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By Julie Jonak – Medium.com

Job hunting is difficult at the best of times — and COVID-19 hasn’t helped. I started my job hunt at the beginning of the pandemic when opportunities dried up overnight.

After five months of feeling defeated, I found a job in the time of corona, and you can too.

The number one thing that combats rejection? Always having another interview lined up, so no matter how one goes, you’re ready to chase a new opportunity.

Out of 74 applications, I went through 19 interview processes, including 6 final rounds with companies like Asana and Okta. With each interview, I became a stronger candidate; and every rejection was followed by a new round of interviews that kept my spirits up.

Here are 4 tips to keep your interview pipeline consistently full.

Do your research. Write that cover letter.

Twitter recently released a podcast called Building Characters, aimed at demystifying their process for choosing interns. One of the most surprising reveals was that their recruiters don’t recommend writing a cover letter in most cases.

I’ve yet to hear confirmation about whether or not a cover letter helps your application (though I’ve been told more than once that my resume was given “a 15 second glance, max”). So why write one if it won’t change your outcomes?

Because it’s doing the leg-work of evaluating whether or not this company is the right fit, and if you’re the right candidate.

A cover letter should be roughly 250–300 words about:

  1. Who you are
  2. Why your background makes you the best candidate
  3. Why you care about this company

The only way to answer these questions meaningfully is to research the company and understand their mission, product and cultural values, and how you specifically relate to them better than other candidates.

A great cover letter will set you up to excel at the recruiter call and any behavioral questions later in the process.

By becoming intimately familiar with these points, you’ll be ahead of 90% of your competitors for the job and impress interviewers with your thoughtful answers.

“But that takes so much time. I don’t have enough time to write thousands of cover letters…”

Stop mass applying. Pick companies you truly care about.

You shouldn’t be applying to so many jobs that you can’t take the time to fully research the companies you’re applying to. In my post on how to tackle the job hunt, I outline a schedule that will maximize your job funnel without endlessly filling out applications.

LinkedIn is a great resource but is not the top method for finding jobs. It’s a mass bulletin board. You need to be intentional with who you choose to spend time on.

Ask yourself:

What type of sector am I most interested in?

What do I need in my professional life to be happy?

What are the causes I’m passionate about?

The companies you apply to should be hitting all three of those values — or it’s not the right fit for you and you’re not the right fit for them.

I’m interested in entrepreneurship and financial technology. I need mentorship and an open-minded company culture to be happy. I’m passionate about diversity and inclusion, across perspectives and backgrounds.

After establishing those “must-have” qualities for myself, I focused on diversity in tech job boards (like Women Who Code and Diversify Tech), because companies posting there want a candidate like myself, and I want to work for a company who is intentionally seeking to diversify.

Companies solving interesting problems for entrepreneurship were often featured on the Breakout List and WealthFront’s Career Launching Company List.

By identifying communities better focused on my core values, I quickly spotted companies that would inherently be a better fit.

“But the companies that fit my values aren’t posting jobs on LinkedIn or even on their own website…”

Network constantly. Always ask about internal openings.

Whether you’re breaking into an industry and need a junior role, or are just passionate about a specific company, talk to people who already work there.

The best way to find out if they have an unmet need that they’re hiring for? Ask. Talk to a recruiter. Tell them who you are and how you can help.

Unsure if they accept people with your background? Find employees like yourself and ask for a coffee chat (in person or virtually). Tell them why you want to talk to them specifically.

I reach out to female engineers and boot camp graduates regularly because they are more willing to help and also know exactly what advice to give.

Are you transitioning from a background in teaching? Medicine? Try to find people with similar backgrounds in the role you want and learn from them.

If you hit it off, ask for a referral. Often times, they’ll be rewarded if you’re hired, so it’s a win-win. If there are no openings, ask if they have any contacts you could be referred to:

“Thanks for all of the great advice. It helps to speak to someone with a similar background. While it doesn’t sound like your company has any openings, could you introduce me to someone who might know of good opportunities?”

An engineering manager told me very frankly in our coffee chat, “We don’t even post junior engineer roles because our recruiting team is so inundated with applications that it bottlenecks our entire pipeline. Those roles are filled internally almost every time.”

Based on how competitive the entry-level engineer market is, I wouldn’t be surprised if other companies do the same thing. Get your foot in the door in another way by talking to people directly.

Ask for help.

Lastly, swallow your pride and ask for help. Make sure people know you’re looking!

On LinkedIn, share your skills and achievements, then mention:

“I’m looking to partner with a great company to grow even further in my career. If you know of an opening, let’s connect.”

Ask Twitter for help from mentors and friends. Ask within your family and friend network who works in your field and might be willing to chat.

VCs and managers reached out to set up meetings solely to pay-it-forward when coming across my Tweets. (Hint: that’s what ultimately led to my current job)

“My dream company is Stripe. Do you know anyone who works there that I could ask a few questions?”

One of my best connections came from a final round rejection. Even though that company wasn’t the right fit, they felt I had enough potential that they introduced me to their contacts.

Asking for help and feedback maximizes your warm market and has the best chance of leading to a referral. After all, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.


Job hunting is truly a marathon, not a sprint. Use these four tips to keep your pipeline full and spirits up. And don’t forget to check out my article on 3 Strategies to Land Your First Developer Job.

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