I had a session with one of my mentees this week. She is employed but currently job searching, and it’s been tough. This was my advice to her.
Job searching is very tough and very humbling … and sometimes emotional
This wasn’t so much advice as it was validating what she was feeling.
I just went through a job search that lasted 2 years. I get it. I had a lot of moments where I doubted myself, doubted my skills and knowledge, doubted if I was ever going to find a new job. Job searching can really do a number of your self-esteem. So know that you are not along if it makes you feel like you are not good enough.
It can be hard to remember that you are good enough, but you are. It’s just an extremely competitive market right now.
You're probably not getting rejected because you don’t have what it takes, you’re getting rejected because multiple candidates have what it takes and they only have one open role. Lots of very highly qualified folks are getting rejected right now.
Keep going but conserve your energy
The annoying truth is that you get better at interviewing the more you do it. Taking breaks can help prevent burnout, but the longer you take a break, the longer it’ll take to ramp back up once you start getting interviews again. So keep applying and interviewing, but save your energy for the roles you’d actually accept. Don’t waste energy on jobs you don’t actually want.
But getting an offer, any offer, can boost your confidence
I admitted that during my last job search, when my confidence was getting low, I started accepting interviews for jobs I didn’t actually want, but had the title and salary I wanted. It did lead to 2 offers, which was great for my confidence! But it was also a waste of time, so I went back to being picky. But I don’t regret it. It validated what I was worth and showed me that it is possible to get an offer.
Leetcode is a necessary evil
We all have our opinions on live coding assessments during job interviews, but the unfortunate reality is that in the current market, you can’t get an offer without passing them. Some companies are less challenging than others in their assessments, but the majority of them will do a live assessment - in my experience, ~80% of the companies I interviewed with included a live coding round.
Your portfolio should be your best work
Don’t put something in your portfolio unless you feel like it is an accurate representation of the level of work you can do on the job. A hiring manager is going to assume it’s your best work; otherwise, why would you include it in your portfolio? So if you have a project that isn’t reflective of your best capabilities, either improve it, or remove it from your portfolio. Portfolios are optional anyway, better to not have one than to have a bad one.
What would you ask me if I was your mentor? Leave it in the comments and I might respond in a future post.
How would you go about DA internship interview prep (behavioral/technical)? I never know if I'm studying too much or too little for the technical portions since there's so many software to cover