Hi folks.. Need help from people who have been in situations similar to mine. I'm going through severe depression and not able to gather courage to open up to friends. I was a SWE in a 20 person startup(was seed funded when I joined, now post series A) since 1.5 years and in March one of the founders was ousted(He was my TA when I was in college and he is the sole reason I trusted in this startup). I did not like it one bit so I was passively looking for a switch since April. I was interviewing with companies that I did not want to join. That being said I still gave my 100% at work and pushed things forward. My plan was to prepare for 1-2 hours everyday in the evening for 6-8 months and start interviewing from January. However things went south and I was laid off on August 31st. To make things worse I am on H1-B so I was screwed as USCIS announced premium processing suspension. Fortunately, I got offer from one of the companies(publicly traded, but I'm not 100% happy working there). However, In the last 45 days, I interviewed at about 15 top tier companies(Apple, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Oath, Amazon, Uber, several startups in self driving space, triplebyte) and got rejections(some on phone, mostly on-site) because I did not have enough LeetCode practice(from the feedbacks I got, I am great at system design but not quick in coding questions). I had left Google and FB to interview last and still awaiting results from them. Honestly not too hopeful after seeing my performance in other companies. Most startups which I'm really excited are not willing to sponsor H1-B and honestly I'm now slightly scared of startups being on H1-B. I'm not able to cope with these rejections and getting depressed. I am scared that I'll sabotage my career if I join the only option I have now. I have to spend at least 2 years there to not be seen as a job hopper(I spent 2 years in my first job and this was my second job where I have spent 1.5 years). If not for this H1-B shit, I'd take 2-3 months off to thoroughly practice LC style questions and take a crack at FAANG's. I realize I'm extremely lucky to even have a job lined up in this situation, but still depressed :( How do you guys cope with rejections ?
Which company do you have an offer from? Is it too bad to continue at for now?
I don't want to name it publicly as I think they don't hire so many people and I guess I can be identified if someone from that company is here by looking at the info I provided here.. As I said, its the only option I have as of now. Point is, I don't want to work with any regrets. To give an idea of the company, if we consider FAANG +Microsoft + LinkedIn as tier 1. Cisco,Intel,Nvidia,Adobe etc as Tier 2, this is one level below that and culture is similar to Amazon with not so great pay
Thanks. Wish you all the best.
There has to be more driving your depressions...15 interview rejections is not end of the world. I suggest u look at ppl conditions poor than yours, that should make u feel thankful, and being thankful makes 1 feel happy
I still donât get it why do people stress so much about getting into FAANGs
Agreed. From a growth and career progression perspective, joining those companies is idiotic.
1. High TC 2. Work on relevant problems. 3. In my previous company, people with FAANG experience were welcomed with a red carpet and others were made to jump several hoops(I was totally against this practice FYI). TBH, If I had any of FAANG experience in my resume, several startups would easily take me in currently. It's great that you are happy and found your passion some place else, (I tried doing that too, but failed) but I've not yet :( .
Have to up your coding game. No other option... After 6 months try again
Youâre all over the place. First off....go on a vacation. Secondly, chill out on applying to any company that has a career page. Invest the time you wasted doing interviews to actually practice for them. Also....donât be upset- lots of great people get rejected, years later they end up running those companies. Itâs not who you are that made them deny you, itâs where you are at. Invest in yourself buddy- Iâm sure youâll kill them after that.
I think you should see the positive that you have one job offer. Join there and work on preparation for tier one companies. Till that time maybe H1B things will fall inplace.
I am a manager and Iâve been interviewing people for many years. Having a couple job changes that you can explain in your resume is OK and wonât ruin your future opportunities. Having to join a company not to be kicked out of the country is a good reason imho. Also, if you join the company you got an offer from, who knows, you may like it. And once you have a job, that pressure is gone and you can probably do better at interviews. If I were you I would take the job right away. Also, keep in mind that companies who are willing to sponsor h1b can hire from anywhere in the world. So you are basically competing with most of the people in the world who do the same job you do. Not getting an offer there is no reason to be depressed
Totally agree here with @iuga45 If I were yoy I would have accepted the offer to avoid leaving the country. Moreover I think you are more concerned about being stamped as job hopper which is not the case nowadays
I am in a startup too and can definitely empathize. Rejections wouldn't bother me - I can just remind myself of the time when my roommate and I were looking for jobs during the 2009 recession. While I got a job, my roommate had interviewed (phone screens/on-sites) at 24 companies before he finally landed one. So yes I would be thankful to be in a much better position.
how much leetcode did you do?
15 companies? Damn dude you must be near burnout with the interview preps combined with other life stresses. I would be worried that the are subcommunicating all that anxiety. Take a break for a day and completely disengage. Watch a movie, go for a walk. Clear your mind.
True.. I'm stressed out by interviews and all those stupid calls by recruiter to reject me :( .. . I just wish they mail me overnight that they rejected me instead of calling me and rubbing salt in my wounds. I had been in touch with the recruiters from all these companies(had promptly replied to them when they messaged on linked). When I got laid off, I immediately started the interview process(even though I was not 100% prepared)..
Ivqp68, which company r u working now?