How to get interview calls as a student?
Hi,
I am a MS in CS graduating this December and am looking for SWE or ML related roles in the USA. I am applying to many places but have not received followups in the form of an OA/interview. I had the same problem when I applied to internships last year and didnt have much luck even later. Since then I have improved my resume and have started applying early but still fear the same outcome.
It would be great if someone could help me with suggestions on why this is happening and some advice to overcome it.
Discussion
(2 comments)- 28 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
So chances are that your job searching challenges are through no fault of your own and are 95% attributed to the terrible tech market right now. It's important to not feel bad about it - Keep your head high and continue trying!
That being said, here's some tactics to help:
- Apply to even more places - I often ask how many places someone has applied to when they claim to have applied to a "lot", and it's usually between 100 and 200. That's a decent amount for sure, but it's not nearly enough as a junior engineer in a terrible economy. When I helped my little brother get his first job out of school, we applied to 1,000 places. With the rise of one-click apply platforms like Wellfound, there's no reason why you shouldn't take more shots on goal.
- Build side projects - You don't need a job to get good experience: You can create it on your own. I have seen high schoolers build apps with 1,000+ users and get internships at top companies like Amazon and Zillow. You can learn how they did it here: "Finding a mobile app idea - How to do it?"
- Network, network, network - Referrals are increasingly necessary in this economy: You need to stand out from the hordes of other applicants somehow. The good news is that as a student, you are well equipped to network as you're in an environment with high solidarity (i.e. everyone is studying CS, is tied to a certain region, and is around the same age). Learn how to network here: [Masterclass] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech
Check out these resources too:
- 48 months agoSoftware Engineering Intern at Series C Startup
Your post resonates with my experience. I'm also graduating this December as an international student with a Master's looking for MLE roles and I'm also finding it challenging to land interviews. Here's how I am approaching job searching:
Create content on LinkedIn: Create posts to distill ideas/lessons learned from projects you've worked on. I try to publish content that would have helped me if I had learned of this before starting the project. By doing so, you'll increase the visibility of your projects and can get more inbound DMs from recruiters.
Reach out to Hiring Managers/CEOs of startups: I try to look for people/companies that are hiring on LinkedIn and reach out to get in touch and learn more about the company. The more relevance you have to the company the better it is. Relevance can be in terms of -- same city, same college, or is a similar field to some of your prior work
