Why Most Software Engineers Are Struggling in Interviews Right Now
In this issue
• Why interview prep matters more than ever
• How the market shifted and why most SWEs are unprepared
• Three real stories where prep made or broke the outcome
• A concrete framework to get from “good” to “offer ready”
Before we begin
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Upload your resume / job description
Choose between technical vs behavioral questions, and between easy-medium-hard
It will generate questions a hiring manager would ask you based off the settings you picked / content you uploaded
You can type or use voice to text to say your answer
It will rate your answer on a scale of 1-100, then can generate a new question
Check it out and let me know your thoughts!
I cannot tell you how much interview prep matters in this market.
This applies to everyone. But it applies specifically to technical folks. I am looking at you, software engineers.
If you have spent your career in tech, you have likely spent your entire professional life in a candidate’s market. You are used to recruiters chasing you. You are used to hiring managers overlooking soft skills because they desperately need someone who knows Python. You are used to the leverage being entirely on your side.
That era is over.
We are seeing people with 10+ years of experience struggling. We are seeing resumes stacked with FAANG logos struggling. We are seeing brilliant engineers struggling.
They are not struggling to get interviews, their resumes work. They are landing the initial screen and getting passed to the hiring manager.
But they are not converting to offers.
The vast majority of candidates underestimate the sheer volume of preparation required right now. If you are preparing the same way you did in 2021, you are preparing to fail. If you are preparing the same way you did in 2015, you are obsolete.
You have to put in double the work for half the leverage.
I want to explain why this is happening. I want to show you exactly where senior talent is failing. And I want to give you the playbook to fix it.
The Housing Market Analogy
To understand why you are getting rejected, you have to understand the market mechanics.
Let’s look at real estate.
Think back to 2019. In most decent areas, the market was balanced. Let’s say I listed my house for $500,000. You liked the house. You put in an offer for the asking price. You put 20% down.
The house was yours. It was a simple transaction. You met the criteria, you paid the price, and you got the asset.
That is what the job market used to be. You met 80% of the job description. You passed the coding test. You were a decent human being. You got the job.
Now look at the housing market today.
Inventory is low, demand is pent up and it’s extremely competitive (at least where I am).
If I list that same house today, the dynamics are completely different. You can offer me the asking price. You can offer me exactly what I want.
But you might not even be a top 3 offer.
Why?
Because someone else just offered $550,000. Another person offered $600,000 with waived inspections. Someone else just walked in with $500,000 in cold hard cash and told me I can move out whenever I feel like it.
If you come in with a standard offer, you lose. You did nothing “wrong.” You just failed to realize that “good” is no longer the winning standard.
This is exactly what is happening in the job market.
You could have a stellar resume. You could interview well. You could be a B+ candidate across the board.
In 2019, a B+ got hired.
Today, a B+ is just a warm-up act for the candidate who prepared like their life depended on it. You are going up against the best competition of your career. You are fighting against laid off talent from top firms. You are fighting against internal referrals.
You are entering a bidding war where the currency is competence, polish, and preparation. If you do not bring an all cash offer to the table, you are wasting your time.
The “Good on Paper” Trap
I want to walk you through three specific stories. These are real scenarios. These are senior people who thought their track record would save them.
It did not.
Case Study 1: The Big Tech Veteran
