This is good advice. I'd add that while I'm looking for someone who's at least competent at the major technologies, demonstrating that you've got promise can co

This is good advice. I'd add that while I'm looking for someone who's at least competent at the major technologies, demonstrating that you've got promise can cover for many sins. To do this, you've got to be willing to take some risks, too. My additions to the above would be: Show enthusiasm for the specific role and even industry that you're applying for. Don't just say that your goal is to be a successful software engineer, say that you're aiming to be able to develop UIs for large-scale ecommerce systems (or whatever, as the case may be). As a hiring manager, I want to know that you'll be interested and not just using us as a brief temporary stopover to fortify your resume. When you're doing an interview, particularly the tech part, there will probably be many questions you can't answer. Don't just say "sorry, I don't know". I mean, do tell them that. But then go on to think out loud, trying to work out for yourself what the answer might be. That's going to demonstrate to me that (a) you're up for pursuing a problem rather than just giving up, and (b) it'll show me that even if you have a specific gap in your knowledge, you've got a sound foundation to build on.