Did you know there are only 3 possible reasons why a companies are ignoring your application? Here’s a quick breakdown of each reason and what you can do avoid this in the future.
1. The structure of your resume
It’s shocking to me how many people mess up the format of their resume. Some simple rules:
- keep it black and white
- no headshot
- easy to read
- ats friendly template
- metrics on 80% of bullet points
how to structure a resume bullet
2. The content of your resume
If you’ve fixed the structure of your resume and are still getting rejected, then you have to work a little harder on the content of your resume. And by this I mean your work experience 😇
Yes, you have to get work experience to get a job. Feels paradoxical, but it is possible. Here is how I suggest you beef up your resume (without landing a full time role)
- research (dominant strategy for undergrads, not optimal for anyone else)
- personal projects (anyone can do this, you get to do a full system design, implementation, and deployment. Bonus points if you get 2-3 friends together and collaborate on it)
- open source contributions. Pick a repo / open source library you use a lot and are comfortable with and make some contributions. Really easy way to build credibility in the industry, and it’s very trackable when a company asks to see your GitHub.
3. The way you applied
If you applied cold as the 700th easy apply applicant for a role on linkedin, you are not getting the job. In fact, a human will probably never look at your resume. In 2026 the VAST majority of hires come from other methods. Here are some, ranked from worst to best.
- cold apply on linkedin (this only works if you are in the first couple applicants)
- dm recruiter or HM, then cold apply (slightly better, still bad)
- dm engineer, ask for a coffee chat, get referral (getting better)
- company webinar / hackathon (good chance to meet people who work at the company)
- building in public (good chance recruiters will reach out to you if you do this)
- direct intro to hiring manager by a friend or personal connection (duh)
Hope you enjoyed! I’m doing a quick series on the entire SWE interview process on my Instagram this week. Tune in if you want more like this.
Happy Wednesday.
Arjay