Blog
Practical advice for stuck developers
Job search strategy, portfolio building, interview prep, and the truth about the entry-level market.
Interviews
AI in Coding Interviews: When to Use It and When Not To
The norms around AI use in technical interviews are genuinely unclear right now. Here's how to think about it as a risk management question rather than a moral one.
11 min read
Interviews
How to Talk About Your Previous Career in a Software Engineering Interview
Career changers either spend five minutes justifying why they left their old field, or pretend it never happened. Neither works. Here's how to frame your previous career in a way that builds credibility.
11 min read
Interviews
How to Negotiate Your First Offer Without Torpedoing the Relationship
Most junior engineers are terrified that negotiating will cost them the offer. It almost never does. Here's the full playbook, including what to do when you have no competing offer.
13 min read
Interviews
Culture Fit Interviews: What They're Really Evaluating
"Culture fit" gets dismissed as a euphemism for bias. But when done well, it tests concrete things. Here's what interviewers are really evaluating and how to navigate it.
11 min read
Interviews
Post-Interview Follow-Up: What to Send and When
Most candidates either skip post-interview follow-up entirely or send something generic that gets ignored. Here's what actually works, including message templates.
10 min read
Interviews
How to Answer "Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years" as a Junior Engineer
"Where do you see yourself in 5 years" has a right answer structure. Vague answers signal no ambition. Honest-but-wrong answers signal you'll leave. Here's how to thread it.
10 min read
Interviews
How to Talk About a Project You Built Solo in an Interview
Most candidates either go too vague or too deep when talking about their solo projects. Here's the structure that actually works, and how to handle the hard follow-up questions.
10 min read
Interviews
Questions to Ask at the End of an Interview That Actually Matter
Most candidates treat end-of-interview questions as a polite formality. Interviewers treat them as another signal. Here's how to use them well.
10 min read
Interviews
How to Explain a Career Gap or Non-Traditional Background in an Interview
The mistake isn't having a career gap or a non-traditional background. The mistake is being defensive about it. Here's how to frame your story so it works for you.
11 min read