I'm in month 3 of my job search after transitioning into engineering via a reputable bootcamp and have sent out ~230 applications. To preface, I know this is par for the course and I certainly don't expect companies to be knocking at my door as a bootcamp grad, but I feel like I'm doing something wrong with my low success ratio. Despite receiving referrals at Google, Dropbox and Stripe, I usually get screened out at the resume stage before even talking to a recruiter due to my lack of experience. This happens across the board, not just the competitive companies. I have about a 2-3% conversion rate from application to getting a coding challenge. For what it's worth, I tried to make my resume as polished as possible with detailed bullet points for technical projects I've done and get it reviewed by others. I'm grinding LC and EPI as well so I'm increasingly confident about the actual coding interview afterwards. Would anyone be generous enough to take a look at my resume and/or share some thoughts on how to overcome this initial hurdle in the application process? Thanks. TC: $0 #career #softwareengineer #jobhunt
Have you been applying for internships? That’s one of the major pipelines into these companies. It has a low bar since companies get to decide if they want to keep you after a few months of working with you. It might be weird timing wise, since most interns work during the summer and return the following summer, but I’m just putting this out there.
This is something that only recently has been on my radar but I think it's a great idea. I previously thought it was only for fresh university grads but I will definitely try applying. Thanks
Bootcamp grad? Don’t the bootcamp help with job placement?
To an extent. They pass along opportunities and sometimes have a direct relationship that helps move an application along. They also are good about coaching you on resume, personal pitch, application strategies, etc. However, what I've seen is that generally people in our program get 1 onsite per ~400 applications, which just seems crazy to me. Maybe that's just how it is.
Wait, how can they advertise for full placement if you guys can hardly get interviews?
I don’t think this is the right time of year to be searching for a recent grad position at a big company. Many companies do their recruiting in the fall for a summer start date.
Competitive companies will always prefer someome with experience, or at least an internship. If you don’t have any of that, you may want to look at smaller/startup companies. While you search, you can also work on personal or open source projects. Having a portfolio can help on your resume as well
Thanks VoXR78, that definitely aligns with my current strategy. Appreciate the advice.