Applying for Developer Roles

It is getting wild out there in this new remote world

I run the engineering team at Zesty.io and handle all of our hiring for developer roles. We've used angel.co extensively when sourcing candidates for these technical roles. Below are a couple things which struck me on our latest round of hiring.

Turn your camera on

If you are applying for a remote position from your very first call to everyone afterwards you should be doing it with your camera on. A remote position inherently needs the use of video calls in order to connect with and communicate with team members. If you first call is without your camera on that is a signal to me that you don't understand that inherent need. I understand there is bias in the hiring process and many folks want to side step that by not including a visual of themselves. The reality is your employeer will have to see you at somepoint. I would be suprised if that happened after being extended an offer.

Maintain a consistent presence across the web

When I look at your angel.co, linkedin, resume and social profiles if they have differing employement history or personas it's a red flag. Mainly because it makes it look like your faking a profile. Especially if that is employement at the same company but differing time frames between depending upon where it was posted. Keep your information updated.

Github!!!

Or some other online code repository. I get this one can be tough. Not everyone does work which can be made public. When I hire for a technical role I need to find someway to determine whether the candidate applying for the role has the required skill sets. The two best ways for me to do this are a work history and public code which align to the required skills. With public code being the best possible source. If I can see code you have authored it quickly lets me make a decision on if an intro call is worth pursuing.

This is not the end all be all! If you don't have public code that's fine, just make sure your work history contains relevant details on your prior experience relatd to the role being applied for.

Research the company beforehand

If you haven't done a percursory 10 minute google search to find out who the company is and what product/service they offer, it's an instant no. 

Come prepared with questions

When I get to the point of the conversation where I ask you if you have any questions on the role or company if all I get is silence it shows you haven't really looked into what we need at all. Questions to understand the specific problems this role would work on would be great.

Tailor your intro to the position

I get it, as a developer you've probably had to work across the full stack at some point, but does that relate to the position you're applying for? If you have experience that isn't relative to the role... do not include it on your intro. I'm trying to filter through hundreds of candidates. By highlighting the most relevant information it lets me say yes to the intro call faster.

Full disclosure: I'm baised against the "full-stack" title. I don't think it is real. If you truly have a deep understanding and can deliver high quality code across the stack, you are a lead/staff engineer. But I do get there are companies out there who want "full-stack" engineers. Especiallly early stage startups who are willing to sacrifice on quality for time-to-market.

Do not harass me through other channels

When a job posting provides a clear process for applying... that is the process you should use. Finding my email and sending me a resume directly for a role that was posted, not as clever as you think. Really I'm going to ignore that and point you to the process that was indicated on how to apply. Email I wouldn't put in the harassment category. Finding another platform I'm on and direct messaging me, that is harassment. Especially if it's agressive or repetitive. 

The caveat to the direct email is that if there isn't a posted job position and you simply really like the company and want to work there. In this case totally send a direct email with your resume.

Your resume should be a PDF

If your resume is a word doc file I am not opening it. It should be a PDF.

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Sidenote: Latetly I've noticed what appears to be "catfishing" when applying for a position. Candidates who seem to be passing off that they are located in certain parts of the world when they are not.