Preface
I began coding in some capacity back in 2017. It’s been a bit of a journey since then. If you’re interested, check out Compiling into a Software Dev Many projects, a Practicum, and a co-op later and I was ready. I’ve done FullStackWebDev, FunctionalProgramming, OOP, SystemsProgramming…etc. I felt ready to start the slog that is modern job searching, especially the toxic variety that is tech.
Man, was I wrong…
Interview Prep
If you were to ask for advice about this, you’d likely get some extremely contradictory opinions on how to go about this. There are two main camps, with a third emerging
Camp LeetCode
These are the folks urging you to breathe, eat, and sleep LeetCode. Nothing else matters; just get cracked at solving algorithmic puzzles and recognizing the many patterns they all share. “If you just do n more problems you’ll be ready.”
There’s truth to this. Solving these problems is like doing math, you see the patterns, you go through the phases of ComputationalThinking, and start to hear the music. There’s just one caveat most leave out: you need to Know the pattern. You don’t know what you don’t know, and these problems are puzzles, not the type of problems that can always be logically derived in 15-20 minutes; sometimes it really does come down to have you seen this problem or encountered this pattern before?
So if this is you, it was also me. Just keep going, try 1-2 problems a day. Try a problem from scratch a few days after reading the solution and explain it to yourself, why an algorithm works, why a particular DataStructure is better suited, and analyze the Time and Space complexity. By studying the pattern and problem, you’ll commit it to memory and are more likely to remember it next time you encounter it.
Fort Projects
This team advocates building a PersonalProject and many of them. I am on this team, I believe in this, it’s why I code and why I fell in love with programming.
The truth is, building stuff you’re passionate about and find useful is a great way of discovering new problems and how to solve them. It exposes you to new technologies, exciting challenges, communities, and niches within that domain, and solidifies true knowledge and skills. Not all projects need to be massive and super impressive. Start by building what YOU need to solve your problems.
Projects are an essential experience that can boost your abilities and your appeal to recruiters and employers. However, I have a few Opinions on this, as some of the advice out there isn’t good nor reasonable…
Keep of DS/A
This group cautions newbies to review and master DataStructure and Algorithm fundamentals, not just grinding LeetCode and similar platforms. To truly comprehend and understand the foundations of the tools in their arsenal.
This is sound advice, I dig this. Because even if you’ve gone over this in university or college, like most juniors have, you will surely forget the details of their implementation, and that’s fine, as you certainly will again, but reviewing them is a must. Not just for the sake of knowing what you’re talking about when interviewing, but to increase your success and efficiency when solving problems.
What I’ve been doing
All of it, I’ve been relentlessly doing all of it. The studying, the LC grind, the projects. Have I been 100% consistent? Heck no! I’ve had weeks when I don’t touch a computer for days. The LC grind is miserable and unrewarding. That’s all I’ve to say about it.
The studying is chill, it’s nice reviewing concepts I’ve covered in the past. Because it feels that the knowledge I’ve amassed since has been built on good foundations, and sometimes I feel like it clicks better now as a side effect of knowing other neat details that help everything settle in place. Many resources have everything you need for this. I’ve been following Coding Interview University, but many other repos are updated more frequently.
Also, don’t miss System Design. I find it ridiculous that some interviewers expect new grads to fully understand how to set up and manage enterprise-level systems and infrastructure. However, the basics are indeed essential and will help you with many of your software development endeavours. Take a look at Distributed System Design Basics
Projects? Check out my GitHub; there are a few in the works right now, including Coopy, and others in the pipeline. I mean, if this gonna be a drought, might as well capitalize on the time at home building things.
My Search So Far
In anticipation of my current predicament and observing the horrendous state the market’s in, I decided to start applying early, about a month before my last term at BCIT, April of 2025. My program ended with a 5-week Project term, working with an industry sponsor, which was rather underwhelming, building some React components, and interacting with a Strapi CMS backend. It wasn’t exciting, but it was chill enough for me to start focusing on applications in my spare time.
My first interview happened during that term; it was one of those prerecorded video interviews for a “Blockchain infrastructure company”; they were interested in my experience with Rust and Elixir, which I found cool.
Fast forward to today, August 22nd. I’ve applied to 250+ postings in British Columbia, and I’ve had a total of 6 interviews, only one was with an actual person, also happens to be a job I really wanted. // We roll…
My goal is to land something before winter break (the holidays) in December; however, that outlook’s not likely.
Doom & Gloom?
In an effort not to be a discouraging voice of unrepressed doom, I’ve tried to focus on what I’ve done instead of just going off and crashing out about how bad things are at the moment.
It’s no secret, the market and this industry are in really bad shape. You don’t need to hear it from me, and frankly, I’ve nothing to add to what more informed people have likely told you.
Interview processes…
Oh man, where do I even begin? …
Hacks and Frauds
…
Upsides?
…
What can we do?
Like I said before, we roll. We keep at it, keep applying, keep reaching out, keep studying, and keep building. If you do anything, build stuff. Cool stuff, lame stuff, complex stuff, stupidly simple stuff. Just build, focus on best practices, and approach every project as a potential portfolio piece.
My advice
Write clean code, make sure it’s readable and approachable. This is for people checking out your work, but also for your sake; you’ll thank yourself when you jump back into a project months later…
Write documentation for all your projects. Your README is your project’s poster. // I need to heed my own advice more often…
Follow through, try to finish every project. Check out The Cult of Done for some insight on what constitutes a completed project because it’s not always clearly defined.
Avoid scope-creep, focus on core features before branching out.
Seek publicity, make sure recruiters can see your work. Whether that’s via a blog or DigitalGarden like this one, LinkedIn posts, YouTube vlog, or whatever works for you. Focus on your GitHub profile as a start.
Reach out to people. Recruiters, hiring managers, colleagues, classmates, friends, and whomever. Not to beg for an interview or referral, but to simply converse and chat, because you never know what may come of it. You’ll feel better, too. We’re social animals, and the job-search grind’s demotivating and draining. Nourish your soul with good company.
Take care of yourself. This should go without saying, but unfortunately, it’s really easy to lose yourself in the process. Not just in the sense of your health and physical wellbeing but your mental health too; the latter’s more dangerous than the former in my opinion… So try to find activities that anchor and recalibrate you, things to do away from the computer. I like to go to my local neighborhood coffee shop early in the morning and just read books over a cappuccino. It’s a great way to see other people and chat with them, rest your eyes while exercising your mind and imagination without exhausting either. Shout out to Slo
Wrapping up
I started typing this as a way to vent and express my grievances with the industry, hiring processes, and the current market state. But in a way, this has ended up sorta like a journal entry rather than a blog entry. But this is a digital garden and these are living documents so I’ll update this down the line. My only hope is that the 2026 entry will be more optimistic and cheerful.
Good luck out there, Devs.