I empower millennial & gen X job seekers in tech to interview 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.

"I got laid off and don't know if I will find a job again. I can't land an interview. Non stop rejections."

Getting laid off is bad enough. But landing zero interviews and getting only rejections is salt meeting a freshly opened wound. 

It's important to know what to do, but also 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. You have limited time and energy. For many, job seeking will take six months on average.

In a recent poll with over 2,302 respondents, 37% (852) reported being on the job search for 9 months or more. That's consistent with my conversations with 1,188 job seekers in the last two years. Source in comments. 👇

Here are seven things I've noticed that 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 someone's job search:

1️⃣ Applying for everything:
If it's remotely related to your experience, you apply. Your audience will be confused because it's not obvious how you're a fit, especially if you use the same resume for everything.

2️⃣ Applying because it was posted an hour ago:
I know it's a common piece of advice to apply within an hour. But if you're not qualified for the role, you'll just get rejected faster. Take the time to figure out if you're qualified. Focus on min qualifications.

3️⃣ Not reading the job description:
There are many reasons to read the job description. But one of them is to make sure there aren't special application instructions buried in it. Sometimes you need to send an email. Sometimes you need to record a 1-2 minute video. Read the fine print.

4️⃣ Arbitrarily messaging random people at a company:
Another common piece of advice. Message everyone at a company in the hopes that they'll give you a referral or backdoor into an interview. Your message usually gets ignored. Especially if you're asking for value first.

5️⃣ Sending "what do you have for me" messages:
If there's one way to annoying recruiters or hiring managers, it's sending them a message like, "what do you have for me?" with your resume attached. Especially if that recruiter doesn't recruit for your position/seniority.

6️⃣ Not tracking applications:
If you apply somewhere, they might call you randomly. If you don't remember applying, you're either applying to too many places or you're not using a job tracker. You need to note why you applied and why you're a good fit.

7️⃣ Not applying to jobs consistently:
Once you have a target role and seniority, you should start building a pipeline of opportunities. The best way to do that is to apply to your target roles every day. If it's your target and you're qualified, apply. Expect a response in 2-3 weeks. 

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👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I empower people in tech ace their job interviews.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

Jonathan Corrales

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

We all start new jobs with potential. Sometimes those hopes are dimmed by unexpected challenges.

A few years ago, I'm sitting in my office looking out of my window. It oversaw a little air strip where small planes and helicopters landed. 

One of my devs leads, M, knocks on the door. He wants to talk about a recent hire, J. 

J passed his interviews without any issues. But he wasn't performing as expected.  

M starts to tell me about J's performance issues. He asks me for guidance. J is a few months in. I worry M is about to recommend J goes somewhere else.

"J isn't doing well," M says. "Maybe there's another team he's better suited for."

"Actually," I say. "I have an idea. Our support team could use a resident dev to help with support requests. I've got buy-in from leadership to fill that role."

"That sounds like a plan," M says. 

I meet with J and review the plan with him. I ask if he's interested in making the switch. 

"Let's do it," J says. "Sounds like fun."

Fast forward to J's performance evaluation a year later: his new lead gives him a glowing review. "J is one of the best hires we've ever had."

J still works there six years later. 

And that's why it's important to understand expectations before beginning a new job. Ask as many questions as you can throughout your interviews. 

Make sure you understand those expectations clearly. 

--
#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

I was about to fail my job interview, and I knew it. 

It's 2005. I'm standing in a room with three interviewers staring at me. It's not a big room. I'm not sure why I'm standing. 

I feel like they're waiting for me to say something impressive. 

They're about to be very disappointed. 

I'm holding a dry erase marker that smells like strawberries. They want me to solve a problem that reminds me of a physics problem I couldn't solve in class. 

"That's it. You're screwed," I think to myself.
"Can you repeat the question?" I ask. 

I start writing whatever they say. I underline things like distance, speed, and draw a circle. I'm hoping I magically remember how to calculate the circumference of a circle. 

"I know pi is part of it," I think to myself. "I should have paid attention in math class. Fu..."

"Jonathan," one interviewer says. "Can you say what you're thinking out loud? We want to understand how you're doing thinking about the problem."

I look at him. I probably made a face that showed I was irritated or nervous. Both would have been correct. I can feel a bead of sweat forming on top of my head.

"Sure," I say. "No, problem."

But there was a problem. I couldn't solve this problem in silence. How was I supposed to solve this problem thinking out loud? Awkward.

That's when I realized I was going to fail that interview. There was no way to save it. 

Ever since that experience I practiced solving problems out loud. I would practice with others, my friends, my family, my wife. Anyone that'll humor me for a few minutes. 

And that's why today I help my clients practice solving problems out loud. I help them organize their thoughts and deliver responses clearly and concisely 

That's what turns interviews in to offers, especially in the tech industry. 

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I empower people in tech ace their job interviews.
#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

He was exhausted from working holidays and weekends, but terrified of what it meant to chase his dream in tech. 

A year ago, one of my clients was working in retail as a manager. He worked 60 hours a week for more than 10 years. 

He was tired of it. He wasn't a fan of working holidays and weekends. He wanted to spend more time with his wife. He wanted to break into the tech industry. But he was terrified it was too late for him.

He went to school while working retail and got a bachelor's in computer science. He went to school at night. Still, he was worried he couldn't break into tech because he lacked experience in the field.

When I met him, he wasn't getting a lot of interviews. The ones he got ended in rejection. 

He was working on a side project to build experience and keep his skills sharp. He was helping a bootstrapped startup build a cloud-based platform by building its infrastructure. 

He had something to talk about in his interviews. If only he could get someone to look at his application and see potential. If only someone gave him a shot to prove himself. 

After I heard his story, I was emotionally invested. 

I helped him get organized and stay consistent throughout his search. He started getting interviews. It helped him get traction.

Then I made sure his resume showed his qualifications for a systems engineer role.

One day he got an interview at local university in one of their engineering departments. He passed his interviews. A few weeks later, they gave him an offer. 

On the way to his retail job, he got a phone call. It was an offer for his first position as a systems engineer. He broke in to tech. He called his wife and cried with her the phone. 

He was finally able to take nights and weekends off. 

And that's why I'm a firm believer in showing employers what you can do, especially in tech. I help my clients put together portfolios, pitch desks, and complete take home assignments to secure offers. 

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I empower people in tech ace their job interviews.
#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

"I don't need to tell you about how dehumanizing the application process has become."

To make sure I stay empathetic and compassionate for the job seeker experience, I like to help clients apply to jobs. 

I'll join call with them. Then invite them to open a position they're interested in and we go to work. I show them how to parse job descriptions, tailor resumes, and so on. 

Occasionally, we come across applications that require so much information, it's kinda like a body cavity search. 

Some applications want a video recording. And some want to see demos of side projects. Some ask for sexuality. One asked for a spirit animal. (I wish I made that up). 

I'm talking applications for all sorts of companies from large to small, and everything in between. 

I'm old enough to remember when applying to a job meant filling out a single double-sided piece of paper on a clipboard with a pen that barely worked. 

Today, the expectation for job seekers is exhausting. Frustrating. Intrusive. Exhausting.

So when a job seeker says, "I don't need to tell you about how dehumanizing the application process has become," my response is "Nope. I'm well aware."

If you're a job seeker in this market. I see you. I feel what you're going through. This mess isn't your fault. Employers need to focus on improving the candidate experience. 

Everyone has been a job seeker at one point. Everyone can be a job seeker again. 

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I empower people in tech ace their job interviews.

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

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