How do you evaluate candidates who don’t have traditional CS degrees but have 5–7 years of hands-on experience? And I guess a strong portfolio. I’m constantly worried that these automated filters are killing my chances before a human even sees my resume.

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Many recruiters look at practical experience and a strong portfolio just as much as formal degrees, especially for mid-level roles.

Automated filters have honestly become one of the most frustrating parts of applying if you don't have the "cookie cutter" CS degree. I've done some hiring myself, and a strong portfolio + legit experience actually carries serious weight when it hits human eyes – but yeah, getting past those initial ATS passes is the trick.

I've spent hours tweaking my resume for each role, only to wonder if it's even being seen. Lately, I've started checking my resumes with a few tools like Jobscan, ResumeJudge, and SkillSyncer before applying. It's surprising how little things - like leaving out a buzzword or hiding skills in a weird format - can tank your application, even when your real world experience should be enough.

The strongest portfolios are about showing not just what you can do, but making sure the bots actually read it correctly. Curious, do you usually go super in-depth on your project descriptions, or keep it high level? The balance there always throws me off too.

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