52 interviews, 5 offers and the most common reasons for rejection. The job search history of an IT professional from Lviv who sent his resume to employers 100+ times

«There’s a week left until I start my new role. Before I head to the mountains to recharge, I want to record my job search statistics and share insights with those who might find it useful,» wrote Oleksiy. .

According to Alexey, on the way to the offer, he sent out his resume over 100 times. «God knows how many times I actually submitted my CV — but I suspect 100+ times at least. If 52 times I made it to at least the first interview, then you can imagine how many more resumes simply disappeared into HR black holes,» the IT guy said and made detailed search statistics public.

Job hunting in numbers:

• 52 first stages (interview with a recruiter);
• 22 interviews with managers;
• 9 test tasks (I spent 10 days and $180 on consultations on one task);
• 7 final interviews;
• 5 offers (3 full-time, 2 part-time).

Oleksiy went through 25 employer companies to the second stage:

1. Keiki
2. Grammarly
3. 6037
4. Nova Poshta
5. YouControl
6. JustMarkets
7. Patriana
8. Good Wine
9. FORM
10. Intellias
11. Softserve
12. Peopleforce
13. Pulse
14. Insart
15. Lift
16. Smartist
17. Boosta
18. Solidgate
19. Just Answer
20. Ajax Systems
21. United Tech
22. WIX
23. Brainstack
24. 42N
25. Sineeng.

«Each interview is a separate story. Some were professional and cool. And some felt like I was in a TV shop, where I was trying to „sell“ myself, and they asked me if I was ready to work for „delicious food and water,“» Oleksiy noted and listed the main reasons for the rejections. Among them:

1. Salary expectations — Companies often say that they are «flexible to the wishes of candidates,» but this flexibility somehow manifests itself in the final stages, when the budget is «fixed.»
2. «We need more specific expertise» — For example, a deeper dive into fintech or AI.
3. Structured responses — Some companies expected deeper justifications in the test responses.
4. Frozen vacancies — Companies either changed their mind about hiring or decided to promote an internal candidate.

Among the most biased or strange comments Alexey heard was the following:

Conclusions of an IT expert

• Job hunting is a numbers game. Don’t give up after the first wave of rejections.
• Not all test games are worth your time. Analyze whether this game is worth your time (often it is not).
• The market is unstable. Companies often change plans right during the process. Yesterday’s rejection may become a positive response in a month or two, and vice versa.
• Rejections are normal. If you get rejected, it’s just not your match. Be patient, be patient, patience will polish you, your spirit will become stronger, so be patient, be patient…

Oleksiy urged those who need help or advice on employment to write to him in private. «I will help with CVs, tests, or just tell you how not to break down in this process,» he wrote.

UPD. Aitivets was rejected at the fourth stage of the interview at EPAM. He is convinced that he was not hired because of his refusal to communicate in Russian. What the company says

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UPD. Aitivets was rejected at the fourth stage of the interview at EPAM. He is convinced that he was not hired because of his refusal to communicate in Russian. What the company says

«Such situations are a reality in our profession.» A recruiter denied a candidate an interview because he was blacklisted by her colleagues. What does the community think about this: a discussion with 300+ comments

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