A tactical guide to landing your first (or next) software engineering role — targeting seed & Series A startups through strategic cold outreach.
Not all contacts are equal. Focus your energy on the people most likely to respond and most able to get you hired.
They feel the pain of being understaffed and have direct hiring authority for junior roles. Most likely to act on a good cold email.
At companies under ~50 people, they're personally involved in hiring and surprisingly responsive to genuine, short emails.
May not hire directly, but internal referrals are the fastest path to an interview. A warm intro from an engineer carries weight.
The obvious channel but flooded with inbound. Being specific about which role you want helps you stand out from the noise.
Commission scales with salary, so they focus on mid-to-senior candidates. Worth a few emails but not your main strategy.
Earlier-stage companies are generally faster and more accessible for junior engineers. Here's how they compare.
| Stage | Team Size | Hiring Speed | Process | Mentorship | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 2–15 | Days to 1–2 weeks | Informal — often just a conversation with the founder | Limited; you need to be self-directed | Self-starters comfortable with ambiguity |
| Series A Recommended | 15–50 | 1–3 weeks | Light structure, no rigid credential filters | Good — a few senior engineers on the team | Best balance of opportunity, growth, and stability |
| Series B | 50–200 | 2–6 weeks | Structured interviews, recruiters, more competition | Strong — established teams and processes | Those who want more stability and structure |
Use these resources to build a target list. The key: identify companies that raised money in the last 3–6 months — they just got funded and are almost certainly hiring.
Database of startup funding rounds, investors, and company info. Free tier lets you filter by stage, location, and recency.
Job board designed for startups. Filter by stage, role, location, and salary. Probably the single most efficient option.
Public directory of all YC companies. Filter by batch, industry, and stage. Also check workatastartup.com for open roles.
More powerful than Crunchbase but usually requires a subscription. Check if your library or university offers access.
VCs regularly announce portfolio investments. Follow investors at YC, a16z, Sequoia, First Round, and Benchmark.
Search posts for "we just raised" or "seed round" to find freshly funded companies in real time.
Monthly thread (1st of each month) heavily skewed toward early-stage startups looking for engineers.
Underdog.io, key:values, and similar boards cater specifically to early-stage companies.
Consistency beats intensity. Follow this routine every week to build momentum and keep your pipeline full.
Spend 1 hour on Crunchbase filtering for recently funded Seed/Series A companies in your preferred industry or location.
Check Wellfound/AngelList for open engineering roles at those companies. Note which ones are actively hiring juniors.
For each company, find the engineering manager, team lead, or founder on LinkedIn.
Use Hunter.io, Apollo.io, or check company websites for contact information.
Send a short, customized cold email using the templates in Section 5. Keep it under 150 words.
Track each email in a spreadsheet: Company, Contact, Date Sent, Status, Follow-up Date.
Follow up after 5–7 business days if no response. One follow-up is fine; two is the max.
Two battle-tested templates — one for engineering managers and one for founders. Customize the highlighted fields for each company.
Hi [Name],
I saw that [Company] just [specific recent event: raised a round, launched a feature, published a blog post]. I've been working on [brief relevant project/skill] and was really impressed by [specific technical detail about their product].
I built [link to project or demo relevant to their work] and would love to contribute to what you're building. Would you be open to a quick 15-minute chat?
Best,
[Your Name]
Hi [Name],
Congrats on the [Seed / Series A]. I've been following [Company] since [specific moment] and love what you're doing with [specific product area].
I'm a junior engineer with experience in [tech stack]. I put together [link to relevant project] after seeing how you handle [specific problem]. If you're growing the team, I'd love 15 minutes to chat about how I could help.
Best,
[Your Name]
Under 150 words. Shorter is almost always better. Respect their time.
Lead with specifics. Mention their product, a recent milestone, or something you noticed. No generic "I'm passionate about technology" filler.
Low-friction ask. Request a 15-minute call, not "please hire me." Make it easy to say yes.
Attach proof. Link a project, demo, or contribution relevant to what they work on. Show, don't tell.
At seed and Series A companies, your ability to ship things matters far more than credentials. Here's what to invest in.
Build something relevant to the companies you're targeting. A demo app that solves a real problem in their space is worth more than 10 generic portfolio pieces.
Even small PRs show you can read existing codebases, follow contribution guidelines, and collaborate. Bonus points if you contribute to tools the target company uses.
Build a small feature, fix a bug in their open-source repo, or create a prototype that shows you understand their product. Attach this to your cold email.
Writing about what you're learning shows initiative, communication skills, and depth of understanding. Even a few solid posts make a difference.
Keep a simple spreadsheet. You don't need a CRM — a Google Sheet with these columns does the job. Review every Monday.
| Company | Contact | Date Sent | Status | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acme AI | Jane Smith, Eng Manager | Mar 21, 2026 | Awaiting reply | Mar 28, 2026 |
| DataCo | John Lee, CTO | Mar 19, 2026 | Call scheduled | — |
| BuildKit | Sarah Chen, Sr. Engineer | Mar 17, 2026 | Replied | — |
Click to check off items as you complete them each week.
Build a target list of 20–30 recently funded Seed/Series A companies
Prioritize engineering managers and founders as primary email targets
Write emails under 150 words — lead with specifics, not generic enthusiasm
Attach or link a relevant project, demo, or contribution
Send 10–15 personalized emails this week
Follow up once after 5–7 days (twice max)
Track everything in your spreadsheet
Invest in shipping visible work over resume polish
Use Crunchbase + Wellfound + YC Directory as primary discovery tools
Follow VCs on Twitter/X and LinkedIn for real-time funding announcements