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Software Engineer · San Francisco, CA
Based on your CV, search behaviour, and live market data for your role and location.
Three months in, ~200 applications, no interviews. Two things explain most of it: you're applying on the most crowded platform, and you're landing several days after the shortlist is built.
Ghost job rate · SF tech postings
1 in 3
SF tech listings have no real hire behind them
You're applying on the wrong platform
LinkedIn receives 9,500 job applications every minute. Google Jobs lists the same roles with a fraction of the competition, and for Software Engineers in San Francisco it converts to interviews at 2.5x the rate.
Switch your primary search to Google Jobs and direct company career pages for the next two weeks.
AI skills are a filter in San Francisco, not a bonus
60% of global AI funding went to the Bay Area in 2025. Engineers with LLM or MLOps experience are getting hired faster and earning 15 to 25% more at the same level. SF companies are rewriting job descriptions to require these skills faster than anywhere else.
Go through your resume for AI work you have already done and move it up. If there isn't any, pick one way to get some in the next 30 days.
You're applying too late
Most shortlisting for SF Software Engineer roles happens in the first 48 hours after a posting goes live. You're applying 3 to 7 days later, by which point the pile is already built. A decent application on day 1 beats a great one on day 5.
Set a 24-hour job alert on Google Jobs. Apply before you perfect your application.
Keyword saturation · SF SWE postings
Direct applications convert at nearly double the rate
Direct applicants make up 12% of the applicant pool but account for 23% of hires. A company's own careers page is a much stronger channel than the same job on a board.
Before applying anywhere, check if the company has a direct careers page. Use that instead.
Your job title may be hiding you from the algorithm
No market has relabelled Software Engineer roles as fast as San Francisco. Miss the title and you get filtered out before a person ever reads your resume.
SF Software Engineer role titles · last 30 days
Search each title variation separately. Add the relevant ones to your resume summary line.
Hiring velocity · SF SWE by company type
Your qualifications are not the problem. The way you're searching is. You're applying late, on the most saturated platform, to a fraction of the market that is open to you, and a lot of what you're applying to has no real hire behind it. Three changes would do more than another 200 applications through the same channels: switch to Google Jobs, apply within 24 hours of a posting going live, and search the other titles your role goes by.