I'm 32+, live with my parents and have failed at 4 different startups in the past 10 years, two since I left my last paying job in 2012. In 2014, I had $0 taxable income (due to being unemployed) and was rejected by the following companies:
Google* (third time in 3 years)
Twilio* (x2)
Smartling*
Samsung*
Amazon+
Facebook
Cloudflare
AppDynamics*
DigitalOcean
Placemeter*
E.W.Scripps*
Hatch
AppNexus*
OpenX
ThoughtWorks*
Roost
... several others I can't remember
... several others I can remember, but mutually decided the fit was wrong
... MANY others to whom I submitted a resume and never heard back
* = rejected after in-person interview
+ = withdrew, sensing impending rejection
else, rejected after phone screen
In addition, I took the GMAT and was rejected by the following schools:
MIT Sloan
Stanford Business School
Columbia Business School
Harvard Business School
If you're thinking "Wow that's a lot of calls and interviews to come up empty-handed", you're right. You see, while my resume is (apparently) attractive, I suffer from crippling anxiety, the kind that says "Hey, you have in interview tomorrow! No sleep for you!" It turns out interviewers don't like bloodshot eyes, dark circles and a foggy Xanax brain. (Nor does the GMAT.)
But finally... last week I had an interview at a major university, got 3 hours of sleep but somehow landed the job (pending HR salary approval). It doesn't pay like Google does, but I think I'll learn a lot and I'm extremely grateful that someone finally said "yes" to me. I'm going to make the most of it and will be a better engineer from the experience.
Don't give up! If you have any technical skill, whatsoever, someone out there wants to hire you. Just keep plugging along!
Google* (third time in 3 years) Twilio* (x2) Smartling* Samsung* Amazon+ Facebook Cloudflare AppDynamics* DigitalOcean Placemeter* E.W.Scripps* Hatch AppNexus* OpenX ThoughtWorks* Roost ... several others I can't remember ... several others I can remember, but mutually decided the fit was wrong ... MANY others to whom I submitted a resume and never heard back
* = rejected after in-person interview + = withdrew, sensing impending rejection else, rejected after phone screen
In addition, I took the GMAT and was rejected by the following schools:
MIT Sloan Stanford Business School Columbia Business School Harvard Business School
If you're thinking "Wow that's a lot of calls and interviews to come up empty-handed", you're right. You see, while my resume is (apparently) attractive, I suffer from crippling anxiety, the kind that says "Hey, you have in interview tomorrow! No sleep for you!" It turns out interviewers don't like bloodshot eyes, dark circles and a foggy Xanax brain. (Nor does the GMAT.)
But finally... last week I had an interview at a major university, got 3 hours of sleep but somehow landed the job (pending HR salary approval). It doesn't pay like Google does, but I think I'll learn a lot and I'm extremely grateful that someone finally said "yes" to me. I'm going to make the most of it and will be a better engineer from the experience.
Don't give up! If you have any technical skill, whatsoever, someone out there wants to hire you. Just keep plugging along!