How can I make my resume stand out when applying for remote tech roles?

[xiv]

Due to a disability I need to work from home for the foreseeable future.

I'm a lead software engineer right now, but the pay isn't as great as I want. I've been applying for remote roles, but I've been getting tons of rejections. This is the opposite experience I had as a young engineer, where I could get multiple offers quickly. With remote jobs it seems like you're dealing with a much larger pool of applicants. How can I make myself stick out? Thanks.

[SweatingInAR]

I'm sorry to hear about your disability. I haven't had great luck with faceless online applications in the tech field in general. I have had the most success getting interviews by saying "yes" to every recruiter that bugs me on LinkedIn and reaching out to my network.

For my current employer, I applied to one job and heard nothing back. A month later, I figured out that a college classmate worked here and contacted them directly. That got me an interview, and ultimately a job. I have since talked with the hiring manager of the position to which I originally applied, and they have no record of my application! My resume must have not ticked enough boxes to even get past the initial HR or automated screening.

[seattlecyclone]

The tech job market is tough right now. Lots of companies are cutting back on positions and the competition is fierce. Looking for work can be practically a full-time job on its own. Respond to recruiter notes from LinkedIn. Even if the job they're advertising isn't one that really meets your requirements maybe they're working with another team that would be a better fit. Reach out to past colleagues to see if they have any internal openings. Apply to lots of things. In many ways it's a numbers game. Best of luck!

[curious_george]

Well...

As part of my job I have to look over resumes and interview senior software engineers for remote tech positions on my team.

It is a tough market right now in the tech world, based on the candidates I have been seeing lately. We actually just turned down a person who was laid off from his last job as a lead software engineer recently. Nothing particularly wrong with his resume, background, experience, personality, or skillset. There was simply another candidate who had a similar background and education and experience level who did better during the interview. I actually felt sort of bad turning him down because I couldn't even tell the recruiting agency that he did anything wrong or was deficient anywhere...even 2 years ago we would have hired him immediately, but there are a lot of really amazing candidates these days.

Outside of this - @seattlecyclone has excellent advice and I have nothing else to add to it really except to echo what they say.

I wish you the best of luck. Sorry about your disability.

ETA: I guess my overall point here is, at least where I work, you may want to practice interviews skills in addition to having a nice resume. The resume may be what gets you in the door, but the interview is what lands the job.

[jrhampt]

It's a very, very difficult job market right now for seasoned (expensive) tech workers looking for remote roles.  I've been looking for several months but I am hanging on to my current job because the market of people looking for the exact same thing is so saturated right now...lots of people laid off, lots of people forced to RTO, lots of outsourcing.  Can you tailor your resume to emphasize anything related to machine learning or AI development?  Otherwise, I'd hang onto your current job for now (assuming it is also remote - if not, would apply for an ADA - disability accommodation) and work your network/respond to any recruiters.