My 8-Month Backend Job Search as a Non-CS Major (43 Rejections)
After 6 months in a government-funded bootcamp plus 8 months of self-study, I finally got one offer last week. I'll write this out at length.
1. Your resume needs to speak in real numbers
- Instead of 'I worked hard,' say something like 'Built 30 APIs, improved response time by 40%.' After I changed this, my resume pass rate went way up.
2. For coding tests, consistency is the answer
- I did one problem a day for 8 months, and at some point I started seeing how to solve them. Cramming didn't help at all.
3. Don't do projects alone
- Everyone asks about collaboration experience. For me, the project I did with four people in a club helped the most.
4. After an interview rejection, always ask for the reason
- About half of them gave feedback. That completely changed the direction of my next preparation.
After getting rejected 43 times, I really wanted to give up so many times, but in the last 3 months I had 12 interviews alone. It seems like the people who endure are the ones who win. Stay strong, everyone.
5 answers
43rd time? How did you even keep your sanity... Congrats on getting the offer. But feedback from the 4th interview is hit or miss. When I asked why, all I heard was "internal reasons" three times lol. Still, it's better to ask.
Well, I don't know about that. Numbers like 30 APIs and a 40% improvement in response speed are nice, but these days resumes dig into whether those numbers are really your own contribution first. I've seen cases where it actually backfires if you can't back that up in an interview. I feel like explaining the context matters more than the numbers.
Couldn't agree more with #2. I also crammed hard for three weeks, then dropped it, and it wasn't until I switched to one or two problems a day that I actually started to improve. That said, one problem a day for eight months seems like it might be a bit of an outlier. Since everyone's different, I guess the answer is to find what works for you.
I came from a government-funded bootcamp, and the part about project collaboration is so true. The one where four of us fumbled through it together worked way better in interviews than five toy projects I built alone. Everyone finds group projects annoying, but that’s the cheapest way to stand out.
Got a source? Everyone says to quantify things or mention a 40% improvement, but was that actually the deciding factor in getting past the resume screen? Honestly curious. Anyway, congrats on the offer.