Silicon Valley Job Hunting Series: The Complete Guide

I wrote this series between 2015 and 2020, as I went from career changer to software engineer in Silicon Valley. I am gradually republishing the posts here, with editor's notes and updates where the facts have changed. This page is the map to the whole series, and I will keep its links current as more posts come back online.

Getting Ready

• Which Programming Language Should You Learn? You want to work at Google, but you have never used language X. Will they still consider you? How big tech actually looks at language background, and why going deep on one language beats spreading thin.
• Heard You Have Been Grinding LeetCode: Data Structures and Algorithms The algorithm round is unavoidable, but quality beats quantity. How to practice deliberately, take notes, and review instead of mindlessly racking up problem counts.
• Software Engineer Interview Prep What should you actually practice, and how do you balance preparation time against the job hunt itself?

Finding Openings and Getting Noticed

• My Job Hunting Experience in America My full job search record from 2015: more than 180 applications, and what the funnel really looked like from recruiter calls to phone screens to onsites.
• Going on the Offense: Which Job Platforms Do People Use in the US? A comparison of the main job platforms back then and which ones produced the most interviews, with notes on where each platform stands today.
• Waiting for Opportunity: How Do Recruiters Find You? How to build a LinkedIn profile that stands out, so recruiters and headhunters come to you.
• The Most Effective Way to Get Interviews: Referrals Why internal referrals work so well, and how my referral mutual-help network got started. The network lives on today at ReferHero.

In the Interview Loop

• How Software Engineering Interviews Work in the US The whole process in one place, from the first recruiter call to the technical phone screen to the onsite.
• Interview Tips: How to Tell Your Story and Persuade the Interviewer Interviews are not just about solving problems. How to present your experience in a clear, structured way that convinces the person across the table.
• Asked About Salary Expectations in an Interview? How to Handle the Money Question What to say when the money question comes early, without naming a number first or selling yourself short.

When You Get the Offer

• You Got the Offer: What to Watch For What to check after an offer arrives, and whether you can still negotiate more salary, stock, or vacation.
• Got an Offer? How to Negotiate Salary: The Sandwich Method A communication framework for negotiation, plus one final move to consider before you sign.

Coming to the US and Visas

• How to Work at a US Tech Company The main paths in one overview: studying in the US, OPT, the H-1B, and internal transfers on an L-1, with notes reflecting the current rules.
• Reader Letter: Job Hunting in the US with a Non-STEM Degree With a non-technical degree and only one year of OPT, how should you plan a US job search? Solve the visa problem first, then the career change.

Note: Immigration rules change quickly. The posts in this section carry notes reflecting the rules as of October 2026. They describe my personal experience, are not legal advice, and are no substitute for an immigration attorney.

Special Situations (Reader Letters)

• Reader Letter: Switching from Semiconductors to Software in Your 30s After years in Taiwan's semiconductor industry, should you start over in software? First, take stock of the advantages you already have.
• Reader Letter: Job Hunting During COVID Job search strategy from April 2020, when the market froze. The playbook still applies whenever the market turns cold.

Not Yet Republished

• Silicon Valley Job Hunting FAQ (2015). Not yet republished; the link goes to the archived original for now.
• How to Write a Good Resume: What US Tech Companies Look For (2019). Not yet republished; the link goes to the archived original for now.

Trends and Observations

• 2017 Global Tech Salary Trends Silicon Valley paid the highest nominal salaries in the world, but after cost of living, Austin came out ahead. The figures are 2017 statistics.
• Who Works One Fixed Day Off and One Flexible Day Off in Silicon Valley? Written in 2017, during Taiwan's policy debate over mandatory rest days, using the working-hours and benefits culture I saw in Silicon Valley.
• Is Winter Coming? On early Uber investor Jason Calacanis's 2018 prediction of a 20 to 30 percent chance of a market crash within two years. That crash did not arrive on his timeline.
• Choices Matter More Than Hard Work Prompted by layoff news at a former employer: what you build and who you work with matter more than burying your head in overtime.

Interviews (2019 Livestream Archive)

In 2019 I ran a series of livestream interviews with friends building careers across Silicon Valley. The archive is below; titles are as of the 2019 interviews.

• Anya Cheng (product marketing manager and blogger): Opportunity can be created. Do your homework, then go network. Watch the video
• Tiffany (sociologist and UX researcher; a Crossing Magazine columnist): From healthcare consulting to UX research in Silicon Valley. Do the work to the extreme, and success becomes a matter of time. Watch the video
• Jackie (PM manager; MIT graduate whose story was published as a book in Taiwan): Plan and make trade-offs around your ultimate life goal; money is not the biggest factor. Watch the video
• Shiqi, known as "Dashi" (engineer at Yahoo, Spotify, Netflix, and Facebook before returning to Taiwan to join the MaiCoin / AMIS startups): Say no, and ask for forgiveness, not permission. Watch the video
• Qiren (software engineer at Workday; Taiwan lead for a custom baseball bat brand): Writing code by day and building a baseball dream at night. Work and dreams can grow together. Watch the video
• Alexander (VP of Mobile Engineering at Grindr at the time of the interview; previously at Facebook): How to become a top mobile engineer, the kind who takes an app from 80 to 100. Watch the video

← Back to the blog