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Hiring Managers Have a Problem Too

Developers are upset about the job market, but hiring managers are drowning in hundreds of AI-written resumes and would rather interview someone they already know. Become known before the job opens.

Software hiring managers have a problem. And as developers, we can actually help solve it.

I’ve talked to so many developers lately who are upset over the state of the job market.

  • Overcrowded
  • Fake job posts
  • Ridiculous requirements
  • AI gatekeeping

Enough that far more developers than I expected have told me they’re considering leaving the industry entirely.

But I’ve also spent the last several months talking to hiring managers. They have a problem too.

What the other side of the table looks like

Posting an opening has always been time consuming. By the time a team gets approval for a role, figures out what they actually need, writes the requirements, and gets the position posted, they’ve already invested a lot of time into hiring.

Then the applications show up. Hundreds of them. Sometimes an absurd number in the first couple of days.

And that’s after the automated screening tools have supposedly helped narrow things down.

So there’s now a massive stack of filtered, supposedly qualified candidates. Which leaves most managers with the same question: where do I even start with this?

And it gets better. Not only is it a long list, the vast majority of the resumes are AI-written to get the candidate past the AI gatekeeping. That’s enough to make your brain hurt.

Nearly every manager I spoke to told me a version of the same thing:

I’d much rather interview someone I know, or at least know something about, before getting to their resume.

Think about that. Wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t it be easier to hire someone you’ve seen around? Maybe chatted with. Seen how they think through problems. Maybe even had a couple of serious conversations with.

Would that not make your job easier? My guess is that in their situation, you’d want the same thing.

So how do developers help?

By becoming known before the job opens.

Putting yourself out there. Sharing your experience. Making connections with the right people. Being top of mind when a manager needs someone.

That’s how you change the career game.

You don’t win by standing in line with everybody else. You win by becoming the person who keeps the hiring manager from ever needing to start with the line.