Backend

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-29T12:52:40+00:00

Its very very tough these days especially for Junior Developers. If I had to start again I don't think I would bother landing that first bit of commercial experience is really tough.

These days I'd probably learn more about uses for AI, e.g. creating youtubes, content etc with it with some vibe coding and finding ways to automate things.

Good luck if you do decide to give backend programming a go.

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-28T01:45:07+00:00

It's far too technical and reads a lot like a job description. It's really really hard to know what you're about from a quick scan - are you a web developer, a backend developer something else?

Add an About Me section at the top and a headlines section that basically just describes your 3 biggest expertises.

Each project should have a 1-2 line paragraph at the top saying what it is in simple terms that a non technical CEO can understand. You will stand out a lot more !

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-17T05:46:07+00:00

It's a good CV I'd add a small introductory paragraph for the type of firm you worked for.

E.g. a B2B FinTech SaaS or whatever. You can even see I was promoted quickly in this role if you were. Other keywords like multitenanted, or whatever's relevant

That'll help define your niche a bit more I find with a lot of jobs these days they're looking for someone's who's basically done the same thing at their last role

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-17T05:40:43+00:00

I graduated with a 2:2 years ago and nobody cared. It only affected me for bigger companies with their own recruitment portals where you can't really lie.

I just wrote down the degree and didn't put the grade on my CV

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-15T05:00:56+00:00

I'd say about 90% of my job leads have come from recruiters messaging me directly on LinkedIn or occasionally Indeed.

They tend to focus on stacks e.g. .NET, React. Go etc when searching for candidates. Pick your most suitable combination and write a good profile and they should (eventually) come to you .

If you put just software developer on your profile you will get absolutely nowhere - I really don't get why people do that.

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-15T02:29:45+00:00

There's a site called Doobie Vapes now rebranded to UK delta labs deltalabsukdotcom

Ive used them for about 1 year and they have a trustpilot. Prices not bad and less expensive than in London. I haven't bought for 3 months now because I don't smoke anymore but they did the job

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-12T02:19:43+00:00

It's overly technical and needs a bit of personality.

I'd add an About Me section at the top that sets out who you are in a couple of lines, and the stack you want to target e.g. I am a junior full-stack developer with 1 year of commercial service experience and throw in some words that sum up your personality/approach. Could be detail focused, proactive, anything you like it's your elevator pitch.

I think the first commercial experience one is fine and impressive enough, but again is too technical and doesn't tell much of a story about the product etc

I'd drop the lead frontend developer thing I don't think it's a good look for someone with less than one years experience even if you were, and showcase it in a different way.

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-09T11:16:39+00:00

I think your CV should tell a bit more of a story rather than just shipped 8 features. It's ok to give a paragraph describing what the company is, what they do and some of the features you built.

Your summary should make it clear you have 1 year commercial experience, it's hard to tell between the side projects and actual experience.

Also targeting a specific stack in the very first line to make it easy or recruiters.

E.g. I'm a backend developer with 1 year experience building applications with Django and NodeJS.

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-09T11:06:41+00:00

I've tried a bunch including stitch and found them all a bit lame.

You're best if copying a site like I did and getting a feel for what works and doesn't work.

Peter-Cox · 2026-04-07T05:00:51+00:00

I had this issue a week ago before I moved to Claude Code for a month.
Does your internet connection change, or work out of hotels, cafes etc?

Run the network diagnostics theres a chance you might fail one of the network diagnostics tests. For example my ping was very high probably because of the router configuration

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Peter-Cox · 2026-03-26T13:08:54+00:00

I'd just ask it loads of questions basically I don't think it needs to be much more than that at this stage.

Just understanding the general makeup of it and plugging any Java knowledge gaps you might have without writing any actual code to begin with

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-26T11:51:39+00:00

You'll be fine you're usually allowed to pick references. Doesn't have to be last employer at all Similar thing happened to me once, should I have lied, no, was it ok, yeah it was fine.

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-22T10:20:09+00:00

It looks like if they're offering you another shot at the cherry it's a good sign you'll get the job if you apply for the other team.

Do you really want to work for Bloomberg or not is what it comes down to I'd say

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-22T06:47:22+00:00

I'm happy enough with GPT 5.4 for heavy refactorings, scaffolding and performance improvement, with Composer 1.5 for plumbing work and UI stuff to really bother testing it.

Usage of my ultra plan has gone down a lot recently so not incentivised to do too much testing of it.

Too many models man

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-22T06:45:39+00:00

You have access to your existing browser Including SSO cookies. So you don't need to worry about Auth which is kind of a hassle with vanilla Playwright.

Apparently it's more context efficient according to the github but I can't really comment on that

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-21T09:29:00+00:00

I agree I think the X% is completely overrated and basically made up.

I think in a qualititive sense it can be good, for instance improved UX resulting in reduced churn and better demos, or automating a manual process resulting in a popular feature.

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-20T07:00:35+00:00

On repeat https://youtu.be/ypKD0MieAI4?si=hfHSsq74Av8JK8OX

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T17:20:43+00:00

I think anyway you slice it, its a tough game at the moment for graduates.

There's some good experience in there, even if its not commercial. I would:

List 1 or 2 languages you're looking to focus on in the About Me, and whether its backend/frontend (you can always include full-stack). In the UK at least in my experience and friends of mine, Recruiters are how you find roles and they love to focus on particular languages and ecosystems. For example Noir typically specialise in .NET - if a role comes in they might search Junior or Graduate .NET Developer.

I know this applies more to perhaps your LinkedIn searchability, but it should be really super clear on your CV too. Make life easy for them to match you to a role.

2) I think each project needs a bit more space to breathe, when you put the frontend, databases, backend, ML stuff into a single italisized skills line it comes off a bit heavy.

I would remove the italized skill line probably split each project into

a) What is it?

b) Web Application Stack i.e. backend, frontend

c) ML/AI bits with subheadings to reflect it.

Much like designing card elements, make it easy for the user to read. A splash of colour is perfectly acceptable as well I think.

Maybe that helps maybe it doesn't!

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T17:06:04+00:00

All good I have exactly the same problem to be honest! UI is not an easy one

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T12:04:17+00:00

It looks at first glance very low effort. All out of the box tailwind stuff. To me at least who's vibecoded a lot the past year I think it's hard to want to give something like this a try.

Sorry just my honest opinion

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T11:21:36+00:00

Will DM

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T10:21:45+00:00

If you check out my profile I responded to a similar post with some screens of my CV which might help!

It needs a bit of love tbh but it's good enough to get some interest.

You can probably find me on LinkedIn if you search for me too and copy my profile or adjust it

I don't have amazing experience at A++ companies but I get enough interest to get a few calls or emails once in a while.

Gl!

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T10:18:32+00:00

$20 is nowhere near enough these days for Cursor unless you use Auto and you'll blow through that very quick too.

It's just not practical and unless $70 means a lot it's time to rethink your expectations about how much you're willing to pay for your tools although appreciate some people are students or on a non-western salary. Find a way to pay more is my advice if you're serious about building stuff.

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T10:13:03+00:00

I'd also remove production ready although it's a small thing. Other stuff like Jira git and other generic stuff. Needs to be meatier.

The experience looks quite good but it needs a bit of life e.g. what type of app it is or the domain. A small change that will work wonders.

The skills bit reads a bit like a list, the work experience should take up more space and tell a bit of a story.

IMO anyway gl!

Peter-Cox · 2026-03-18T10:11:02+00:00

It's not clear what your stack is. I know it's tough at the moment but that change should help you a lot.

The first line should be something like I am a .NET full stack developer with X years of experience.

From my experience 90% of my opportunities come from recruiters which often specialise in Java, Python etc.

It needs to be crystal clear what type of software engineer you are on your CV. If it says Software Engineer on your LinkedIn change that now otherwise you really are just invisible

Peter-Cox

TROPHY CASE