graduated but no jobs

18 points by teminal 292 days ago | 46 comments

Hi HN,

I just graduated from college and don’t have a job yet. I’m trying to figure out what to focus on next, and I’d love some advice.

A little about me:

– I contribute to open-source projects.

– I’ve done a few internships during college, mainly building full-stack web apps.

– Worked in a few startups, also mainly on full-stack projects.

– Built full-stack apps for clients.

– Ran a fun YouTube channel for a few months.

– Built some AI-powered apps using tools like OpenAI.

– Solved 100+ DSA problems to improve my coding skills.

With AI tools now, I can build full-stack apps by prompting and understand all the code. But I’m not sure what to focus on next: Should I deeply master a stack like MERN, or keep experimenting with AI and building different projects?

I’ve tried a lot of things — side projects, internships, open-source, AI apps — but I don’t feel like I’ve truly mastered anything yet.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would you do if you were me?

Thanks in advance.

sky2224 292 days ago |

While applying for jobs, try to build a network that's actually meaningful. Don't just blindly connect with people on LinkedIn, rather, try to develop relationships with people.

You're essentially caught in a bad spot right now and will likely need to resort to some old-school cold calling like what sales people do. Only difference will be that "no" means no here. You're selling yourself, but you don't want people to hate you while in the process of that.

The reason I'm mentioning the above is because cold-applying to random posts on LinkedIn, Indeed, etc, results in about a 5% response rate. So I mean do the cold applications because something is better than nothing, but ultimately, you're going to need to do more.

An additional reason I'm mentioning doing this form of "cold-calling" is because recruiters are overwhelmed, but no one seems to want to admit this. They are inundated with applications that all look identical, but instead of only getting 100-200 applications for a position (which is still a lot), they're getting 500+. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the cold-application response rate has dropped closer to 1%-2%.

> Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would you do if you were me?

The truth is, this downturn is a little more unique than those in the past. AI and people gaming the system is wreaking havoc on the jobs pipeline in addition to the economic aspect of things.

As for anything else you should do: turn off sensational social media and try to block the doom and gloom. It will not help you.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks for the advice! i haven’t been applying randomly, i try to focus only on genuine job posts. i’ve worked at a few startups and built projects, but i’ve still missed opportunities while many of my friends have landed jobs. sometimes i struggle to express my thoughts clearly and haven’t been able to ask my friends for guidance. i feel like i can learn and build anything, but i’m not sure why i’m still behind. how would you suggest approaching this differently?

cleartext412 292 days ago |

As unexpected as it may sound, I think you should focus on getting a job.

When you get some actual experience of solving business tasks, dealing with colleagues and superiors, spending 8/5 at work and so on, it will be easier to make these decisions, and with a year or two of experience you get more options to choose from.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks, i understand and really want to get a job too, but it’s been hard.

earlier at least my resume got me interviews with real people, but now sometimes nothing comes, and if it does, ai often screens me first. i know i can do the work, but i struggle to express my thoughts clearly and put my points across in interviews.

how would you suggest improving in this—any tips for communicating better or making it through ai screening?

comprev 291 days ago |

This might sound a little controversial, but have you considered other roles in IT, not just pure development jobs?

I've been in Ops for 20+ years now and started on 1st line support for an ISP, although I had very few options without a degree (or much of an academic background really).

An entry level role might be a stepping stone to other positions within the company - and an opportunity to network with colleagues in other departments.

Over the years I built professional relationships and moved up to 2nd line and then 3rd line (sysadmin). This provided industry experience, certifications and sufficient domain knowledge to move elsewhere.

A few peers from 1st line moved over to development after they helped provide direct feedback to the devs as users of their software.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks for sharing!

i took a break earlier due to health issues and missed placements, and now i’m doing open source as a maintainer, but it doesn’t pay enough. i feel a bit stuck because with ai moving so fast, i’m not sure what to focus on or if learning something new will take too long. i only have about three months or the rest of this year to figure things out, so maybe it’s better to focus on finding roles related to what i already know.

would you suggest trying something new, or sticking to my current skills to get a job faster?

comprev 289 days ago | | |

I knew I couldn't go straight into the Ops world and accepted I had to start on the support ladder answering telephones and responding to emails about expired domains, lost passwords, etc. However during this necessary detour I never lost sight of my target - even if it felt a million miles away at the time. The job was merely a stepping stone to cross the river.

MrCoffee7 292 days ago |

Does the college you just graduated from have a job placement office that could offer you help or advice? Some local public libraries have short courses where they give you feedback on your resume, etc. You could also look at libguides on job finding resources such as https://libguides.ccsu.edu/career/jobhunting . A "libguide" is a "library guide" that is a list of resources pertaining to a particular subject. Also, does your college have an alumni association that you could join and network with?

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks for the advice.

my college is average it had a job placement office but in the final year due to some issues i couldn't able to sit any of the placements

i don't know about alumni association but there are some people from the college who are at good position but what is the right way to approach them also when i talked with some recent college senior working in a company they only say me like master your skill try learning this

why this is happening though i know am not that kind of genius but i had build stuffs i can get things done

how to approach people correctly do i directly say i need job hire me

al_borland 292 days ago |

Work on finding a job. You could spend a lot of time learning a stack, then get a job that is for something completely different. Your future job will dictate what you learn next.

You need to shift from education mode to employment mode.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thank you!

yes i am trying to find the job i do surf linked in daily check for hiring here and there tried to dming founders

what do you think what else should i do.

al_borland 291 days ago | | |

There are job sites where companies post openings. I would go to those. I haven’t had to look for work in a long time, but I think indeed is still a thing, not sure how good dice is for tech jobs these days, but it was big a couple decades ago.

You can also look locally. Go to various websites for companies where you live and see if they have any job postings. I was browsing Google Maps a few months ago and noticed some tech sounding company a mile from me, I went to their website and they had 3 openings for what seemed like a cool job (working on the software to run the Jumbotron screens in stadiums).

There are also contract houses. Sign up with one of them and they’ll farm you out to a company. It’s not always the most stable, but it can give you some early experience, or get your foot in the door at a company that will eventually hire you directly.

yellowcake0 291 days ago | | |

Are you not based in the US or unable to relocate? I understand the tech job market is at a low point right now but there are still enough programming jobs across the entire continental US that you should be able to fill 40 hours a week applying to them + auxiliary tasks such as coordinating interviews, interview prep, working on your resume, etc.

Like others have said you need to switch to employment mode, and finding a job is your full-time job

fzwang 292 days ago |

If your financial situation allows it, I'd recommend you take some time off to recharge and reflect on what you'd want to do next. You've likely come off the hamster wheel, so to speak, and now is sorta lost. All the regular structures/incentives you relied on before is gone and there are uncertainties everywhere.

If you're not in a good financial position, stabilizing your finances would be the first priority. I would focus on developing your professional networks and reaching out to past colleagues etc for job leads/referrals. You're at a stage where you've very little to lose and everything to gain from any interaction with reality/real-world problems.

Working on AI/vibe-coding, esp understanding the fundamentals, will be advantageous as everyone is still figuring things out. Your lack of experience won't hurt you as much, since no one really have any. Be careful with using too much AI assistance for learning, as it can actually slow you down and give you a feeling of compentency/productivity without deep understanding.

Good luck!

austin-cheney 292 days ago |

Don’t do full stack. In fact avoid JavaScript all together except to make yourself more well rounded.

If you want to achieve employment as a fresh graduate in the current economy you need to look for areas that have the highest barriers of entry. Otherwise you will be competing against candidates with 8-15 years of experience that may not be very good at what they do but at least they have a stacked resume while you have nothing.

As a former JavaScript developer almost nobody knows what they are doing and most of those people are permanently locked into a mindset of expert beginner with 8 years of experience. Compare that to something like 3D graphics programming or financial modeling that requires actual smart people opposed to imposter syndrome pretenders.

taurath 292 days ago | |

My advice would be to not listen to anyone who’s primary advice is to avoid one of the most commonly in demand skillsets and denigrates everyone who practices it as being expert beginners.

austin-cheney 292 days ago | | |

Why?

muzani 292 days ago |

A lot of people do the same thing, except they have 5 years of experience on top of yours and still don't have jobs.

It sounds like you're already a good enough candidate - most people don't know and don't care about basic things like how a CDN works or what's the difference between TCP and UDP. And all the DSA grinding in the world don't help if you don't know the basics. If you go deep, you could be going deep into something with no value.

There's generally two things interviewers look for - smart and gets things done. You're smart enough, now you have to get the job.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks a lot! i know i did lot of things but i couldn't able to communicate properly to the people i always get panicked i always have self doubt

also sometimes i thought these skills already replaced by ai why someone will hire me

but yep i am trying thanks

frompdx 291 days ago |

You haven't really provided any info that can help someone provide you with concrete advice.

  How are you apply to jobs?
  How many jobs have you applied for?
  What is the furthest you have gotten in the interview process?
  Are you working with any recruiters?
  Have you tried applying to another internship to see if you can convert to FTE?

teminal 291 days ago | |

sorry about that.

i apply to jobs mainly through linkedin, yc, emails, and company career pages, sometimes even dming people on linkedin.

in the last month i’ve applied to over 100+ jobs, including some random ones not really based on location, and i also try to talk to people directly.

in the interview process, many times i make it to the final round, sometimes not.

I haven't worked with any recruiters mostly local startups with small teams.

i've already done 5+ internships and 2 fullstack client projects, so i'm wondering if i should focus on applying for more internships in frontend, or just focus on full-time roles now?

Jcowell 291 days ago | | |

Don’t apply through linked in , apply directly via the company career site what apply materials are you submitting ? are you doing cover letters ?. As a grad how many new grads positions did you apply to?

ivape 291 days ago |

It sounds like you didn’t even start life. It can take some time, keep studying, practice, and enjoy it out there.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks!!

i get your point, but i dont feel like i haven't started life am 23, finished my degree, worked at a few startups, even tutored students, worked in shop too in early days

just looking for something a bit more stable and meaningful now

toomuchtodo 292 days ago |

If you're comfortable taking advice from a complete rando, find a job doing something, anything in generative AI. It's hot, will remain hot until the bubble pops, and you should be able to get a foothold in the org if you can demonstrate competency with some code and hitting LLM endpoints. Use that foothold to ensure you can keep the job when the bubble pops, and you can pivot to other engineering work in the org. Failing all of that, you'll at least have some experience and some network you otherwise wouldn't have. Good luck.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks!

do you think someone just starting out can actually break into that?

feels like a lot of people are already ahead in the ai space sometimes i wonder if i should try anyway or stick to areas i've already worked in

toomuchtodo 290 days ago | | |

Asking is free, you are only limited by your attempts and persistence at outreach for opportunities with hiring managers and orgs.

codegeek 291 days ago |

" Worked in a few startups, also mainly on full-stack projects."

How did you do at those startups ? Your best bet is approach them again and ask for a potential role. Without some connections, it is extremely difficult to get a full tiem job right now in tech especially as an entry level person.

Some suggestions for you:

1. Get focussed on one stack. This is the unfortunate reality. You don't have enough real world experience to say "I can pick up any stack especially with AI". Thats what everyone else is saying. Too much noise. You need to separate yourself from the rest.

Get really really good at one stack (pick whatever you are already experienced with and double down). Then create a project or two in it (as real world as possible). Put it on a personal website. Something that shows. Don't just do the usual low quality "bootcamp" stuff. Those won't fly.

2. Approach any existing network of people you have worked with/for. You mentioned working at startups already. Start there.

3. Approach smaller companies/other startups (after #1 above) on Linkedin and make a specific case to founders directly. This is not hard. If needed, get subscription to Sales Navigator (if you can afford) and search for companies in the less than 50 employee range. Find their CEO/CTO and hit them up directly with specific message on why YOU and why you want to work for THEM. No generic BS. Be specific.

4. Be very very flexible. Mention that you will relocate for the job. Forget about Working from Home. Find whatever you can and move for it if needed. Show that you mean serious business.

These are some of the strategies that may help. It is very hard right now though. All the best.

sagarjs 292 days ago |

this is difficult, reach out to me and I will try to give you some guidance based on your situation.

codingdave 292 days ago | |

One of the values of public discussion is that the whole world can see the advice that is shared. People who won't share their advice in public are often trying to scam, or at least sell something to, the person asking for advice.

sagarjs 289 days ago | | |

that is generally true, yes.

I chose this approach in case the OP wanted deeper tangible pointers which is only possible with an understanding of their specific situation and kind of projects, location, etc.

I shoould have made this more clearer in my first comment

bix6 292 days ago |

You’ll never feel like you’ve mastered anything. You’re done with college so now is the time to figure out what sort of career you’d like.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks!!!

yeah true it just feels super competitive sometimes even friends drift if u r not ahead

it still becomes sometime confusing but i do know i need some stability and steady income

brudgers 291 days ago |

Talk to everyone at your internships, startups, etc.

People you know is the best way to find a job.

Meanwhile, just get any kind of job because it shows you are willing to work and that’s a good impression to make.

Good luck.

teminal 291 days ago | |

thanks a lot! yep i did talk with people they want me to do DSA master any one skill

i am trying now with different people

brudgers 290 days ago | | |

Be the kind of person that people who know you want to hire.

davidajackson 292 days ago |

Do you have a portfolio site of sample projects or case studies? Do you want us to critique that?

teminal 291 days ago | |

yes, thanks for offering!! i’ve uploaded an anonymous version of my resume - https://limewire.com/d/9uYc3#w3yPqY1bur

would really appreciate any feedback or critique on it

devrimozcay 291 days ago |

what is this

How are you apply to jobs? How many jobs have you applied for? What is the furthest you have gotten in the interview process? Are you working with any recruiters? Have you tried applying to another internship to see if you can convert to FTE?