Tech Jobs in Europe: Insights and Tips To Get Interview Calls
Are you someone who’s applying in Europe for tech jobs and not getting responses from recruiters? You’ve tried everything but nothing has worked? Do you feel like you aren’t qualified enough or you don’t have what it takes to be there?
If you feel anything alike, I’d like to tell you that all of your concerns are valid, and I feel them because a few days back I was in your position. However, I came out of this by adapting some strategies which I’ll share with you in the rest of this blog. But first, we need to understand who am I. Am I qualified enough to speak for it?
My name is Asad Ullah Khalid and I came to Germany in 2022 with only 3 years of full-time experience in a mid-level startup. I worked there for one year and now I work for one of the world’s largest automobile companies as a Senior Software Engineer in Berlin. I understand the psychology of recruiters and know the cure of the curse of being ghosted which has proven to be successful so far.
Since I’ve come to Europe not a week or month goes by without someone asking me how to secure a job here, and their main concern isn’t receiving responses from companies. Before I deep dive into how to maximize your chances of getting interview calls, let me share some insight and personal experience about the market.
Right now in Europe, especially Germany market is a bit saturated and layoffs are happening all around. Companies are hiring precisely and giving preference to those who meet their requirements best. If you aren’t hearing back, there might be many factors like your resume screening rejection, poor profile or skillset selling, or weak experience and exposure overall but I believe the major reason isn’t incompetency or a mismatch but a lack of opportunities against a large number of applicants.
But what can you do? Should you just wait and keep applying? Yes, but here are multiple things you can do to increase your chances (that worked for me and many others):
Your Resume is Your Story
The more impactful and concise your resume is the better. Make your resume impactful while keeping it minimal and easy to read. Do it by utilizing online tools to evaluate its length, keywords, and overall impression, ultimately making it ATS-friendly. Also, ask for feedback from seniors and recruiters make a list of those suggestions, and apply to your resume what reflects most to your story.
Use LinkedIn To Your Advantage
Many years earlier, resume and a word of mouth were important things to get hired. But the world has evolved and digital platforms are a way for recruiters to see candidates’ potential. For most after your resume, the next stop is your social presence which highlights you among others. That’s why it is as important as learning new tech skills or completing a certification to invest time in creating a social presence, especially on LinkedIn.
To make your LinkedIn profile strong, do the following:
- List your past experiences with complete details such as your role, responsibility, contributions, achievements, and skills.
- Add schools, volunteering work, and certifications in detail.
- Ask for recommendations from your previous and current colleagues especially leads or managers.
- Pass skill assessments that reflect your work best.
- Create content that reflects your strong skills not necessarily relevant to what you do at work.
- Aim for a highly professional and engaging profile overall by keeping your profile full of details and sharing meaningful content.
Other than working on your profile, use the LinkedIn job search tool as a pro. How? Use filters to refine jobs to your wants by specifying text search as “Frontend Germany Berlin Relocation”. Once you get a relevant jobs list, set alerts for it so that you are notified anytime a new job is posted in this list.
That’s not it, the most important feature of LinkedIn is how easily you can grow your network and be a connection to thousands of people in your profession or domain. Embrace this power and add as many connections as you can, especially professionals, recruiters, managers, leads, CEOs, and other influential figures from your field. Your network will enrich you with knowledge, information, and job postings.
Nowadays, LinkedIn is a goldmine. If you learn how to use it to your advantage then you are already ahead of many candidates.
Shake your Network
For me, it’s astonishing to see that people are still being hired over referrals more than from job posts themselves. Unfortunately, despite knowing the fact we overlook the importance of networking.
How do we use our network? Do the following:
- Create a list of companies where your connections work.
- Go to each company website look for a relevant open position and add that to your list.
- Sort this list based on your priorities and what is more relevant to you.
- By order, reach out to each individual connection, even if you don’t know them personally, and introduce yourself and show your interest in the opportunity you have on your list. Ultimately ask them for a referral.
- Even if there is no opening in any individual’s company, request them to notify you whenever there is. Doing this will make them remember you whenever they hear of such an opportunity.
This process is efficient and proven. Your network is your most important asset. If you don’t utilize it, you are missing out on a lot of things.
Make Recruiters Remember You
After applying for a position, consider reaching out to the HR personnel involved. Briefly introduce yourself and notify them that you applied for the XYZ position and you will highly appreciate it if they can keep you updated with the application status. This approach can significantly enhance your chances of being remembered by the person when scrutinizing thousands of resumes.
No Limits
There is no one place or one way to get close to what you want. Hit and try whatever you can to expand your search beyond LinkedIn, use all professional platforms that you can lay your hand on, make content wherever you attract an audience, and reach out to the maximum people you can by all professional means. Don’t stop until you get what you want.
Conclusion
Finding a job abroad right now is difficult and competitive but it’s not impossible. People are still coming to Europe but less. If you follow what I’ve told you, there are high chance of you getting your next interview call soon enough. I believe if you want to be successful you gotta play smart, do hard work, and most importantly stay consistent while keeping patience. There’s a time for everything what you can do best is keep making efforts and wait to fall things in their place.
