Michael Chan

{{ Titles Don’t Define Your Worth in Tech }} In the tech world, titles really don’t matter as much as we think. You could be a Tech Lead in one company, then move to another company with a higher package but be called a Senior Engineer. Why? Because roles and titles depend on context: 👉 In your current company, your skills may be enough to lead a team. 👉 In the new company, the tech stack might span multiple domains, and your expertise fits best in a focused role. The takeaway? Embrace knowledge, not titles. Growth comes from what you learn, not what’s written on your business card. 💡 Focus on continuous learning and impact, the titles will follow. #SoftwareEngineering #Leadership #GrowthMindset #CareerGrowth #SkillsOverTitles #ContinuousLearning

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You might be paying a full engineer's salary without getting anything in return. This will benefit the Tech leaders and the executors. Problem Weight = Problem Effect * Volume of Effected As technologists, we're constantly solving problems. But it becomes a "Grind" when we're never pausing to make the judgment if a specific problem is worth solving, if it's the highest priority to use our labour on. The equation on top is a simple way to understand the weight of a problem you're solving, and helps to guide which problem-opportunities are worth pursuing out of the infinite realms of problems captured by your mind's vision system. Here's a simple example: Your developer environments' data queries are slow; let's say it takes 30 seconds. Is this an impactful problem that you should dive headfirst? It depends. Let's look at it: The impact of the problem: 30 seconds lost on a data query. If, on average, you run the query 10 times, you're losing 3 minutes on the query. And every 30 seconds increases the probability to come out of the zone of focus, let's say the cost per 30 seconds of distraction is 5 minutes on average. We often make the mistake of calculating the weight of the problem without an understanding of human psychology. So, the cost of this delay on the workflow is around 5 * 10 = ~50minutes If we round up for easy calculation, it's 1 hour per day. For a realistic range, it'll be around 30mins - 60mins. So, problem impact = ~45mins ( avg: (30 + 60)/2 = 45mins) Now, if you have 10 engineers working on the project, you have the problem weight of: Problem Weight = 45mins * 10 = 450 mins. That query delay is costing you 7.5 lost engineering hours per day. So, due to this simple 30-second delay, you don't have 10 team members, you actually have 11 team members (you're paying ~8hours/day), and one of them is doing nothing. Would you pay someone the engineer's salary for doing nothing?

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🔍 The way you're handling Tech Recruitment might be holding your team back. 📊 It feels like every company in NYC is chasing the same small pool of senior engineers. The generic job descriptions and endless LinkedIn messages just aren't cutting it anymore. Instead of just listing requirements, showcase your team's actual impact. 💡 Highlight innovative projects like how you're using AI to improve accessibility for New Yorkers. Offer opportunities for professional development - think specialized workshops or mentorship programs with leaders in the city. 💫 Remember why you chose to build in New York. Let's show candidates the unique challenges and rewards of shaping the future of tech right here. 🚀 What small change can you make to your outreach today? 🔑 #WorkplaceCulture #NYCTech #DigitalTransformation #FinTechNYC #TechNY

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Lately, I’ve been seeing a trend that needs to be called out. Companies posting Senior Mobile Engineer roles, only for you to get on the call and realize they’re actually looking for an intern. Not junior. Not mid-level. An intern. Same job post. Same requirements. Same expectations. Different reality. Sometimes they don’t even hide it well. You ask about pay and the energy shifts. You ask about scope and suddenly it’s a “learning opportunity.” You ask about structure and they start talking about passion. This isn’t confusion. It’s intentional. The job title is used as bait. The real offer is revealed later, when they think you’re already invested. And let’s talk about the bigger issue behind it. Some companies genuinely believe Nigerian developers have no options. That we should be grateful for anything. That we’ll accept underpricing because “it’s experience.” That we’ll work senior-level responsibilities for intern-level compensation. This mindset is dangerous. Because the same companies expecting production-ready systems, tight deadlines, and ownership are the ones offering pay that doesn’t match the responsibility. They want senior output without senior commitment. If a company cannot be honest in the job description, it won’t be honest in the contract. If it underprices you at entry, it will underappreciate you all through. Developers need to start walking away earlier. Not after three interviews. Not after test tasks. From the first red flag. Clear title. Clear expectations. Clear compensation. Anything else is a waste of time. The market is not perfect, but it’s not hopeless either. Good companies exist. Honest founders exist. But we make it easier for bad actors when we keep accepting confusion as an opportunity. Your skill is not a favor. Your time is not charity. And professionalism should not be optional just because the company is a startup. We can build better systems. But first, we need better standards.

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Apple quietly blocked vibe coding apps like Replit from the App Store unless they strip out the features that made them useful in the first place. No more generating and shipping apps without Xcode. No more skipping the review process. If you want to build for Apple, you go through Apple. Funny thing is, Apple is adding AI coding tools inside Xcode at the same time. They are not against AI. They just want to be the ones holding it. For first time founders and hobbyists who were using these tools to turn ideas into real apps without hiring a developer, this is a genuine setback. That shortcut is gone. Better for App Store quality maybe. But a lot of people who were just getting started just lost their on ramp. #Apple #VibeCoding #AppStore #AI #Founders #ProductDevelopment #NoCode #Entrepreneurship

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Bold take: The best engineers I’ve hired weren’t the “smartest.” They were the fastest to learn in public. Hot take: Shipping > showing off. Curiosity beats credentials every time. Last quarter, our team inherited a messy service with 2,000+ lines of “temporary” code. Everyone avoided it. One engineer volunteered, mapped the blast radius in a day, shipped three tiny fixes in a week, and wrote a one-page doc. That doc unblocked two teams and cut incidents by 40%. No heroics. Just momentum. What worked (steal these): - Bias for small wins: Slice the problem until the next commit is obvious. Small PRs, daily merges, fewer surprises. - Write for future you: 1-page docs > perfect diagrams. Capture decisions, trade-offs, and “why now.” - Make learning visible: Post a short Loom or Slack summary after each fix. Asynchronous clarity scales. - Optimize for observability, not opinions: Add logs/metrics first, argue later. Data ends debates. - Timebox exploration: 90-minute spikes with explicit exit criteria. Decide, deliver, de-risk. - Build “boring” automation: Pre-commit hooks, templates, and golden paths reduce cognitive load. - Guard deep work: 2-hour focus blocks, notifications off, calendar protected. Output compounds. Unconventional but true: - If it’s hard to explain, the design is telling you something. - The fastest way to earn trust is to delete code and reduce surface area. - Velocity is a culture artifact. Make it cheap to ask questions and safe to be wrong. Your turn: What’s your go-to move for turning legacy pain into momentum? Drop your best tactic or a before/after story. If you want more playbooks like this, follow/connect—I share weekly systems for engineering velocity. #SoftwareEngineering #TechLeadership #VelocityEngineering #DevEx #SystemDesign

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45+ LPA for Engineers with Just 1 Year of Experience?! Yes — Coinbase is offering one of the highest-paying remote engineering roles in the industry right now. But getting in? That’s a different game altogether. Here’s a complete breakdown of the Coinbase Software Engineer interview process (and what they actually look for 👇): --- 🔹 Round 1 – Online Assessment (CodeSignal) A 90-minute challenge with 4 medium-level DSA problems. Solve at least 3/4 and you’re likely through. 💡 Tip: Focus on clean logic and efficiency — partial correctness matters. 🔹 Round 2 – Recruiter Screening A short call discussing your experience, tech stack, and role expectations. They also guide you with preparation resources and timelines. 🔹 Round 3 – Technical Interview 1 (Machine Coding + DSA) Build something real. Example: a transaction management system. They test how modular, readable, and extensible your code is — not just syntax. 🔹 Round 4 – Technical Interview 2 (OOP & Execution) Deep dive into OOP design and iterators. Focus: class relationships, clean abstractions, and handling edge cases. 🔹 Round 5 – System Design (HLD) Design a payment processing system. Expect discussions on APIs, data flow, microservices, scalability, and fault tolerance. 🔹 Round 6 – HR / Behavioral Cultural fit and motivation. Sample Qs: What drives you to do your best work? Example of creativity in problem-solving Long-term vision with the company --- 🧠 Coinbase cares more about your clarity of thought, design mindset, and coding discipline — not just perfect syntax. This process is intense — but also one of the best real-world learning experiences in system design, machine coding, and large-scale thinking. --- 🚀 Takeaway: If you’re preparing for top-tier product interviews, study how Coinbase evaluates scalability, design clarity, and engineering depth — that’s where real growth happens. #TechInterviews #Coinbase #SoftwareEngineering #SystemDesign #DSA #CareerGrowth #RemoteJobs #EngineeringExcellence

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Quick note for recruiters doing a little UX test on my profile 🕵️ Over the past 1.5 months of interviews in NYC, I noticed the same bug: when someone tries to open Adjarabet, the website doesn’t load in the U.S. Nothing mysterious — just geo-restrictions. I worked there as a Graphic Designer under Flutter Entertainment. And since over-explaining usually reduces trust instead of building it, here’s the simple source: https://lnkd.in/gzKq-BRF

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A few things I’ve learned in my first ~3 months at Meta: 1. Execution matters early. First months are about showing you can ship and unblock work quickly. 2. Mentorship & onboarding are real — use them. Bootcamp/mentors and scheduled 1:1s speed up ramping. 3. Write more (design docs, PRs). Writing clarifies thinking and makes feedback actionable. (This is echoed across engineer posts I read.) 4. You’ll be measured on impact, not busyness. The bar is high; focus on measurable outcomes. 5. Learning from small failures is normal. Teams expect experiments to fail — what matters is learning and iterating. Short takeaway: show up, ship small wins, write clearly, ask for feedback, and treat mentorship as a force multiplier. #Meta #Learning #Onboarding #SoftwareEngineering #CareerAdvice #Impact

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Your promotion is decided when you aren’t in the room. It’s based on your "Senior Narrative" : The story your peers and manager tell about you when you aren't around. If you’re stuck at SDE-1 or SDE-2, you need to rebrand. Here is the 4-part framework I use: > Audit your current story + Create a paper trail * Multiply your impact ~ Manage visibility A promotion is just the formal recognition of the reputation you’ve already built. I broke down exactly how to execute each step in today's post.

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Hiring your first Staff Engineer? Here's the framework that actually works. Series A teams face a unique challenge: you're too big for scrappy junior hires, but not established enough for traditional senior recruitment. Your Staff Engineer isn't just a senior developer - they're your technical force multiplier. What most founders miss: - Focusing only on coding skills - Hiring someone who's never worked at your stage - Expecting them to manage people immediately What actually matters: - Proven ability to architect systems that scale 10x - Experience mentoring without formal management - Track record at companies that went from 10-100 people The 3-question framework: 1. "Walk me through a system you designed that had to handle 10x growth" 2. "How do you help junior engineers level up without micromanaging?" 3. "Describe a time you had to choose between perfect code and shipping fast" Red flag answers: - Can't explain technical decisions to non-technical people - Only talks about greenfield projects, never legacy cleanup - Dismisses the need for documentation or testing Green flag answers: - Shows pragmatic trade-off thinking - Mentions teaching/mentoring specific examples - Understands business context behind technical decisions Your Staff Engineer should be the person who makes your entire engineering team 2x more effective. CTA: "DM me 'STAFF' for our complete Staff Engineer assessment scorecard

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Yesterday, I launched Resume Squad on Product Hunt. For the last few months, I’ve been obsessed with a single problem: The ATS Black Box. Talented people are applying to 100+ jobs and getting auto-rejected before a human ever sees their PDF. Standard "AI wrappers" try to fix this, but they fail. They write generic fluff, lose context, and worst of all, they hallucinate fake metrics to make you sound better. I decided to fix it by treating a resume not as an essay, but as a data payload that needs to compile. Enter the 9-Agent AI Swarm: Instead of one massive prompt, I engineered a deterministic multi-agent pipeline: 🕵️ The Extractors map your raw skills to the Job Description. ⚔️ The Critic-Refiner Loop uses a ruthless Reviewer Agent to force an Optimizer Agent to rewrite weak verbs. 🎯 The Compiler runs a final simulation of legacy ATS parsers to ensure perfect keyword density. The Launch Day Challenge: AI Safety vs. UX Just hours after going live, I hit a massive paradox. I built a strict "Zero-Hallucination Guardrail." If a user is missing a metric (like revenue generated), the Swarm is forbidden from inventing fake numbers. Instead, it places an [Insert %] placeholder. Safety achieved! But it created a UX nightmare. Users could accidentally export a resume full of blank placeholders. So, while monitoring the live launch traffic, I shipped an update to the frontend: a custom markdown parser that intercepts the AI's placeholders on the fly, wraps them in a bright yellow clickable highlight, and opens a targeted editor so users can type their actual numbers. No fake data, no friction. Building this as a solo developer has been an incredible journey, and the launch momentum so far has been amazing. If you are hunting for a new role (or just want to test out a 9-Agent Swarm), check out the launch here and let me know your thoughts: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g65uAd4Q Question for the builders and hiring managers here: How do you balance "protecting the user from AI hallucinations" with "making the UI frictionless"? Let’s chat in the comments! 👇 #BuildInPublic #AI #ProductHunt #ResumeSquad #TechCareers #AgenticAI #SoftwareEngineering #PIAIC #Panaversity

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Even within the biggest tech companies, not all engineers are paid the same, and the gap is surprisingly wide. Lesson 21: The top 1% earn outsized pay. Landing a job at a top-tier tech company is a huge accomplishment. But inside those companies, the rewards aren’t evenly spread among everyone. The reality is that the highest compensation goes to a small elite. Two main factors drive this accelerated earning: 1. Consistently earning top performance ratings.   2. Securing additional equity in the company. It’s not just about showing up or doing good work. It’s about consistently standing out, delivering impact, and building trust over time. Equity plays a huge role too, those who hold significant stock packages can see their compensation multiply as the company grows. Understanding this dynamic is crucial for anyone navigating their career path in tech. It highlights the importance of not only technical excellence, but also strategic career moves and advocacy. Remember, excelling in a top company means more than being good, it means becoming exceptional and owning your growth journey. I am sharing 40 lessons from 8 years of software engineering. Follow along so you do not miss the next ones.

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵: tutorial projects will land you a developer job. Hmmm...If only. Every hiring manager has seen the same to-do app and weather widget built by thousands of others. Your portfolio does not help you get noticed. It helps you get lost. It's not a neon sign over your head. It's camouflage. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻? Because uncomfortable truths rarely go viral. The math is simple: if success is rare, then truly effective advice would also be rare—not trending on Twitter. Popular advice sells comfort, not results. It favors the easy path: follow tutorials, check boxes, and conveniently blame 'the broken system' when you fail. Comfortable half-measures thrive on collective validation. Individual victory threatens that careful balance in an ecosystem of perpetual beginners. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘀? You risk being pigeonholed as a "beginner," no matter what you know. Problem-solving was lost. Pretty AI-generated projects were gained. I learned this the hard way - even before AI. I built the “recommended” projects and ended up with zero job offers. So I deleted all those repos. And I built one single project (called Remynd, and I stopped maintaining it after I got into Google because I was that embarrassed by it.) 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 Build software that solves real-world problems. What is a real-world problem? A problem in your world that you can solve. That's it. Don't overthink it. What matters is that you figure it out through trial and error because that is what problem-solving is. Bonus points if you pretend it's a product and document how decisions were made with a commercial mindset rather than engineering for engineering's sake. You don't need a neon light. You just need to spotlight how 𝘺𝘰𝘶 builds things. Sign up for my free newsletter and check out my podcast (links in profile). If it's not to your taste, you can always unsubscribe!

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The worst interview of my career was with a major payments platform, but it taught me more than my best one. I interviewed there. I prepared React hooks. Component libraries. Portfolio demos. Then they asked: “How does it handle checkout performance at scale?” Silence. I had never checked their frontend stack. Never studied their payment flow optimizations. Never understood their high-traffic challenges. Rejected next day. What I learned (and what every frontend dev should do before an interview): Understand the tech stack in depth, including frameworks, state management, bundlers, and how they optimize for speed and scalability across millions of transactions Know the primary user flows, their friction points in speed/loading, behaviors on mobile/desktop, and how UI/UX decisions drive conversion rates Study competitors and market position thoroughly, analyzing frontend differentiators, faster loads, better animations, edge caching Read recent product updates, engineering blogs, GitHub repos, and conference talks to grasp current initiatives like PWA adoption or Core Web Vitals improvements Identify frontend gaps or optimization opportunities by auditing real user journeys, Lighthouse scores, and bundle sizes, then pitch data-backed suggestions like code-splitting or SSR tradeoffs Your portfolio gets you shortlisted. Business + tech understanding gets you hired. Join the Frontend Community here: https://lnkd.in/dKdTjvzc

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Part of a longer prompt for skimming down tens of thousands of profiles programmatically but I would say recruiters generally follow this structure but manually for mid level swe roles 1. React/Next.js Experience (1–3 points) /*Technical fit*/: - 1 point: 2+ years React/Next.js on unimpressive or slow-paced projects - 2 points: 3–4 years or 2 years on highly impactful, challenging projects - 3 points: 5+ years on impressive, complex, high-quality products 2. Workplace Quality (1–2 points) /*Industry or domain fit. Domain fit becomes much more of a focus for senior/staff roles e.g. payments, video, etc*/: - 1 point: Experience at decent or mid-tier companies - 2 points: Early engineer at a high-quality startup (e.g. Y Combinator or a16z-backed, or web apps with high usage like Ahrefs, Linear, Notion) 3. General aptitude (1 point): - Examples include: top university, strong bio/summary, visible awards, high attention to detail on profile/portfolio, or other signals the person is generally smart 4. Interest in Startups, SEO, or AI Interfaces /*Combination of domain fit + shown interest in topics related to what's being built*/ (1 point): - Look for keywords or evidence of genuine curiosity in any of these themes 5. General Programming Depth (1 point): - They've built meaningful projects over time, not necessarily at jobs — just a real builder

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If you are hiring for a Senior React role (or interviewing for one), the game has changed. We aren't just building UIs anymore; we are managing Server-Client boundaries. ​Here are the top 10 questions that actually matter in 2026: ​1. RSC vs. SSR "How is a React Server Component (RSC) different from traditional Server-Side Rendering? What gets sent to the browser in each case?" ​2. The Waterfall Problem "How do you prevent request waterfalls when using Server Components, and when should you actually prefer a waterfall?" ​3. useActionState (The new standard) "Show me how you handle form submission states (pending, error, success) using the new useActionState hook instead of useState + useEffect." ​4. Optimistic UI "How would you implement an 'Instant Like' feature using useOptimistic to update the UI before the server responds?" ​5. The "use client" Boundary "What technically happens at the boundary between a Server Component and a Client Component? Can a Client Component import a Server Component?" ​6. React Compiler "Now that the React Compiler (React Forget) handles memoization, when (if ever) should we still use useMemo or useCallback manually?" ​7. Streaming & Suspense "How do you use <Suspense> to stream part of a page (like a comments section) so the main content loads immediately?" ​8. Tainting Data "How do you prevent sensitive data (like API keys or User IDs) from accidentally leaking to the client when passing props from Server to Client components?" ​9. Server Actions "When using Server Actions, how do you handle validation errors and display them on the client side without refreshing the page?" ​10. The Escape Hatch "When would you strictly choose Client-Side Rendering (CSR) over Server Components for a specific feature?" ​The Hard Truth: If you can answer #1 and #6, you are a React Developer. If you can answer all 10, you are a Software Engineer. ​Which one stumped you? 👇 Community: https://lnkd.in/dYFSB7cp Follow Kunal Garg for such more content

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Looking for a software job? You NEED to read this. 8 things I would do if I were looking for a SWE job right now: Let's not sugarcoat it. The job market is absolutely brutal right now. I wish I could work with everyone 1:1, but I can't. So, this is for everyone I'm not able to coach: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀. This is the first thing I work on with every one of my clients. Get clear on what you're best at, and focus your materials around it. If you're not clear on: 1. What you do 2. Why it's valuable 3. Who you do it for Employers will pass over you. 2️⃣ 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 Your LinkedIn profile is more than an online resume. It's your personal landing page. Expect every recruiter and hiring manager to check your LinkedIn an interview. If it looks sloppy, they might reconsider their decision. (Free guide in the comments) 3️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 Recruiters are skimming resumes for 7 seconds. It can't be full of fluff. Every word needs to earn its place on your resume. Add keywords where it makes sense, but don't keyword stuff. Focus on outcomes more than day to day responsibilities. Most of resume optimization comes from trimming fat, not adding content. 4️⃣ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 Most job seekers have no concrete idea how much effort they put in. Many have a rough idea, but it's a feeling more than solid data. Track your actions to review at the end of each week. Without data and reflection, you can not improve. 5️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 LinkedIn isn't just a job board. Invest time in actually using the platform. Post. Reshare. Comment. DM. Don't wait for opportunities to come to you. Force opportunities with your activity. 6️⃣ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 The biggest networking mistake job seekers make is asking strangers for favors. Before you ask someone for a favor, turn them into an advocate. Build your network like you're building new friendships. If you can, do them a favor before asking for one back. 7️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. Your time is your most valuable asset in the job search. Most people waste their time because they don't know what they should focus on. Don't be like most people. Invest time into daily planning and reflections. It's worth the effort. Trust me. 8️⃣ 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 Surround yourself with a support system to stay sane. Friends. Family. Other Job Seekers. A mentor or coach. There's no reason to make the job search harder by doing it alone. Start taking back control of your search in this crowded market. You got this. I'm rooting for you. P.S. Any tips you want to add?

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Software Engineer? Out of work? Not sure how to get employed? Here's what I would do in 2026 to land my dream job. 1) Start networking like crazy. Attend events. Join spaces. Expand your value IRL so everyone knows you are. Write blog posts, create content and become an expert in specific niche. 2) Contribute to open-source projects. AI makes this easier than ever, but just be careful not to feed slop to repositories or that'll kill your whole rep. 3) Cold email projects. Especially open-source ones. Find struggle areas, and craft a masterpiece on how you would add immense value. Make it easy for your potential employer and +1 your resume. 4) Offer pro-bono work to high-value startups. A few hours of free consultations or code contributions. Good startup founders are very-well connected and will either be able to offer you opportunities later on or refer you to ones in their network. Note, you can use AI to do these things en-masse, just be VERY careful. You don't want to destroy your reputation and end up in someone's CRM in a bad light. Most important: Do not get worn down. This is a numbers game with high rewards.

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