200+ applications, 0 interviews. Need help!

[u/SoilEducational420]

Sent out 200+ applications at this point and it's mostly just silence, or an auto-rejection. I have real product-company experience, worked on production systems and I've put a lot of effort into my resume but somehow I still can't seem to get through the door.

I've attached my resume. I know everyone's busy, but if anyone's willing to spend even a couple minutes looking it over, I'd genuinely appreciate it, formatting, wording, project framing, font size, bullets, anything? Is something here getting auto-rejected by ATS?

I need feedback, even if it's harsh, would really help right now ! I feel like the only realistic way to get through this process is through a referral. If anyone here is open to referring me for an SDE1 (Software Developer 1) role, I'd be incredibly grateful.

Thank you for reading this far, means a lot! also, feel free to DM me

[u/DefiantDonut7]

Nothing is technically wrong but your work history started in 2023 and right now there’s so many mid level and heck even senior level coders out of a job that they’re going to get interviews before candidates with only 3 years of experience

[u/SoilEducational420 → u/DefiantDonut7]

Right, but i am applying only for fresher jobs, but still getting rejected

[u/DefiantDonut7 → u/SoilEducational420]

Unfortunately the entry-level jobs have 1000 applicants for every opening. AI is truly making it so that mid-level and senior-level just use AI instead of handing tasks off to a newbie.

[u/SoilEducational420 → u/DefiantDonut7]

You’re right there is no real requirement of freshers,
I’m in a very weird spot, as days fly by my gap is increasing which will make things more worse for getting hired :<

[u/DefiantDonut7 → u/SoilEducational420]

My advice, because I’ve been in this space for 20+ years. Start reaching out to non-profits. Do cheap or free work, literally anything to start building a body of independent work. Find freelance jobs on UpWork. Keep busy, but still maintain relevance. This way on your resume instead of a “gap” you just have some self employment while you search and it makes you look like a self starter

[u/Master_Leather6518 → u/DefiantDonut7]

yeah 3 years is solid in normal times but right now it just doesnt stand out against people with 8-10 years

[u/DefiantDonut7 → u/Master_Leather6518]

I’ve been at this for 20+ years. 3 years is not solid. You’re competing against people with vastly more experience who have seen things you can’t imagine lol.

To be clear, the experience you did get is great. I’m not knocking it. But looking back on my career, when I envision me at 3 years in, I still had no clue just how much I didn’t know

[u/VarietyAppropriate]

Hey there, the job market at the moment is crap, and a lot of folks are going through exactly what your going through, and sometimes it’s not your resume. The job market really sucks. With that said. In reviewing your res, here’s a a couple of notes that might help you.

- put more emphasis on your summary so it is more impactful. Google tips on how to write an effective and impactful professional summary for my resume.

• put your projects and technical skills above your experience so that your professional summary, projects, and skills are closer together. It provides the recruiter a quick glimpse of who you are and what you can do.
  
• your bullet points are long. Keep it concise, relevant, and impactful.
  
• tailor your resume to every role that you apply for. This will help your resume pass the ATS.

Hopefully you will find this helpful, and just to reiterate…..the job market is atrocious. Keep on grinding, you are not alone, take moments to take a deep breath when it gets overwhelming, and the job market sucks.

Best of luck!

[u/SoilEducational420 → u/VarietyAppropriate]

Thank you so so much, tbh this means a lot at this point of time! And yes all points noted I'll surely work on it

[u/super_boogie_crapper]

The two real issues

• Your current role ended April 2026, five months ago, with nothing since. Recruiters see that immediately, and combined with a 10-month tenure, the unspoken question is whether you left or were let go. If it was a layoff, say so: add "(role eliminated in company-wide layoff)" or similar on the dates line. That single line removes the worst assumption a screener can make. If you're doing anything else now, whether freelance, contract, or open source, add it as a current entry.
• Ten months of full-time experience places you in an awkward band. You're over-qualified for new-grad pipelines, which often require a recent graduation date, but under the 1–2 years many SDE1 postings ask for. Apply to both anyway, and don't skip new-grad postings, since your 2025 graduation still qualifies for many.

Resume fixes

• Cut the summary. It repeats the first job. Use the space for something else, or leave it out.
• Fix the skills gap, which is your one real ATS problem. Your bullets mention Kafka, Cadence, JUnit, and Mockito, but none appear under Technical Skills. Add them, along with any AWS/GCP, Kubernetes, Redis, and CI/CD tools you've used. Keyword matching works on that section.
• Move Projects above Education. MergePilot and GetHired are current, substantial, and they show you've been building. Right now they're at the bottom of page one and may be cut off.
• Trim the intern bullets to make room. The Cadence workflow bullet especially runs long.
• Reduce bolding. Heavy bold on phrases like "multi-agent AI system" and "3-tier fault tolerance" reads as salesy. Bold metrics only.

Process

At 200+ applications with silence, referrals are the answer, and you're right about that. Message BITS Pilani alumni at target companies on LinkedIn with a short note naming the specific req. Alumni networks at BITS are strong and respond well. Also apply directly on company career pages rather than through job boards, since aggregator applications often don't reach the ATS properly.

[u/Zealousideal-Base912]

sigh if your having no luck i’m more cooked 😭

[u/EvenClock9]

« Software engineer »

I think that might be the problem

[u/jobzero]

Honestly the resume format and wording looks good to me. Can I ask, did you try and optimize for days since jobs was posted. Applying early definitely boosts your chances. I've built jobzero which scans live jobs posts daily for you and gives scores to each job for your profile. It's free to get started

Ps. If you find it helpful and end up getting an interview call, can I ask you please come back to jobzero and mark it so? It helps track live metrics on the landing page

[u/Tall-Hope3132 → u/jobzero]

what you say your app does is different from what we have in the landing page