From Builder to Guide: What I Miss Most About Being "Just an Engineer"

Disclaimer: Job searching is mentally exhausting. If you’re feeling depressed or overwhelmed, please reach out to your support network or professional help. Your value as a human being is not tied to your work.

90% of job seekers are spending 40 hours weekly on job applications, yet only one person I interviewed landed a job through applying online. The other successful candidates? They relied on referral-based hiring strategies.

The Harsh Reality I Discovered After Speaking With 100 Job Seekers

As a hiring manager who’s designed interview pipelines and reviewed thousands of resumes, I wanted to understand what challenges job seekers face today. So I flipped the script.

I reached out to over 100 people on LinkedIn who had previously applied to roles I was hiring for. I asked them one simple question

What challenges are you facing in the current job market?

The responses were overwhelming and revealed a truth that most career advisors and job search strategy blogs won’t tell you.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Of the 40 people who responded in depth:

• Only 10% had found jobs
• 16 had been searching since January 2025
• Most were new grads or juniors
• The average person submitted 300+ online applications
• Almost all who found jobs did so through referrals
• Only one person landed a job through the traditional application process

This clearly shows how modern job searching in 2025 has shifted away from platforms and toward network-based hiring.

The Online Application Black Hole

Every single person described the same painful reality: spending 40+ hours weekly crafting custom resumes and cover letters that disappear into the void. These online applications often fall victim to AI resume screening tools, which means they’re never even seen by a human.

The brutal truth: applying for jobs online is like shooting in the dark, and you need at least 300 well-targeted attempts to get a few interviews.

AI Has Made Everything Worse

With automated hiring systems and AI-driven resume filters, you’d think the process would be more efficient. Instead, it has created a perverse game where candidates optimize their materials for algorithms rather than people.

As a hiring manager, I now see dozens of AI-generated resumes that are practically indistinguishable from one another. Ironically, this makes the “bad” resumes, with personality and authenticity, stand out.

Because at the end of the day, an AI is not going to be your manager.

No matter how advanced technology becomes, one thing stays the same: a human will hire a human.

The Secret That Actually Works

Here’s what no one tells you in most career coaching articles:

Your next job will come through someone vouching for you.

Every company has internal referral bonuses. There are political, financial, and social incentives for employees to recommend people they know. Companies are essentially professional social groups, and culture fit matters more than candidates realize.

The people who stood out most in my conversations? Those who asked for a coffee chat. These quick, informal conversations revealed more than any resume could.

It’s Brutally Hard for Juniors

Half the people I spoke with had less than a year of experience or were trying to break into the tech industry. These candidates faced the most rejections and spent the most time searching.

As a hiring manager looking at junior talent, I have no experience, reputation, or portfolio to judge you by. The risk is higher, which is why employee referrals become even more crucial at the entry level.

I only broke into my first few jobs through referrals and leveraging professional networks.

What Actually Matters in 2025

Despite new tools and tech, the core hiring question remains:

“Do we trust you to do the job?”

When I open a position, I receive hundreds of applications, but I only forward ten. Anyone who comes recommended through referral-based hiring gets more of my attention because someone’s putting their reputation on the line.

Candidates who understand the business context—not just the job description—stand out dramatically. Don’t just be a cog in the machine. Understand how the machine works.

Finding a Job Is Selling Yourself

And sales in the job market aren’t just about flashy CVS. It’s about understanding your value and packaging it in a way that builds trust.

Master the skill of selling yourself, and it will pay dividends for the rest of your career.

Take Care of Your Mental Health

The universal message I heard: job searching is incredibly stressful.

Take care of yourself. Lean on your network. Remember, your worth is not tied to your employment status.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Looking for work is often harder than the job itself. But understanding the real rules of the job market in 2025—that connections matter more than applications—might just save you months of frustration.

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Before submitting your 301st online application, ask yourself:

Who in my network can vouch for me instead?

Best of luck in your job search.

Take care of yourself—and maybe someone else, too.