"Seemed like more of a coder than a software engineer"

Anonymous

May 9,2022 at 3:30PM UTC

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"Seemed like more of a coder than a software engineer"

I got this feedback on a job interview, in a rare case of getting any feedback at all. I'm neurodivergent, and have beaucoup social difficulties, but I have currently held a Senior Software Engineer position for over 3 years now. This is bizzarre feedback. Yes I like to emphasize that I love to code, its my passion, but to the point that they think I can't do anything else? I'm not really sure where I went wrong. Maybe you guys can help interpret or give advice to not seem that way in the future? I was quite excited for the role, and this was the final interview after passing their technical exam 'flawlessly' as they stated.

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Lesa Edwards, Career Coach & Master Resume WriterMay 9,2022 at 6:02PM UTC
It would be difficult to give you specific help without being in the interview, but one area I can recommend you look at is the stories you use to answer behavioral questions. Are they heavy on coder stories? Are there other, more strategic stories you can insert into your toolkit?
AnonymousMay 11,2022 at 1:41PM UTC
That is frustrating! I agree with Lesa to be aware of what stories you're telling in the interview.
AnonymousMay 12,2022 at 3:53PM UTC
I am a senior software engineer. I'd like to know what the heck they think software engineers do? Of course we code, duh. I'm currently job searching too and if software engineers don't code, how come 90% of my interviews are tech assessments, coding questions, etc.? Be glad they didn't give you the job. They don't know what they're talking about.