, built a strong rapport and have some great content for your thank you email.)

The bottom line is that when we talk about ourselves, our interests, our passions, our aspirations, and even our problems, it makes us happy on a molecular level – especially when someone else is listening.

[NullPointerException]

First off, I agree with everything you said. I work in tech and I'm trying to switch jobs, been applying to jobs since November and I've had maybe 3 interviews. I have 6 years of experience and I'd just like to add though that this isn't just an entry/junior level problem. At the mid-senior level the main issue I've seen is that for those levels, many companies don't want to train new hires anymore. They expect you to know everything off gate and they're looking for a perfect unicorn they don't have to train.

I understand preferring a candidate that's worked with a specific software before, but in my 6 years of experience in this field, most software you can learn in a few weeks to a few months, tops. Especially if your degree is in computer science and you're moderately tech savvy. A lot of great workers are getting passed over because they don't have experience working in something specific when it wouldn't take them that long to pick it up on the job. At my very first job I learned Ajax and jQuery on site within 2 months. Largely self taught because no one else at the company knew how to code, yet they needed a system to be built that would give live monitoring updates from one of their servers. But being a quick learner isn't valuable to companies anymore. They want someone who can "hIT The GROund ruNnINg".

[ripwolfe]

I've been interviewing candidates for more the 20 years; all of your tips and suggestions apply and are well founded in my experience. The one thing I would add is that as as junior dev candidate, don't try so hard at anticipating what the interviewer is looking for; you'll never be able to second guess their intentions or thoughts. Come to your own conclusions and deliver with confidence and maybe some extra commentary to show that you're thinking more deeply about not just the problem at hand, but the wider context of development.

[GoddessKry]

For anyone reading this in college, be very mindful of what companies you want to intern with. Always try to go with companies that offers full time to at least 60% of its interns.

[emmm_]

I wear my rejections with pride, its humbling to know I have more to learn and don't take this personally. I'd like to hope gets better, the key is consistency!!

[perezident]

I’ve only been in the profession for 8 months (bootcamp grad) and I noticed that I had the best luck and feedback from companies that were involved in education (k-12 curriculum / Ed tech). They seemed to be super open to and supportive of continuous learning and development > knowing everything right now. This was just from my recent personal experience and thought it’s worth sharing for those who are in a similar position as I was. 😅

[PoojaDutt]

Excited to learn more! Getting a job at a Big Tech + FAANG can make it even harder :-/ thankfully there’s a lot of smaller/mid-size companies with a great work-life balance, benefits, pay, culture etc. that don’t expect you to be super well-versed in DS and Algos. Do you think it’s harder to go the self-taught route vs getting a degree?

[Lolaleeeelalol]

I think everyone's experience differs, I think I got super lucky and had 3 amazing rounds of interviews being all women. I started my tech journey in 2020, I currently don't have a degree but have 3 certs 1 in cloud 2 in cybersecurity and I did a college credit certificate with my local community college. In all I did 2 semesters of classes, I first got a job doing tech support and I hated it but I was told that's where everyone starts for atleast 2 yrs. I couldn't take it anymore because my 3 months contract was extended and I was checked out, I quit. I went back to the community college for another CCC and I needed 5 classes to get my A.S and I decided why not? The CCC classes which are free covers 3 of my associates classes btw I haven't paid a cent for college. By this time AWS was recruiting for summer interns and I was super hesitant, a recruiter reached out to me like 5 times and I thought why not and applied as a joke... I was simultaneously applying for a security assurance role with a cybersecurity company. I got them both... I turned down the internship for a full time job paying similar and amazing benefits and I'm finishing college next yr. No degree, no experience. I was a CNA for yrs trying to be a nurse and the pandemic taught me that I wouldn't want to be on the front line.

[cmarisco]

This is one of the most helpful videos about joining the tech industry out there. It's insane how there's now an entire industry geared towards helping seemingly nominally qualified candidates get seen by the companies that are supposedly looking for help.

I've seen ads on every platform from gurus claiming to help you ace that coding interview or InMailers on LinkedIn from talent companies that will pay to train you but lock you into a 2 year contract for 40k for some employer in a place you've never been to or, most egregiously, influencers who get their 1st Software Engineering gig and then make dozens of videos about "what you're missing on your resume" or "why you won't make it without <insert idea of the week here>" only to boost their social media numbers from a steady base of job seekers looking for that last factor to give them an edge.

I say all of that to say that your videos are immensely true to real life, inspirational, and helpful. This video helps me feel not so alone in the seemingly futile attempt to break into the industry even though I foolishly believed my CS degree and projects would do the leg work for me in the beginning.

Much Thanks! And I hope you continue to make the quality content that you do!

[JalisaWhite]

The only real and honest influencer in tech 👏🏽

[DiamondFlame]

I think people should considered applying for small and mid size tech companies because there interview processes is not as long as big tech! Recently, I was able to interview with the CTO and Marketing director of a start up! It’s a good way to build experience so you can set yourself up to apply to those big tech companies. But it always amazes me how people with no work experience are able to land those entry level tech roles at those large tech companies.

[haleym.]

I’m about to graduate with a CS degree and applying to junior level roles and this video is so accurate! I wish I had better informed myself of these realities before I changed careers.

[universecode]

Yes, the first step is very difficult, I know from experience but never give up guys, keep pushing. Great content as always 👏🏻

[AndrewHitti]

Honest truths are hard to swallow! Thanks for keeping it 💯- You’re providing an important perspective! People who see this video will be more confident to not give up once they hit their first obstacle.

[marcusvision]

I can atest to everything she says, even after my bootcamp and 20+ interviews...4 months later I finally got a job. The interview process is not only broken but rude...3-5 interviews PER company and then denied with no reason even if you made it to the final round.

[Pedro-evif]

Thank you for keeping it real. Finally someone actually being honest and not just claiming they got 250k a year salary with no experience.

[megganmills]

Funny that this would come up in my recommended after having a breakdown over yet another rejection email. 🤣 it's tough getting one after 3-4 interviews with each company for even help desk jobs. I'm studying for my compTIA A+ and would like to find an entry lvl position to build experience with. It's tough out here, but this video helped me a lot! 😭 especially how the networking process works. I'm a true introvert so I've always wondered how people actively networked.

[sto]

As a candidate filter, I guess it works. However, it is unnecessary, a 3 step interview process is all that is needed. The candidate should not have to go through such stress.