Microsoft engineer reveals strategies to land tech jobs amid layoffs
What's the story
Ritvika Nagula, a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft Azure, has shared her proven strategies for landing tech jobs despite the current industry downturn. She bagged four job offers from top companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and eBay shortly after graduating in 2018. Her experience highlights the importance of a well-structured resume and strategic job application methods in today's competitive job market.
Resume strategy
Prioritize your CV over cover letters
Nagula stressed the importance of a well-structured CV for software engineering roles. She said, "For software engineering roles, the resume matters far more than a cover letter." Her CV was designed to highlight all relevant experiences, such as internships and short-term projects at the very top for immediate visibility. This way, hiring managers could quickly assess her skills and career trajectory.
Project presentation
Categorize your projects
Nagula also stressed on clearly categorizing projects under academic, internship-based, and personal. Each project on her CV was accompanied by a short list of tools and programming languages she used. This level of detail not only highlighted her technical range but also added a sense of professionalism to her application.
Additional strategies
Highlight side projects and use GitHub effectively
Nagula also highlighted the importance of side projects in setting her apart from other candidates. She cited an example where she built a Facebook chatbot that used the GoodReads API to fetch book summaries. Further, she advocated using GitHub not just as a repository but as an extension of one's CV, ensuring all significant projects were publicly available with clean and well-documented code.
Information
Don't hesitate to reach out to hiring managers directly
Nagula's job application strategy wasn't limited to online submissions via platforms like LinkedIn or company portals. She also directly messaged hiring managers and employees in relevant teams. This two-pronged approach helped her gain visibility, secure referrals, and ultimately land interviews.
AI caution
Don't rely too much on AI coding tools
Nagula also cautioned against overreliance on artificial intelligence (AI)-powered coding tools. While she acknowledged their usefulness in increasing productivity, she warned against using them as a crutch. "Understanding the fundamentals of coding is still necessary," she said. "Overreliance on AI might hinder deeper learning and problem-solving skills." Before joining Microsoft, Nagula built her industry experience with a machine learning (ML) internship at Trifacta, which added valuable professional depth to her portfolio.