8 Reasons Why Global Companies Reject Indonesian Engineers (and How to Fix it)

You have already submitted applications to five, ten, even twenty global companies but all of them got rejected or ghosted. There are a few very specific reasons why this happens, and it is not about "your skills are not good enough."

From the perspective of a global hiring manager, they are not rejecting Indonesian engineers specifically. They are rejecting applications that are not properly framed, CVs that do not "speak" their language, or profiles that are not aligned with what they are looking for at global scale.

The difference between an Indonesian engineer who gets rejected and one who gets accepted is often not technical skill, but how you present your skill, how you frame your experience, and how your LinkedIn profile is set up. These three simple things make a huge difference.

If you are applying as an Indonesian engineer to global roles, especially through platforms like RainTech that already understand the market, this article will help you understand why your applications might not be proceeding, and more importantly, how to fix each issue.

Reason 1: Your CV does not "Speak" Global Language

Local Indonesian CVs are often written for hiring managers in Indonesia who know the Indonesian market and company ecosystem. But the same CV will not "resonate" with a hiring manager in Silicon Valley or London who does not know PT XYZ where you worked, does not understand what "Indonesian unicorn startup" means, and cannot immediately understand the impact of your project.

The problem:

You write: "Developed APIs for e-commerce platforms. Used Python and PostgreSQL. Collaborated with a team of five."

Global hiring manager reads: "Hmm, developed APIs—but what is the impact? How much traffic did it handle? Was scaling important? What problem did this solve?"

He does not immediately understand the value you bring.

The fix:

Reframe every achievement with the formula: Challenge → Action → Result with concrete metrics.

Example:

"Redesigned e-commerce platform API architecture to handle 10x traffic growth during peak season. Migrated from monolithic Python app to microservices (Go + gRPC). Reduced API latency from 2 seconds to 100 milliseconds. Handled 50,000 requests per second. I worked with a team of 4 engineers over 4 months."

What is different?

• Specific problem (handle 10x traffic growth during peak season).
• Specific solution (microservices, Go, gRPC).
• Quantified result (latency from 2s to 100ms, 50K RPS).
• Team size and timeline are clear.
• The global hiring manager can immediately understand: "Ah, this engineer handles scale. Understands architecture decisions. Delivers concrete results."

Reason 2: Your LinkedIn Profile is Incomplete or Generic

LinkedIn is a public resume that hiring managers will check before or after reviewing your formal CV. If your LinkedIn headline is generic ("Software Engineer"), there is no clear summary, or your last activity was two years ago, the hiring manager will immediately become skeptical.

The problem:

• Your headline: "Software Engineer at ABC Company" (not informative).
• Summary section: Empty or generic sentences like "Passionate about technology and solving problems."
• Experience description: Vague, no metrics, no technologies listed.
• Profile photo: Too casual or missing.
• Last activity: Looks inactive for the last several months.

From the hiring manager's perspective: "This person either is not serious about a global career, or does not understand the importance of personal branding in the global market."

The fix:

• Headline: Write a headline that is informative and keyword-rich. Example: "Backend Engineer | Python, Go, System Design | 5Y+ Building Fintech at Scale."
• Summary: Write 250–300 words about who you are, what you specialize in, and what you are looking for. Example: "Backend engineer with 5 years of experience building scalable systems in fintech. Expert in Python, Go, PostgreSQL, Kubernetes. Most recent achievement: scaled database architecture to handle 10M+ daily transactions. Currently interested in roles involving: distributed systems, payment processing, or infrastructure at scale."
• Experience: Describe each role with specific technologies and impact. Example: "Owned backend services for payment processing. Built in Go with gRPC. Maintained 99.99% uptime SLA. Mentored 2 junior engineers."
• Photo: Use a professional headshot. Not a vacation photo or casual Instagram selfie.
• Activity: Share insights or engage with content at least once a month. You do not need to post every day, but do not be silent for a year.

Reason 3: Your CV is Too Long or Padded with Irrelevant Info

In Indonesia, a two to three page CV is normal. In the global market, one page (for engineers with 0–5 years) or maximum two pages (5+ years) is expected. If your CV is three or more pages, hiring managers will assume: you cannot prioritize (everything feels equally important), or you are padding with irrelevant info to make your CV look longer.

The problem:

You include:

• Every online course you have ever taken (Python101, Web Dev Bootcamp, etc.).
• Every company outing or internal training.
• Every soft skill listed under experience (teamwork, communication, etc.).
• Detailed salary and benefits from each company.
• Full address and ID number.

Global hiring manager sees: "A lot of fluff, not clear what is truly important."

The fix:

Keep your CV concise. Include only:

• Contact info (name, email, phone, LinkedIn, GitHub).
• Professional summary (3–4 lines).
• Experience (most recent first, 3–5 bullets per role with concrete impact).
• Skills (10–12 most relevant, not 50).
• Education (degree, university, graduation year—that is all).
• Optional: Notable projects or open source contributions.

And remove:

• Photo (unless specifically requested).
• Salary, benefits, or detailed personal info.
• Every online course that is casual (unless it is a relevant certification).
• Soft skills description (soft skills should be demonstrated through achievement descriptions).

Reason 4: Your Technical Skills are not Clearly Articulated

Global companies hire for specific technical needs. If your CV lists "programming skills" or "experienced with various technologies" but does not get specific, the hiring manager does not know exactly what you can do.

The problem:

You write: "Skilled in backend development and database management"

The hiring manager thinks: "Okay, but which one? Python or Java? PostgreSQL or MongoDB? REST API or gRPC? I do not know."

The fix:

Be specific about:

• Programming languages (Python, Go, Java, Rust, etc.) and proficiency level (fluent, experienced, familiar).
• Frameworks (Django, Fast API, Spring Boot, etc.).
• Databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, etc.).
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, etc.).
• DevOps/Infrastructure (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, etc.).
• Other tools that are relevant to the role.

Format: "Backend: Python, Go | Frameworks: Fast API, Gin | Databases: PostgreSQL, Redis | Cloud: AWS (EC2, RDS, Lambda) | Infrastructure: Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform"

This immediately clarifies what you can do, and the hiring manager can match it against the job requirement.

Reason 5: You are "Over-Humble" or Vague About Achievements

This is a unique challenge for many Asian engineers, including Indonesians. You tend to downplay achievements or describe them with language that is too vague because of cultural norms around humility.

But in the global market, vague or humble descriptions become invisible.

The problem:

You write: "Helped improve system performance and reliability"

Global hiring manager reads: "Hmm, helped—but who led this? What was the percentage improvement? Did it stick, or was it temporary? Unclear."

The fix:

Own your achievements. Use clear language:

• "Led architecture redesign..." (not "Helped improve...")
• "Reduced latency by 60%..." (not "Made system faster...")
• "Mentored 3 junior engineers..." (not "Helped junior engineers...")
• "Owned end-to-end ownership of feature X..." (not "Worked on feature X...")

Ownership language is important because global hiring managers want to hire engineers who can drive results, not just contribute.

Reason 6: You Don't Have a GitHub or Portfolio Evidence

If you are applying for an engineering role, the hiring manager likely will check your GitHub or ask for a portfolio. If your GitHub is empty or has only beginner projects, or worse—you do not have a GitHub at all—that creates doubt.

The problem:

• GitHub profile is empty (no projects, no contributions, no activity).
• Or you have a few projects but the code is messy or incomplete.
• Or the profile is private and you do not have a public portfolio.

The fix:

• If you have a GitHub, make sure you have two to three projects that are pinned, and each project has a clear README that explains: the problem it solves, technologies used, how to set it up, and (if available) a link to a live demo.
• If the project is a side project or open source contribution, that is a plus.
• If you do not have one yet, you do not need to pressure yourself to create a portfolio from scratch. But at minimum, during interviews, you should be able to explain your technical work clearly.

From the hiring manager's perspective: "I want to see evidence of your technical skill. GitHub is one way to verify, but if you do not have it, a clear explanation during the interview is fine too."

For more detailed guidance on building a portfolio that showcases your work globally, read "Strategic Portfolio Building: How Indonesian Engineers Fix Job Hopping History in 12 Months.”

Reason 7: You Don't Research the Company or Role Before Applying

Global hiring managers can tell immediately if an applicant did not research the company or role before applying. If you apply with a generic cover letter or give generic answers during interviews, that signals: "You are just chasing any job, not specifically interested in us."

The problem:

• Cover letter (if included): Generic or copy-pasted template.
• Resume objective (if included): "Looking for a challenging role to grow my skills" (generic).
• During the interview, you cannot explain why you are specifically interested in the company or role.

The fix:

Before applying:

• Read the company website, product, and recent news or blog posts.
• Understand what the company does and why it is interesting to you.
• Read the job description in detail; understand the tech stack and responsibilities.
• Prepare two to three genuine reasons why you are interested—not generic, but specific.

During the interview:

• Demonstrate knowledge about the company.
• Ask informed questions about the technical challenges they are facing, team structure, or product direction.
• Show genuine curiosity and interest, not "just looking for any job."

For deeper insight into how to position yourself for roles that align with your career goals and lead to competitive compensation, read "From Local to Global: How to Land a USD Salary as an Indonesian Engineer"

Reason 8: You are Applying to Roles That Don't Match Your Level or Background

This is also a common mistake. Indonesian engineers sometimes apply to roles that are too junior or way too senior, or the skill set is completely different from their background.

The problem:

Examples:

• You are a backend engineer with three years of experience, but you are applying to a "Principal Backend Engineer" role that is looking for 10+ years with team leadership experience.
• Or you are a full stack engineer, applying to a "Data Science" role even though you do not have an ML background.
• Or you are a junior engineer, applying to a "Staff Engineer" role expecting to learn on the job.

Global hiring manager: "Applicant clearly did not read the job description or does not understand the requirements."

The fix:

Before applying:

• Read the job description carefully; understand the required experience level and skills.
• Match: you should have 70–80% of the required skills. If you only have 30–40%, the gap is probably too big.
• Understand the difference between junior, mid, senior, and staff level engineer—apply to the level that is appropriate for your experience.

If there is a hard skill gap (for example, the job requires Go but you only have Python), that is fine—you can learn. But if there is an experience level gap or domain gap (backend vs data science), that becomes a red flag.

How RainTech Helps Indonesian Engineers Navigate These Issues

If you apply through RainTech to global companies, their team is already familiar with these patterns. They will:

1. Review your CV and LinkedIn with the lens "Does this resonate with a global hiring manager?"
2. Provide specific feedback—not generic feedback, but concrete: "Your headline is still too generic, change to X", "Your achievement description is vague, reframe with metrics", etc.
3. Guide you through interview preparation so you can demonstrate your skills and cultural fit with the company.
4. Match you to roles that are appropriate—not every role, but roles that are truly aligned.

From their experience working with thousands of Indonesian engineers and global hiring companies, they know exactly what works and what does not.

Conclusion

Most Indonesian engineers who get rejected are not rejected because "your skills are not good enough." They are rejected because:

1. Their CV or profile is not properly framed for a global audience.
2. They do not clearly articulate impact and achievements.
3. Their CV is too long or padded with irrelevant info.
4. Their technical skills are not specific enough.
5. They do not own their achievements (over-humble).
6. They do not have evidence of technical skill (GitHub portfolio).
7. They do not research the company or role before applying.
8. They apply to roles that do not match their experience level.

If you have already applied to global companies but keep getting rejected or ghosted, chances are one of these eight reasons applies to you.

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References:

1. Podawaa, How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for a Job Search 
2. Indeed Career Advice, How to Create a CV for an Engineer
3. LinkedIn, How To Explain a Gap in Your Employment History