Best Way to Find Engineering Jobs (LAID OFF in 2024)

[@BeforeTheBillions]

I’m going through the same thing. I was laid off two months ago and I started networking aggressively. I haven’t been hired yet but I’ve made a lot more connections and opportunities.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

That’s the best approach dude. It’s unbelievable how much value a good strong network gives you!

[@_andrewpeacock]

It's the little mic holding hand for me, hahaha! Wonderful video on a crucial topic in todays market!

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Thanks buddy and the little hand is a crowd favorite!

[@jaaguitar]

Very Deadpool.

[@williamread8186]

I’m impressed that you have this understanding about job hunting. It all seems though it comes down to who knows you. Next year assuming I don’t get laid off I would have worked at the same place for 40 years. I’m 67, the next stop will be retirement.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

You made it to the finish line! That’s amazing! I just gotta keep treading water until then

[@codefallacy]

great vid! i never had luck getting callbacks from job board sites. i had success by finding an ethical local recruiter a couple of years ago. the recruiter had way more insight into open roles than what was publicly available. he hooked me up with interviews with companies who didnt have publicly available job listings. unfortunately not all recruiters are that good. Also i found success with online slack communities during the pandemic, there were so many and all the job listings that were shared where already referal links or where being listed directly by the hiring manager so you couldessage them directly. unfortunately when i went back some of the communities were filled with spam or disolved. i think the next best tactic is to stand in a busy street corner with a giant sign reading "Will code for food" and hope some c-suite executive sees it 😂😂😂

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Thanks for sharing man!! Job board sites are HARD. I appreciate you taking the time to type up your experience! Thanks for hanging out dude.

[@TwinBnotTwinA]

I'm a sucker for S-Tier videos. Thanks Cody. And to my fellow job searchers, good luck!

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Dude… I didn’t know they existed until two weeks ago. And I love them

[@EricGraham94]

There is no best way to get another engineering job. I was laid off in July 2023 and since applying for thousands of full-time and even contract work... it's resulted in applications that never get looked at until this year or just flat out rejected from interviews - even from referrals or ex-colleagues. But eventually it reached a point where my ex-colleagues won't help anymore; as far as I'm concerned I'm dead to them. I used to enjoy electrical engineering... now I just see it as a must and I'm frankly burnt out from it. I renounce my degree and would never return to it...

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Man I’m sorry to hear that. I wish you the best

[@ascourter]

Great advice Cody! Loved the S tier ranking

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Thanks buddy! I hope it helps people

[@Joe-km1vs]

real person giving real experience and facts, thank you sir!

[@cody_codes_youtube]

No thank you for watching!

[@ladycoder2095]

This episode is absolutely awesome, kudos Cody and best wishes to you in your job search. You are top notch 👏!

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Wow thank you! That means so much to me

[@jojik681]

Hey great vid thx for the info, though disagrre on some matters, like linkediln is so big its certaibly either b or c, indeen is a totally d though))) Also a lot of new ways found out from this vid, but i think this vid could be a start to series of vids where you rerate thoose tools and others in jobhunting as jun, middle and so on, this i think is a more senior appech or middle at best. Thx again for the vid, love when devs share their situations abd are proposing alternatives to stuff that we are already accustomed to. Absolute gem.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Hey thanks buddy!! Yeah, YMMV, that’s true. It’s hard when speaking in generalities. Thank you so much for the feedback. You brought up a good point, and let me know if I misunderstood. This sounds like a video I want to make: The 3 stages of Software Engineering Job Hunting. Tips for new grads, tips for middle stage, and tips for senior+ Is that what you’re wanting?

[@jojik681]

@@cody_codes_youtube Hi, yeah! Something that of your experience and of your colleges or friends, you just have a feeling that some tool has better opportunity for this role, some for this and so on. Also some advices to those roles, like juniors maybe could lie a bit about their experience, seniors can negotiate a very high salary and so on!

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@jojik681 I wouldn’t advocate lying, because more often than not, you will be found out. BUT, there are different strategies and different realities for each stage

[@jojik681]

@@cody_codes_youtube agree, just a bad example

[@byarkan]

hey Cody, you legend

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Thank you!! That just made my day

[@thinkingoutthebox7253]

this video is unbelievably underrated

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Thank you dude. That means a lot

[@mkultravictim3917]

Great video, appreciate the advice. New grad with 1 YOE and a personal project with a small ~100 user base, struggling to get interviews due to the market. It will just take time

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Good for you though! That’s an awesome project. I’ve said in my other video that I believe that is a much better signal you know how to code professionally than most

[@simpleplan2528]

Good stuff!

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Thanks for watching!

[@DaltonR121]

You're not wrong but it certainly is the Catch 22 of Programming. I'm sure many saw programming as being great because it worked well for them as an introvert. 6 out of the 7 top ways to find a job require you to network or have an established network which doesn't lend itself to introverted people.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

I love when I hear this because I actually am planning on a video “networking for introverts”

[@DaltonR121]

@@cody_codes_youtube Oh perfect, I'll be there!

[@Roasty420]

@@cody_codes_youtube Thank you! As an introvert, I suck at socializing and I'm somewhat kind of weird or awkward.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@Roasty420 many of us are! Socializing is just another skill to learn!

[@raghavkumar3396]

I was not laid off but left the job 2 months ago for peace of mind. I've been applying since then but didn't get the job. I have applied over 500+ applications but still the number of responses that i get are very few. It's the job market with heavy competition, but I hope i will land on my dream job..😊

[@cody_codes_youtube]

500! That’s wild. Well I hope for the best for you!

[@wotizit]

Thoughts on switching to a niche? This job market just reveals the issues with the SEng industry especially for the future i.e. outsourcing, AI automation, etc. i might just look into finding a niche which involves some level of hardware or electrical tinkering i.e. control systems, automation, embedded, IoT, network, etc. it's tough out there especially for juniors like me with less than 3 yrs of experience 😢 but hey gotta stay optimistic

[@cody_codes_youtube]

That depends. I think you should expand your skillset at 3 years. Become really good at the skills you’ve gained and then use those skills to niche into a business area.

[@wotizit]

​@@cody_codes_youtube sounds good, I worked in startups where alot of the focus did go into devOps, cloud and infra as well which I enjoyed i.e. K8s - AKS & GKE, docker, CI/CD, IaC - AWS CDK, terraform, etc. and the major cloud providers. I'll just look into potential devOps roles along with getting certs; this stuff seems more relevant than jumping ship to something completely different like hardware - might keep that as a hobby instead

[@amorelus]

This explains why it's a small % easier for me than my peers. They were going for the easiest most convenient route, I expanded and used as many forms of connections as I can open up. I was opened to any kind of opportunity. My college mentor told me "If you want to succeed, don't do what you are told. Everyone is following that method. Focus your time on path less traveled. You get less competition and less effort in getting a job. You may have to spend more time and try alot harder but less often to succeed."

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@amorelus wise words. That resonates a lot of truth

[@danrightnow3880]

Thanks for sharing this, however the margin of having most of the options in S to B tier is very low, specially for something not development related in IT.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@danrightnow3880 yeah of course I’m only speaking to my experience in software engineering.

[@patrickaquilone]

Sadly for me, my best referrals are laid off. I do have one manager who has given me glowing referrals to companies but it has not gotten me in the door. I questioned if he was really referring me and got feedback from a recruiter that the manager's recommendation was the strongest he had ever seen. However, the company still did not want to bring me in for an interview. No reason to me was given. ARGH

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@patrickaquilone man that is so frustrating. It’s not full proof. I wish you the best of luck! New referrals can also be made by people you just met too

[@somjrgebn]

While I don't agree with subcontracting ever being S tier, both being really just A tier, your ranking hints at were the best work and pay is --> The least scalable contacts and contracts. I'm speaking from my own experience of doing specifically subcontracting work for the past 4 years after leaving full-time work, all via decision maker referrals. S tier would be B2B contracts with you running your own LLC, leads coming in from decision makers, and invoices being based on value rather than hours. None of what I'm saying will make since until you realize there's a very real ceiling on your negotiating power for prices on projects. You can charge $100/hr on building a website, or $30k. The first makes pushes you towards dragging things out, the second getting done ASAP. Both parties win on the second one.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@somjrgebn oh I agree. And that’s the cream of the crop. These options were already getting long, and my audience is still early and mid career people, where those that you mention are a very select group of skill professionals. But you’re not wrong. That’s a great place to be and goes above and beyond this list

[@fnord_lander]

I’ve been looking over a year for my first job. I did a full stack program learned a ton and have been building my own websites and applications for web and mobile as well as practicing leetcode and trying to network. It’s feeling hopeless

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@fnord_lander what are you doing now for work? And what was the program?

[@fnord_lander]

@@cody_codes_youtube it was Thinkful. I’ve just been looking for jobs full time and working on projects/practice

[@Roasty420]

I've actually seen this on Reddit as well, as people post their post-hiring graphs of what went down and how complicated things were, and holy shit, that hiring phase is abysmal! Essentially, you'll have someone apply to anywhere around 100-300+ jobs, just for 70% of those jobs to sideline you and at the end, if you're lucky, you'll have maybe 2-5 companies email you back about hiring you. The business seems cutthroat, and I assume it's due to the fact that these businesses are looking for these 10x coders instead of the 2x-3x coders, and then you have the gifted or intellectually superior people who get in easy, as where the average person who is coding for the money or following it as a trend is doomed to fail. Essentially, you have to keep learning new things over and over again, so at that point, if you hate learning or just having to learn something in general, then I assume coding isn't for you. Then again, life is all about improving and doing things you hate in order to adapt and overcome.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

There are fewer jobs than applicants (notice I say applicants and not qualified applicants). And that does increase competition, but there is this sense that anyone can apply to anything and so many applicants are applying for things they don’t qualify for, not in the least. So the process has noise and the employers aren’t innocent either

[@sphaera3809]

I’m not sure if I agree completely with your ranking… I’ve had good luck getting interviews by just applying on LinkedIn in the past. And if someone I know, or I worked with before is associated to the company or the hiring manager, I’ll ask them how they like or liked working there and most will also recommend me. But my resume also have some big names, that I think helps getting those interviews. I’ll follow up if I get an offer and accept just to add to which channel I was successful.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@sphaera3809 yeah. Your mileage may vary. This is only my experience and the experience of the people closest to me

[@anthonysim563]

I applied to over 500 places, 3 interviews, 2 offers. Not sure if this is normal.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Definitely not a normal time to job hunt. How have you applied to those jobs?

[@alper_mulayim]

nobody looking the company website. I am waiting since 2022 for one of the job , still in progress.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@alper_mulayim that is a long time!

[@American_Kneeler]

Although referrals are great, they’re not necessarily a viable method for a lot of people. Once your network is exhausted you basically only have the cold methods.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Yeah that’s true. There are cold referrals too. But those aren’t as valuable

[@user-zo2ky4mz7d]

Can you recommend some resources to find subcontractor and contractor work?

[@cody_codes_youtube]

That’s actually something I’m working on. I want to get a network of agencies and a go to guide for talking to them

[@stormsake]

Recruiters -external- are actually in most cases worse. Most of them I know are programmed to ask given questions and given answers, and they 'll try to lowball you in best case. Worst cases? They'll ignore you and your references, previous achievements or personality. For many recrutiers, candidate is a person to replace, not a person to provide quality. Arrogant ones are the worse, they'll not answer your questions, and abandon you when you try get more information about the job, as they want the be the boss of relationship... As an engineer, I try to understand what will happen when recruiter contact me, %90 of the case, they'll waste your time and moral.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Yeah, they give good recruiters such a bad name

[@jyotirmaypal2263]

Just had this experience today

[@detlef3000]

sadly freelancers, agencies and consultancies don't have any work in this economy. I work as senior dev in an international agency and we have ongoing layoffs for over a year. Old clients quit and no new projects coming in. all big ex-clients going inhouse or offshore.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Yeah. I’ve actually seen that. Including a friend that laid off 80% staff

[@kirann414]

Hi Cody, I'm a Senior DevOps Engineer and while I am not looking to change my job, looking to have options just in case ... How do you find these sub-contractor agencies? And how do you start conversations with them? I'm very new to networking. Looking for some tips/examples

[@cody_codes_youtube]

WONDERFUL that you should ask! I am going to challenge myself, and I will have a video covering this topic. I am going to challenge myself to cold call a bunch of consultancies and agencies and see what happens!

[@kirann414]

@@cody_codes_youtube Let's gooo !

[@soapergem]

I'm in a remarkably similar situation to you: my TC was around $245k (base salary + bonus) and my entire department just got cut. They're keeping me and a handful of others around until November because we're needed to transition the products we were working on to other teams. But I'm already starting to look. One question I have for you is whether you'd ever consider taking work that was below the $240k level to make ends meet, or if you simply have never had to worry about that?

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@soapergem well, that’s a good question. I have no pride in the number. So, I am willing to take cheaper jobs even if they pay less. It’s more important to me to have the job vs keeping the increasing amount of TC

[@natgenesis5038]

Thanks so much for ur info ;what about startup ?

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@natgenesis5038 start ups are a great way to quickly gain some skills, and not earn your full value. Sometimes it can turn into something. But as an early engineer, might be hard to

[@Alex.Shalda]

Thank you 🎉

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Of course! I hope it was helpful

[@ByronAnderson32]

Lemme know if I should put in an app for you with my company, hope you have a better hunt than other Cody did :/

[@cody_codes_youtube]

I appreciate that! I'm not destitute, or going down to zero, but if things get a little worse, I'll reach out. Hope you and your family is well!

[@ArtByAdam99]

So basically old school methods actually work and most of the new technology is just trendy with no substance. How about printing out your resume on linen paper and mailing it in.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@ArtByAdam99 make sure you give a firm handshake and look them in the eyes

[@ArtByAdam99]

@ I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or

[@victorzagrebin5765]

I don’t want to seem insolent, because you don’t know me. But could you recommend me if you get a job?

[@cody_codes_youtube]

That’s the spirit. Honestly, there’s absolutely no shame in asking random strangers for referrals.

[@Hellohihow]

How much emphasis do u put on side projects other than course works? Do u think its necessary for new CS students to delve into this for future employment purposes? What are some resources(preferably free) which can guide to make really awesome projects?

[@cody_codes_youtube]

I have a few videos on this topic, you should watch the “your side project is bad” one.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Also, no one really cares about coursework.

[@MrBranh0913]

If you’re senior you will get interviews. But the issue is the gauntlet of leetcode and take home exams. And taking you through 4 or 5 rounds of interviews. Only to not get the job. Referrals are fantastic but it means nothing if you can’t past the interview guantlet

[@cody_codes_youtube]

I think that is a fantastic point. And another problem with the current state of the market. That should not be necessary and is such a time suck for all involved

[@monkeyshinserman]

11 YOE and had like 5 interviews in the last year 🥲. All phone screens that ghosted me. I’ve never in my career not made it past phone screens. It’s really rough out there

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@monkeyshinserman that’s tough to hear. I’m sorry you’re going through that!

[@nosam1998]

​@@monkeyshinserman Multiple companies have reached out to me directly this year, and I made it to the final round. I was ghosted or sent a boilerplate: "Found someone better." Yet, those roles are still open. They invited me, and I passed all rounds except for the final round.

[@bharath2508]

How to find a remote job with zero experience?

[@cody_codes_youtube]

It’s very hard. You can do it. But if you have no experience, those first few years are building up and training how to write software professionally. And that almost always benefits from working closely with a team.

[@bharath2508]

@@cody_codes_youtube Here in India we have 1.5 billion people with 60% of engineering graduate. We are underpaid and overworked. Supply and demand. The rent is more than salary of fresh graduates.

[@jyotirmaypal2263]

Could you please recommend any legit contract agencies... it's been 5 months....sonce layoff....also A referalls didn't work either...just roaming in the dark....i have 2 yesrs exp

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@jyotirmaypal2263 have you done contracting before?

[@jyotirmaypal2263]

@@cody_codes_youtube ya but no luck ..... didn't find legit ones

[@vegan.rex_8]

I've never understood how people apply for 200 jobs when I cant even find 20 jobs in my field

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Dang! What’s your field?

[@vegan.rex_8]

@cody_codes_youtube Mechanical/environmental engineering

[@vegan.rex_8]

@@cody_codes_youtube mechanical/environmental engineering

[@gourabsarker9552]

Sir which subject and which university did you studied? Plz reply. Thanks a lot.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Check my other videos for that answer

[@michaeltse321]

2035 I got laid off from a 240k job and I'm not worried - lol

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@michaeltse321 oh there’s a good chance I’ll get laid off then too!

[@DavydKhart]

Hey! would you like Thumbnail maker for your channel?

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Shoot me an email on my channel page!

[@DavydKhart]

@@cody_codes_youtube okay! Just sent you an email.

[@gourabsarker9552]

Sir how much do you earn now as a software engineer? Plz reply. Thanks a lot.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

I do some side work now, but I’m looking for anything around 150-200k

[@embo_5787]

External recruiters should be F tier just due to the sheer lack of professionalism and shady tactics they use, honestly I think they’re CV mining and refuse to deal with external recruiters

[@cody_codes_youtube]

I have found a few good ones. But they are so rare

[@ivankrushensky]

If you're still laid off, World of Warcraft The War Within releases in 3 weeks. Azeroth needs you.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@ivankrushensky I love it.

[@keifer7813]

Lying on your resume = S tier

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Don’t say the quiet part out loud!!

[@karnez05]

I feel like a job should just expect people to leave in 1 or 2 years

[@cody_codes_youtube]

Which is such a shame. Sometimes that’s just when you’re getting good at understanding the business!

[@xianzhou8608]

I can't stop focusing on the tiny mic and the tiny hand.

[@cody_codes_youtube]

It’s my strong hand! 🖐️

[@CellyD-e1x]

Job update

[@cody_codes_youtube]

It’s coming!

[@enterprisecloudnative8757]

This was just a big opinion based not based on data. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

[@cody_codes_youtube]

@@enterprisecloudnative8757 haha. There’s no all encompassing data that’s going to represent the entirety of the software engineering job market. That being said, I’d be super interested in any study done in this area, but for now, everything reflected in this video is based on my experience, my experience through my friends and network (100s of engineers), and those I’ve mentored closely. That’s real data, even if you don’t approve of it

[@nosam1998]

Interview processes are supposedly based on data. Yet, it only matters if you and the boss like the same football team. I was unemployed for the longest time in my career (more than a year), and after 1500 applications, hundreds of interviews, and 7 final rounds, I landed a role. I agree 100% with this list. I firmly believe that office work has nothing to do with actual skills, but it's really who likes who and drama. Sure, you can't be a dummy, but people would rather work with someone they want instead of someone who does quality work. Also, the job market has changed SOOO much in the last few years. It's completely different today compared to last year. Same for the year before that. Any info from 2023 or 2022 is very outdated.