Applying to dozens of roles and hearing nothing back? You’re not alone. As part of DevFest 2026: Build. Secure. Scale., GDG Burnaby is bringing together recruiters from leading tech companies for a candid look at what happens on the other side of the “Apply” button.
This moderator-led panel covers roles across Software Engineering, Data Engineering & Infrastructure, AI/Machine Learning, and Hardware/Computer Engineering.
We’ll tackle the questions candidates really want answered:
What happens after you click Apply?
Does the ATS really matter?
Do referrals actually work?
Does applying early make a difference?
What do recruiters notice in the first few seconds?
Why do qualified candidates get rejected?
Does tailoring your resume work?
Internships vs. projects vs. research vs. certifications: what counts most?
Do university reputation, GPA, location or work authorization matter?
How is AI changing recruiting?
Agenda
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Hosted By
Vaishnavi Venkata Subramanian, GDG Burnaby Lead Organizer
Vaishnavi is a Software Engineer passionate about working collaboratively and a champion for DEI, neurodiversity and accessibility.
She firmly believes that by breaking down silos and encouraging open communication, teams can achieve great things together. She understands the importance of creating empathetic products and services that can be used by people of all abilities and is constantly seeking ways to incorporate this mindset into her work.
She has saved withering codebases and refactored chunks of code to make it readable. Her passion lies in developing robust systems, enabling easy maintenance of codebases, refactoring to avoid redundancies, and eliminating code smells and anti-patterns.
She is passionate about improving ways of working and increasing business speed by accelerating value delivery and visual communication.
She is currently an ambassador for Google Women TechMaker (WTM) program, Drawify, Grammarly and Organizer of GDG Burnaby. She uses her voice to bring representation in Product, User Experience, Neurodiversity and Tech across all these platforms.
Rajat Dipta Biswas, Co Organizer GDG Burnaby
Sneha Jain, Co-organizer GDG Burnaby and Director
Healthcare innovation strategist and technology aficionado
Shivanshu Bansal, Software Engineer
Waquas Mohammad, Organizer GDG Burnaby
Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-burnaby-presents-breaking-into-tech-how-to-actually-get-the-interview/.
