Tech Career Boost

Founder & CEO

Riwers

In my current position as the CTO, I continue to steer our Core Tech Team, maintaining a conducive environment for idea-sharing, goal-setting, and the seamless execution of technical standards across the company. My role extends to nurturing a culture of continuous learning and improvement among the team, ensuring we are at the forefront of technological advancements.

Supporting our sales department during pivotal customer engagements, I leverage my technical knowledge to foster trust and understanding with potential clients, aiding in the expansion of our customer base and contributing to the overall growth of the company.

Furthermore, my responsibilities include providing support on a variety of technical and interpersonal issues to all colleagues, facilitating an environment where challenges are addressed promptly and efficiently. Through regular 1:1 meetings, I engage with many colleagues, assisting them in improving their communication, leadership, and technical problem-solving skills, thereby nurturing a workplace culture that encourages personal and professional growth for every team member.

My overarching goal remains to be a catalyst for innovation, ensuring our technical strategies align with the evolving market demands and contribute significantly to achieving our company's long-term objectives.

Chief Technology Officer

Lead of Core Tech Team: As lead I am responsible to organise group of senior developers, prepare all our meetings, set goals which we want to achieve, bring new ideas to the table and help implement technical standards across the company. My goal is to be opened to all ideas, support the best way I can any colleagues which need it and help solve any issues coming our way.

People Lead: This role give me the privilege of connecting with colleagues on a more personal level through our 1:1 meetings. I actively listen to their concerns, understand their day-to-day challenges, and guide them towards career advancement.

Product Owner: Leveraging my technical expertise, I translate customer insights into actionable product stories. I'm able to consider and imagine diverse use cases and understand their impact on the development process.

Lead of Core Tech Team | People lead | Product Owner

Lead developer: Working as lead developer gave me responsibility of delivering quality product and taking care of our team at the same time. I believe when you have great people in your team, that most issues can be resolved by proper, opened and on time communication. At the same time I was responsible to design and develop whole backend architecture.

Head of Technical recruitment: Making sure we find fitting & skilled engineers for projects by conducting and refining interviews.

Lead developer | Head of technical recruitment

MEAN(mongo, express, angular, node) developer, working on web based microservices for energy sector with our client Enersis. I was responsible for designing application architecture(backend), making technical decisions, creating custom tailored software solutions and helping organize team before important deadlines.

Senior Software Engineer

Filmzie

MERN (React, MongoDB, Express, Node) development in Typescript

Senior Full-Stack Engineer

ERNI

MEAN(mongo, express, angular, node) developer, working on multiple solutions for Swiss client.

Professional Full-Stack Software Engineer

Millennium

Programming web applications based on .NET framework in C# and building JavaScript plugins to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Full-stack Developer

Freelance Web Development

PHP Full-Stack developer

Don't know how to present yourself, showcase your skills, and sell yourself? Let's fix that!

✅ I'll teach you the most important communication techniques to appear professional and lead the conversation in your direction.
- No more "ah," "um." Just powerful questions and even more powerful silence.

✅ We'll define and present your strengths.
- It's all about positioning. Maybe you're already doing more than you think.

✅ We'll set your salary target higher than you've had so far. And we'll achieve it.
- Negotiation is easy when you know how to do it and how to show your value!

Does your career need the right direction?

Let's have a call!

- 👋 Hi. I'm Adam, a leader who will help you grow!

Adam Bilišič

I empower millennial & gen X job seekers in tech to land and pass interviews with confidence

Do you feel frustrated with the current job market?
Do you struggle to communicate in interviews?
Do you get rejected often? 
Do you get ghosted?

It usually takes a handful of interviews to warm up. 
But those handful of interviews are jobs. 
Jobs you might really want. 

For the last 20 years, I’ve been studying interviews. 
First as a candidate, then as a hiring manager. 
I’ve been in hundreds of interviews. 

I interviewed countless candidates and interviewers. 
I worked with interviewers to make hiring decisions. 
I learned what worked and didn’t work. 

And I learned that interviews aren’t about trivia. 
They’re about human connection. 
They’re about story telling. 

Interviewers want to experience working with you. 
Interviewers want to see if you’re like them. 
People want to work with people they like. 

I know what rejection feels like. I’ve been there. 
And I know what it’s like to crave feedback.
I know what it feels like to be ghosted. 

And I know what it feels like to get the offer. 
What it feels like to crush an interview. 

Today, I help people make a lasting impression. 
I help them show, not tell, how they work. 
I coach them on how to tell their story. 

I give them the feedback they crave. 
So they don’t have to warm on when it counts. 

Dozens have worked with me so far. 
And they’ve seen results in as little as 7-8 weeks. 

So what are you waiting for? I’m here to help you.

Jonathan Corrales

"Went through 6 rounds of interviews...just to get rejected. 6 rounds just to end up with nothing is exhausting"

One of my first interviews was an all day interview in Atlanta, Georgia.

The day started at 7am, in the lobby of the hotel. 12 other candidates joined me and our interviewers for breakfast.

There was a morning round and an afternoon round. Each one was a panel interview with about 3-4 interviewers.

The interviews ranged from technical/whiteboard exercises to experience-based recaps. I remember how grueling the day felt.

After 8 hours of being "on," I had to jump in a car to beat rush hour (spoiler: rush hour was not beat that day).

I got home around 10-11pm. I immediately passed out on my bed. I did the best that I could at the time.

By the end of the week, I got rejected. That stung, a lot. All that effort and energy for naught.

That's when I realized that sometimes I'll give something my all and I'll fail. I could be discouraged by it, or motivated by it.

I chose to be motivated. I noted what worked. Worked on what didn't work. Then nailed the next interview with the Patent Office.

Ever since, I believed the fear of failure is worse than failure itself. Failure is a phenomenal learning tool.



Application:

If you've gone multiple rounds for an interview only to get rejected, take a moment to write what worked, what didn't work, and what you could do better.

Then move on.

--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

It's near impossible to get feedback after an interview. But what about before, or during, an interview?

One time I had a recruiter reach out to me for a position using a language I hadn't used since college: C++.

I wondered: why do I keep getting calls for C++ positions? Isn't it clear from my work experience that I code in a different language?

Does anyone read my resume?

I was frustrated. Annoyed. Irritated. I was mad at them for misreading my resume, which was clearly flawless.

But I wasn't getting the hint the universe was giving me.

(My wife will confirm, I'm bad at getting hints.)

One day I decided to pay attention. I took C++ off my resume... And the world didn't end. In fact, I started getting calls for positions I wanted.

That's when I realized I can get feedback throughout my job search, if I pay close attention.



For example:

→ During a phone screen, "I see you have" statements highlight what's interesting on my resume or profile.

→ During an interview, any questions related to my resume shows me what's relevant to the position at hand.

→ During an interview, I could aske why they reached out to me, if it wasn't apparent from the discussion. I'd know what I'm doing right.

And ever since, I make sure to get feedback before and during interviews.



Lesson:

Recruiters and hiring managers are dropping hints about why they reached out. Take note.



Application:

Next time someone reaches out to you on LinkedIn or gives you a phone call about an opportunity, ask them: what made you reach out to me?

--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

How do you search for a job when you dread doing it?

Short answer: turn it into a routine. Remove motivation.

I've spoken to well over a thousand job seekers over the last two years. I understand the emotional rollercoaster of searching for a job. I study it daily.

The thing that seems to work again and again is consistency. Sustainable consistency at that. A routine that doesn't rely on motivation.

Motivation can disappear for weeks at a time. When job seekers depend on motivation they lose momentum often.

Some job seekers stop looking for work altogether. It's more common than I expected. They take days or weeks off. They burnout.

But when job seekers turn their job search into a routine, they tend to get more interviews overall. They build a pipeline of opportunities.

Consistency beats motivation. Job seekers don't need patience, they need endurance.



Here's a simple schedule that you can adopt to maintain consistency throughout your search. It's one option I give all my clients. It's the 3-3-3 method for job seekers:

- three hours everyday

- three applications minimum

- three networking activities, like follow-ups



When I share this with clients, I strongly suggest they do it first thing in the morning. Get it done in in one block. Afterwards, take a break.

If you do this everyday, you'll build a steady pipeline of opportunities.

Try it out. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below, I'll respond to each one.

--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

He could talk his way out of tech interviews... He was on the job market for four months by the time we met.

I once spoke with a job seeker that was looking for a leadership role in the tech industry. He wanted something akin to an engineering manager role.

When we spoke about his plan for tackling technical interviews, he said he could talk his way out of them.

...Hiring teams don't typically make exceptions if there's a technical interview portion for all.

"Tech firms tend to require a technical assessment even for management roles," I said. "Especially big tech." 

"I can usually talk my way out of tech interviews," he said. "I ask my interviewers if it's absolutely necessary, and they tend to move past it. So I don't worry about it."

He was on the job market now for a few months. He wasn't sure why. I had a decent guess.


At the time I was working with a client going for a management level role at a big tech company.

He had a technical assessment to build a full stack application. Every candidate did it. No exceptions.

I prepared my client for his technical interview. I gave him guidance and support, while he drove.

A week later, my client presented his work to his would-be employer.

He did so well, his would-be employer moved him to the final round thirty minutes later.

"You did an amazing job on today's presentation," his recruiter said. "We would like to move things forward."

My client knew that if he wanted a management role in a big tech firm, he had to pass a technical round.

He didn't try to get out of it. He tackled it head on.

Spoiler: My client got an offer after his final round. $207k base. We only worked together for six weeks.

Takeaway:
If you're in tech going for a management role, be ready to show what you're capable of in a technical interview.

You might have to build a simple app, design a system, or design a product.

Either way don't plan on talking your way out of it. Prepare instead. It's a better strategy.

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

"I was interviewed yesterday by a blank screen with a name like 'Interview Specialist'"
Companies are officially trying AI phone screens over video.

And job seekers hate it. Every time I speak with job seekers about AI interviews, they tell me it's a terrible experience.

"There's no human to connect with," one job seeker told me. "There's no one to riff off."

"I was interviewed yesterday by a blank screen with a name like 'Interview Specialist'" she said. "The instructions on the screen said to look into the camera and speak as if a person was there."

Job seekers also tell me they opt out whenever they can in their job descriptions. "I don't want to deal with AI in the process at all. It's dehumanizing."

So far it seems like only a handful of companies are doing AI phone screens over video. But it's happened often enough where I hear about it at least once from job seekers I speak to daily.

Have you had an AI interview? How did you feel about it?

--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.
#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

To the job seekers in tech that aren't getting interviews at the moment

If you're on the market for 3 months and only get 2 interviews total, what should you do?

Rewrite your resume? Overhaul your LinkedIn profile? Build a personal brand? Get referrals?

Those things can help you get interviews. But once you get the interview, it’s up to you.

It's up to you to turn those interviews into offers. There's no interview hack. It's hours of study, preparation, and practice.

Think about what's on the line with an interview in tech: a six figure compensation package. Remote work. Interesting problems to solve.

If an interview is coming up in a week, that's not the time to grind LeetCode, cram system design concepts, or brush up on whatever the STAR method is. The time to do that was months before.

Do you want to wing it on a six figure opportunity? Or do you want to pull out all the stops and nail that next interview?

It’s risky bet.

But look at it this way: all you need is one good interview.

What if you got an offer after one interview? That would be a short job search.

Here are tools I recommend (and have used) to prepare for technical interviews:



Data Structs and Algos

- Roadmap: https://lnkd.in/es38-frn

- Algorithm visualizer: https://visualgo.net/en

- Data Structs and Algos: https://lnkd.in/eqzi7tdP

- Data Structs and Algos videos: https://lnkd.in/e72pVVQc



Design Patterns

- Clean code: https://lnkd.in/eQTpk4D7

- Design Patterns: https://lnkd.in/ets_PYvB



System Design

- Case studies at InfoQ: https://lnkd.in/eNAsr9KK

- On scaling architecture: https://lnkd.in/e6zu8PXf

- System Design videos: https://lnkd.in/esM-DTN7

- System design at ByteByteGo: https://lnkd.in/essZcWq9



On Interviews

- Mock interviews: https://lnkd.in/eBtJw98w

- Interview warmup: https://lnkd.in/evVyYME5



Interview guides from big tech

- Amazon: https://lnkd.in/ePmy_mMq

- Apple: https://lnkd.in/enXrvQK7

- Google: https://lnkd.in/ekcDUyCM

- Meta: https://lnkd.in/epHr8dpb

- Microsoft: https://lnkd.in/eapA5FgN

- NVIDIA: https://lnkd.in/eanKbUAN



--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers

#newgrads #students

#interviewpreparation

If you're a job seeker in tech, give your stories a short title: one to three words

As I prepare my clients for interviews, we often create five stories. I call it the story stack. 

We start to refer to them by short titles as we prepare for interviews. 

Here are some examples: 
- two feeds
- homepage redesign 
- query performance 
- hotel cost savings 
- subcontractor hiring 

It's like building an index in a book. It helps us easily reference stories quickly.

I'll say, "Use the two feeds story here," or "Your homepage redesign works great."

I have a bad memory and this helps me immensely. 

Give it a shot.

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

Interviews in tech are more about communication skills than they are about technical skills

Of course, you need some technical knowledge, otherwise you can't handle trivia questions.

But if you can't articulate how you used your knowledge or skill, you'll struggle to move on.

Over the years, I found the most helpful tool for job seekers is structured problem solving.

It took me years to understand what that meant. It's a thing people talk about but don't explain.

Maybe they don't want to? Maybe they can't?

All it means is you have a repeatable process to solve problems. An algorithm, if you will.



For example:

IDEATE

I: Identify problem

D: Define goals

E: Explore strategies

A: Analyze tradeoffs

T: Test a strategy

E: Evaluate results



Now put it into practice. Here's how:

Talk out loud

This is the awkward part of the interview. Most people think quietly. Alone. Now's not the time. Speak your mind.



Recap what you know

Repeat the question in your words. Break down the requirements as you understand them, include assumptions and open questions.



Write things down or diagram

It's hard to keep all this stuff in working memory (i.e. your brain, which is your RAM). Plus, you might need a flowchart or punch list.



Check-in with your interviewer

Confirm you're in sync. Ask if your assumptions are fair (the f-word). Ask questions when you get stuck. They want to know how you think.



--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewtips #interviewprep

"I messaged the CEO of the company to tell him what I can do. He told me to go through the proper channels"

I know a lot of career coaches suggest messaging recruiters and hiring managers to get attention.

But some job seekers take that to mean messaging anyone at a company, including CEOs.

That could work. Anything is possible. But the most likely scenario will be that they want you to apply first.

Employers have a hiring process for a reason. Not everyone one is open to making exceptions.

Someone I know reached out to the CEO of a company to get a faster decision because of her needs.

The CEO encouraged her to use the proper channels first. Message him only after trying that a few times. He went on to say that it gave him a bad impression of her. Oof.

Don't try to circumvent the process at a company. Apply first. Then reach out.

Also, remember people in the company will talk. If you message a lot of people at a company, they'll talk about it.

They might block your email address/LinkedIn account. Then you'll make zero progress.

--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

"Getting rejected for everything. Don't know what to do anymore."

When I get this one (or some variation of it), it's usually accompanied by a resume.

But a resume by itself doesn't give me everything I need to know to empower them. I have to see a job description and a resume, together. That's how I'll know if there's an issue.

Recently a frustrated job seeker told me they tried everything and nothing worked. I saw their resume in a vacuum. The resume looked generic to me. Maybe it wasn't.

I'd start with tailoring.

Although, nothing is 100%. Not networking. Not rewriting the resume—not at first. Not sending messages to recruiters and hiring managers. Not even signing an offer: many offers were rescinded since the end of 2022. I'm still seeing it today.

Still, there are many ways of improving the odds that anything you try will work.

It starts with understanding what a company is looking for and positioning yourself as the solution. It works in sales, marketing, and job seeking.



Here's a mini guide for parsing a job description:

- the most important info is at the top of each section

- pay attention to the order of the items each section

- note how many times a term is repeated

- preferences are bonus points



Tailor your resume based on what you find when you parse the job req.



Lastly, order matters.

If you're a fresh grad or a student, go with:

- education

- tech skills

- projects

- work experience



If you have any work experience, go with:

- technical skills

- work experience

- projects

- education



--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

#resumetips

When you're in school, people are paid to read your writing. Afterwards, people will read it when there's something in it for them.

That's especially true for your cover letter, resume, profiles (CRPs), and direct messages (DMs). You only have a few seconds to capture attention.

So put yourself in your audience's shoes. If you have hundreds of CRPs and DMs, how would you go through them?

Would you read them word for word? Would you skim them? Would you skim the top? Would you reach the bottom? How much time will you spend (hint: less than 10 secs).

Where would you expect certain pieces of information? Contact information? Education for new grads? Education for experienced workers?

If you start to see it that way, you'll start to notice where your CRPs or DMs are missing the mark—or hitting their target.

Borrowing from two disciplines that figured out how to write for busy readers long ago: (copywriting and journalism):

- don't bury the lead, put it first

- 80% of people stop at the headline

- 20% of people stop at the first paragraph

- a clear call to action goes at the end of the piece



Application:

- open with who you are

- follow with your interest

- tell em why you

- tell em why now

- tell em why this job

- use the same lingo your audience uses

- use simple words, short sentences

- use numbers over words

--

👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.

I empower people in tech to land offers worthy of them.

#interviewpreparation

#techjobs #jobseekers

taplio

The Battle

Adam Bilišič

Jonathan Corrales

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taplio

The Battle

Adam Bilišič

Jonathan Corrales

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jonathan Corrales's LinkedIn Performance

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