Credit: The original version of this article was first published on the Jobjo Start-now blog.
Introduction.
The tech job market is currently at a very low point. With the layoffs that we’re yet to recover from, and the threats of Artificial intelligence taking over our jobs, it will be fair to conclude that there has never been a more threatening season in the tech space than this one we are currently experiencing.
I’ll say there has never been a harder time to be in tech - than now.
In this article, I’ll be discussing three of those possible reasons why you keep getting rejections, and I’ll be sharing very potent tips to help you remedy them.
1. The Fierce Competition.
2023 is the most horrific year I’ve witnessed so far as a tech professional. Thousands lost their jobs due to being laid off by their companies. And since The influx of junior job seekers into the job market has not stopped, the competition level became even more tight, leading to many job rejections, especially for junior or inexperienced job seekers.
Here are some tips to help you beat the competition no matter how severe and increase your chances of getting noticed and hopefully landing an interview as well.
You can still beat the competition no matter how severe, and increase your chances of getting noticed and hopefully landing an interview soon.
Be intentional.
Being intentional simply means you have to be very focused on the job search process. In simple terms, “the job search should be considered as one of your new jobs”. Don’t take the process lightly. You can go as hard as setting a timeline within which you desire to get a job, and then working hard to crush that goal. You should keep track/record of every application you send out, then follow up with the next point below. Be ready to send out as many as "hundreds" of applications.
Be Persistent.
Understanding that the competition rate is at a very high point at the moment, should leave you with nothing but a fiery desire to find your way in no matter how hard it would be.
A very practical way to practice persistence is through following up on your applications by sending referral-seeking emails to employees within the company you are applying to.
Simply do a Google search or LinkedIn search or use any other means you can use to find employees(best to search for executive employees) that work within the company. Then send them polite, convincing and well-crafted emails/messages informing them about your application which you sent in.
You should do this as repeatedly(politely and persistently) as possible until you finally get a reply - which would either be “great news” or a rejection. Either way, you had nothing to lose in trying.
Understanding that the competition rate is at a very high point at the moment, should leave you with nothing but a fiery desire to find your way in no matter how hard it would be.
Apply to smaller companies or startups(preferably those with around 1 to 10 employees).
While Applying to smaller companies might not solve the problem of tight competition, it definitely helps now that you have learnt the persistence/staff-emailing tip shared above.
Applying to smaller companies will increase your chances of getting picked because smaller companies(especially those operating as startups) usually consist of small teams that likely share the same round table at work, chat casually with each other, and probably don’t have “formal” or strict operational processes.
This increases your chances of getting noticed by all members of the team once a single member receives your email or message.
To know the size of companies, simply search the company on any job platform that will help you discover the size of the team. I believe platforms like LinkedIn and Glassdoor should help with this.
2. Your CV/Resume is Horrible.
Now it's time for us to get more realistic.
The truth is, no matter how intentional, persistent, qualified, or focused you are, you will hardly find a job if your CV/Resume is in a horrible or un-optimized state.
Considering how tight the market currently is, you just have to ensure you leave no stone unturned with regard to optimizing your CV. Except if you're ready to keep experiencing more rejections.
You can seek the service of a professional CV/Resume expert to help access your CV, and hopefully your cover letter too. This will help a lot.
With Jobjo Start-now, you can get quality CV/Resume and cover letter services at very affordable prices. Follow this link to pick from the service that currently suits your needs and get awesome career help.
3. You do not have enough experience.
Lack of experience is a flaw(understandably not your fault though) that is very incompatible with the current state of the tech job market.
Especially if you’re a junior, my recommendation is that you seek the counsel of a career coach who will guide you on what to do next because continuing to send out those countess applications might not be the solution in this case.
With the current state of the tech market, you might just need to stop wasting valuable time applying to jobs and instead proceed to upskill and gain more experience, or do other experience-building side-hustles like contributing to opensource, participating in hackathons, and creating a blog or a YouTube channel where you can build projects and showcase/share while becoming better and more experienced, and at the same time gaining the thrills and fulfilment of things like an increasing subscriber count, an increasing number of views and hopefully the sight of earnings when you finally get monetized.
This article will be super helpful - stop-applying-to-jobs-do-these-instead
You might also decide to start out as your own boss by building a SaaS software and creating a startup.
The problem now is “How then will you get to know the next best step to take” - which is where getting a career coach becomes necessary.
Beyond just CV/Resume or Cover letter services, you can sign up for career coaching on Jobjo Start-now where you’ll receive personalized coaching directions on what step is best for you to take to help you advance your career.
Conclusion.
The tech job market is currently experiencing a bear run. And nothing helps than knowing what you might be doing wrong that has resulted in you getting so many job rejections. I hope this article has helped - especially with the different solutions to these possible problems that have been shared.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers!!!
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