Companies are hiring for tech jobs in 2026 (the market and strategy has changed!)

We're breaking down a successful job search strategy that has helped thousands of people, providing job hunting tips and career advice that are working right now.

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Danny shares how to find a job effectively, drawing from recent personal experience to guide every job seeker in achieving their goals. This episode is packed with job search advice and crucial insights for your next job interview.

Stop cold applying to tech jobs. The data proves it doesn't work.

In this episode of The Programming Podcast, Leon Noel and I break down the exact job hunt strategy I used to land over 40 technical interviews in just six weeks. We pull back the curtain on the actual Ashby hiring data to show you exactly why 94% of cold applications result in ghosting, and what you mathematically need to do to fix your pipeline.

We are giving you the exact blueprint to bypass the resume black hole. We cover how to build high-leverage relationships in the DMs, how to structure your resume to force the interviewer to ask the right questions, and the psychology behind the "pattern disrupt" to turn a rigid technical interrogation into a peer-to-peer conversation. Plus, I share the exact constrained questions I ask at the end of an interview to flip the script, secure the offer, and negotiate compensation that shatters standard pay bands.

There is no humbleness on the hunt. Stop playing the lottery and start playing chess. Let's get this bread.

In This Episode:

The Ashby Data: Why cold applying is statistically setting you up to fail.

The Art of the DM: How to reach out to engineering managers and actually get a reply.

Resume Strategy: How to design your bullet points to control the interview narrative.

The Pattern Disrupt: How to break the corporate script and stand out immediately.

The Illusion of Choice: Why you need to stop asking open-ended questions.

Questions You MUST Ask: The exact scripts to lock in a job offer and a higher salary.

Salary Negotiation: How to successfully advocate for pay outside the standard bands.

Resources & Links:

Grab my new book, The Developer's Guide to AI: developersguide.ai

Connect with me on my website: dthompsondev.com

Follow me on X/Twitter: @DThompsonDev

Timestamps:

0:00 - The Strategy That's Working Right Now

01:02 - Landing 40+ Interviews in 6 Weeks

03:34 - The Developer's Guide to AI

04:22 - The Ashby Data: Why Cold Applying Fails

11:12 - The Real Networking Strategy

14:21 - The Art of the Cold DM

24:48 - Resume Strategy & Controlling the Interview

29:09 - The Pattern Disrupt Technique

39:30 - The Illusion of Choice (Constrained Questions)

47:03 - The Best Questions to Ask Your Interviewer

53:03 - Navigating Technical and Behavioral Questions

58:51 - Negotiating Compensation & Breaking Pay Bands

1:01:21 - No Humbleness on the Hunt

1:07:19 - Visual Goal Setting & Accountability