STATE OF THE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING JOBS MARKET, 2025: WHAT HIRING MANAGERS SEE

Summary from the TLDR Dev newsletter

The 2025 software engineering job market is experiencing a paradox: companies are receiving a flood of applications (often 1,000+ per role) but are struggling to find quality candidates, with most actual hires coming from sourcing and referrals rather than inbound applications. The market shows increased demand for product engineers and founding engineers, with remote positions facing more competition but offering slightly lower compensation. Also, issues like AI-generated fake applications and interview cheating are becoming growing problems.