You're applying to one company at a time, hoping for the best. Meanwhile, the developers landing multiple six-figure offers are running coordinated campaigns. They're not better developers. They're better at creating competition for their skills. The secret isn't being perfect for one role. It's being valuable enough that multiple companies fight over you. Time your interviews to cluster within 2-3 weeks. Let each company know others are interested (without naming names). The anxiety of losing great talent makes hiring managers move faster and offer more. Its simple supply and demand. Once a company feels like you are in demand, they become more attracted to you as a candidate.

Every senior developer has impressive repositories. Few have quantifiable transformation stories. "Reduced server costs by 40%" beats "proficient in Docker" every time. "Led migration that eliminated 6 hours of daily manual work" trumps "experienced with databases." In senior interviews, they're not buying your technical skills. They're buying your business impact. Stop talking about what you built. Start talking about what you fixed, what you saved, and what you made possible. Numbers don't lie, and hiring managers don't forget them.

Are you following up after EVERY SINGLE interview? Send a thank-you within 24 hours that references specific conversation points and reiterates your interest. Remind them of a funny moment or similar interests you both discovered during the interview. If you discussed a technical challenge, follow up with a brief solution outline or a relevant article. Show continued engagement with their problems, not just gratitude for their time. If you were unable to answer a question you know you should have nailed, it's appropriate to provide the correct answer in your follow-up email. Just make sure you only do this with one question. Persistence with value beats generic politeness.

Here’s the unspoken truth about technical interviews: It’s not just what you solve, it’s how you perform. You might ace the logic, but: - Do you pause and explain? - Do you clarify assumptions? - Do you stay calm when stuck? In recent U.S. hiring trends, companies are placing more weight on collaborative thinking than pure speed. Even top firms like Stripe and Airbnb now design interviews to test how you think with others not just code alone. What gets you hired isn't perfection, it's presence. I’ve seen strong mid-level engineers beat out senior ones simply because they communicated better. So when you prep for interviews, ask yourself - are you practicing for code or for confidence?

Above and beyond” isn’t about working late or saying yes to everything. 💡 It’s about doing the right thing — even if it’s not in your job description. 👉 Jumping in to unblock a teammate👉 Asking tough questions when something feels off👉 Fixing that flaky test no one else touches👉 Saying no when it protects focus and quality It’s not about doing more work.It’s about doing the work that matters — for the team, the product, and the user. Has your manager given you clear feedback on what it means to go “above and beyond” for your next promotion?