Here's why YOU aren't getting called back for tech interviews.

Right now, it feels like I'm applying for jobs where I match 80-90% of the requirements, but I am rejected without even an interview. Then, the company reposts the job a week later! I got this comment earlier, so let's talk about it. Here's why YOU aren't getting called back:

If you are actively applying to jobs, there are MANY reasons why you might not be getting called back, but after reviewing HUNDREDS upon hundreds of resumes of software developers, these are some of the most common mistakes that I see over and over again.

- You give a very basic overview of the duties you did but did not talk about your achievements once. - You are so caught up thinking about technical interviews 2 and 3 that you forget to think about how you will get in interview number 1. - You know the context. They don't.

If someone is a software developer at a company, what are some of the things you expect them to be doing within that role? - Write code - Do code reviews - Write tests etc

If you write about a job you had and then write on your resume, "Participated in code reviews," that doesn't do anything for you. We expect you to be in code reviews. You are doing yourself a disservice by writing that. Same as "Wrote code with technologies for homepage."

You need to explain things in a way that SHOW YOUR ACTIVE CONTRIBUTION towards the goal of your role.

Here are some examples from my current role to show you what I mean.

- Delivered an improvement to the existing Deals sales funnel, resulting in a 44% increase in customers who explored available deals and an overall 43% increase in deals added to their cart.

- Developed a new streamlined sign-in flow launched in Q1 of 2024, contributing to a 214% increase in linked accounts to loyalty or legacy accounts, 231,022 vs 73,440 the previous year.

- Increased Testing Code Coverage by 50% by adding integration tests throughout the code base to create higher-quality code less prone to bugs and errors.

- Increasing the website's accessibility by working on Accessible features and tasks in an initiative to improve the compliance and readability of the site with screen readers by 60% in Q3 of 2023 - Q1 of 2024.

- Modernized the shopping funnel to increase customer retention and trust in the checkout flow by implementing Saved payments, Google Pay, and Apple Pay into the checkout process.

- Migrated our codebase from React-Redux to TanStack Query while maintaining code quality standards.

Now, one thing I often hear is, "How do I get those metrics? I don't have them for my job." That is what you should be doing in your one-on-ones, larger team meetings, etc. How do you know if the feature you worked on for a sprint or two is doing well? Ask!

Point number two of why you aren't getting callbacks: "You are so caught up thinking about technical interviews 2 and 3 that you forget how you will get in interview number 1." Who is the very first line of hiring? Before the technical manager, it is HR, the recruiters, etc.

If your resume is NOT set up for them and explained in a way that THEY can read it and say, "Ok, I see their work and understand the impact. I need to find out more. Let me get them on a call!" Then, you are losing opportunities.

You should be able to explain your technical achievements in nontechnical ways. How do interviews work?

They interview you, source information, and take notes to make their recommendation for the next round. If you aren't giving them info to jot down in a way they understand when you are gone, you have completely lost the goal of the resume, Interview, or conversation.

Point number 3: "You know the context. They don't." You have done amazing things, and when you talk about it, you go into such great detail. So much so that you forget that they didn't work on that same initiative. You have to paint a complete picture, not just part of it.

Your resume is a highlight reel. PIQUE INTEREST! Don't think of it as an item on a checklist and that people should be foaming at the mouth to talk to you, especially in today's market. I hope this helped! Believe me when I say this, You absolutely got this!