How giving up every job offers that I got inspires me to do better
No one wants to give up the opportunities or job offers from a big company. Getting an offer is a piece of luck! Many people don’t want to miss this opportunity except me. :) Yes, me.
As an international student, it is not easy to deal with the rules that are so different from the country where I grew up. Going abroad, we have to deal with the weather change, life transition, culture shock, etc.
I never had a dream to work in a big tech company. I knew that once I graduated, I would work for a couple of years in school or any startups. But I didn’t know what role I was interested in.
Getting introduced to the tech field (data science) made me realize that I would have to compete with other applicants with more skills than I had.
“Are the companies going to hire me, who is a fresh grad?”
I only stared at my MacBook screen to accept that I didn’t have faith in myself. Yes, what I said came true. In my last OPT (Optional Practical Training), where I got a chance to work for a year, I wasted my time finding jobs that didn’t match my skills and experience.
And I ended up in frustrated feeling. At that time, my thought was that I would never be able to get a decent job. Until… I met my mentor, and she gave me a part-time job in the college as a teaching assistant, in which I assisted the immigrant students to learn English.
Nine months passed by, and I nearly finished my OPT session. That meant I had to say goodbye to excellent students, incredible mentors, and teachers I worked with. I planned to go back to campus again to take coding courses, but I was not fond of them. The only that I liked was the way the teacher taught us. I always came to his office during office hours to get help with the coding assignment. Luckily, I still got an A for the courses.
In 2020, it was a massive transition for me. I met someone that changed how I viewed my career. Career is not a thing that made me concerned anymore. Instead, this person inspired me to put faith in myself. Additionally, I got introduced to the UX field from my close connection.
I started to take volunteer jobs during my off quarter from that time. Then, I pumped myself to finish the portfolio. I hoped that I could land a job in a big company. However, everything tore me apart.
I couldn’t accept the job offers from the big companies because I had already finished my internship period (OPT period). So, to get another opportunity, I had to take another degree. I was so desperate. I couldn’t describe how sad I was to let go of every opportunity.
Once or twice a week, I got a message from recruiters of big companies or startups. The only interviews that I accepted were from one financial startup and Amazon. I prepared very well, but I didn’t get accepted because of my limited experience. On top of that, the careers that they offered me weren’t my first choice. So, I took these two interview opportunities as a chance for me to learn what the interview looks like in the tech field. And that’s why I could share my experience in my previous blog, which was about what I learned from the informational interview.
Life is not always getting what you want
Even though my life looked like a rollercoaster, I always treat this as a part of a challenge. We have big expectations, but it doesn’t always go the same way as before.
Plans will change based on our condition and needs
We have a plan. However, we can’t rely on one goal only. We should have created more plans, especially if this has something to do with our future.
Giving up on the job offer doesn’t mean you lose
Instead, it is time for me to learn more about what skills I should improve. I can spend time going back to campus and taking more classes required for my future career.
Having more connections will increase the chance of getting hired
Since many recruiters contact me, I can easily connect with them, and I might ask them in the future if they have a job opening. Recruiters are hard to reach, so I build the connection starting from now.
Hopefully, when I have a chance to do another internship next year, I will find my way out to work full-time in the future in my dream company.
