What I Learned Preparing to Switch Jobs for 3 Months (Long Post Warning)
I switched jobs as a backend developer with 3 years of experience. To start with the results: I passed document screening at 12 companies, coding tests at 8, and final rounds at 2, and joined one of them.
1. Coding tests are ultimately just repetitive grinding
For the first two months, I focused on organizing problem types, and in the last month I solved only three problems a day. If you properly understand just five representative problems per type, you can pass most company coding tests.
2. Your portfolio needs to explain the "why"
I don't think I'd hire an applicant who just lists their tech stack either. When I wrote not just "I solved this problem this way" but "why I didn't use other approaches," interview questions became much easier.
3. Interviews are half about review notes
After every interview, I always wrote down within 30 minutes the questions I couldn't answer and the ones I fumbled on. After repeating this about three times, you stop making the same mistakes.
4. Managing your mindset
When you get rejected at the resume stage five times in a row, you really start to wonder if you shouldn't have started at all. But often that's not a matter of skill; it's just a matter of there being no opening.
I raised my salary by about 6 million KRW. Good luck to everyone preparing.