Looking for Suggestions & Career Advice – 6 Months of Job Hunting
Anonymous User
3482
interview experienceInterview
Hello LeetCode Community,

I hope everyone is doing well. I am writing this post to seek suggestions and advice from you, and I hope to receive some guidance.

My Details:

  • LeetCode: 900 problems solved, 1800 rating
  • Languages: C++, C, JavaScript, TypeScript, SQL (Basics)
  • Technologies/Frameworks: HTML5, CSS3, Tailwind CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, MySQL, Redis, React.js
  • Main Experience: Backend Development (Node.js)
  • Location: Near Delhi, India
  • Education: Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science (CSE), 2024 graduate from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
  • Resume: My resume has an ATS score of 80, and I have attached it at the end .

Work Experience:

I was selected as an SDE Intern with a full-time (₹30,000 INR per month) opportunity on campus and interned from March to October 2024 at a Mohali, Punjab based service-based startup with around 100 employees. However, the company was not a great workplace due to politics and micro-management. I worked there for 7 months before being laid off. The company usually retained only one or at most two interns out of a batch of 30 students. I and one more student were the last ones to be laid off, while the others had already been laid off 1-2 months earlier.

Job Search Journey:

Since September 2024, I have been actively applying for SDE fresher jobs and internships through referrals and various platforms, including:

  • Cold Emails , Company career websites, LinkedIn feed post links, and Google Forms
  • LinkedIn, Cuvette, Instahyre, Workday, Hirist, WellFound, Naukri, Internshala
  • Joined around 10 large Telegram job channels that post job opportunities and application links, and I apply to those as well.

I apply to approximately 40 jobs daily on LinkedIn alone through job postings and feed posts.

I have also taken some referrals, but they haven’t worked out. Many people don’t respond to LinkedIn messages, while some reply very late. However, a few have genuinely helped.

It has now been around 6 months since I started applying, and I have only managed to get one proper interview so far.

Interview Experience:

I had one interview for a fresher SDE role at a Noida-based company with around 100 employees.

  • I applied through LinkedIn, after which HR called and scheduled two rounds of interviews.
  • Round 1: Went well. The interviewer even mentioned that I would receive an invitation for the second round.
  • Round 2: Conducted by the team lead.
    • He first asked some technical questions, which I answered correctly.
    • Then, he gave me a system design question: Design a Zomato-like website focusing on high-computation analytical pages.
    • I had to explain the backend architecture, technologies used, and how to make it scalable with low latency.
    • Since I had worked with Node.js and MongoDB, I explained the solution based on my experience. I suggested using MongoDB with indexing for better performance, highlighting its flexible schema, which allows easy modifications as the application scales.
    • For the backend, I proposed using Node.js with a microservices architecture, separating services like user management, payments, and orders. I also suggested using load balancers and reverse proxies for efficient request handling, Kafka or message queues for handling high request loads, and Redis for frequently accessed data.

After this round, I received no update.

  • When I followed up, they finally emailed a rejection.

Aside from this, I have only had 3-4 short 15-minute discussions with some companies so far, and then no further updates.

I have also received many online assessments, solved all the problems, but never got any further emails for interviews.

Current Situation & Concerns:
  • It is now February, and in 4 days, March will begin.
  • I have been unemployed for 4-5 months with only 7 months of internship experience.
  • I am worried that my career gap is increasing, and since I only have internship experience, it might become harder to get a job.

Main Questions:

  1. Should I continue focusing on this career path, or should I shift towards preparing for government jobs?
  2. How much more time do I have before my career gap becomes a serious issue in job applications?
  3. I am open to remote work and freelancing projects. Can anyone suggest how I can find such opportunities as a fresher (with less than 1 year of experience)?
    • If anyone knows any websites or platforms for remote jobs and freelancing for freshers, please suggest them.

If anyone else is in a similar situation, please share your experience and what you are doing right now.

Looking forward to your advice and suggestions.

Thank you.

For reference my resume image

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