Trying to enter the tech industry – whether it is a pre-IPO startup or a “big tech” company like AWS or Google – requires an extensive interview cycle with many “interview loops” or rounds. The tech industry is notoriously competitive, and facing rejection after multiple rounds of interviews can be a crushing blow. Applying at Google, AWS, and Microsoft is even harder due to the number of applicants and hiring expectations. Statistically, the odds are against you.
You may have the top certifications, advanced degrees, or experience and still be told you’re not getting the job. So what is going on?
It’s crucial to remember that even a “no” can hold hidden value for your career journey. By shifting your perspective, you can transform rejection into a springboard for personal growth and ultimately land the tech job of your dreams.
Remember: You’re not alone
Before we continue reframing our negative job interview outcome, it’s important to unwind mentally and emotionally.
Job interviews are exhausting. They’re a mental and emotional rollercoaster ride as we inevitably invest our time, energy, and money into trying to land the role.
When we first get the bad news, it can be confusing, frustrating, and certainly disappointing. It could be easy to think it’s a personal flaw that led to you not being hired.
Inevitably, you’ll probably ask, “Why is this happening to me?” or, “Why me?” – but it’s not only you. In fact, many other candidates were likely denied, just as you were.
Hundreds likely applied and never had a shot at advancing, based on whatever criteria a hiring manager or recruiter was targeting for the role. Dozens were likely screened by a recruiter and never reached the interview loop stage, where you at least got to participate. Finally, several other candidates, possibly equally qualified as you, were also not chosen.
My Worst Tech Interviewing Experience
Speaking from personal experience, I have personally interviewed at a top tech company that had five rounds of interviews (with each person being a separate round). This required countless hours of my time, including in-person interviews and others virtually.
To prepare, I invested hours reviewing relevant technical information about the company’s products and solutions and preparing for likely interview scenario questions. I had my suit ready for in-person interviews and multiple copies of my resume and certifications printed on resume paper.
Multiple interviewers expressed great confidence for the first team that I would be a great fit for the role. The hiring manager gave me all the strong positive signals that I was their ideal candidate, even confirming my potential start date to join the team.
Then it all went downhill.
A lengthy hiring freeze, holiday delays, and no progress led the hiring manager to refer me to two other potential teams with open headcounts.
Great, I thought. At least I still have a chance to get in.
The bad news?
I had to redo the entire interview loop because it was a new team. I essentially started from scratch, despite the first hiring manager speaking positively of my background and interviews with his team.
And all came up dry.
15 hours of interviews 3 teams 1 company 0 job offers
Each team had five members and required five different interviews, each lasting one hour. Multiply those five interviews across three teams, and that’s right—I gave up 15 hours of my time just to interview.
After three complete interview loops with three teams and about two months of my time in limbo, the best explanation I received was that one team lost headcount due to a re-org, another team chose an internal candidate, and a third team simply declined with no further explanation.
It was beyond draining and defeating. But it made me wake up and realize many of the harsh realities and ways to respond to interviewing in tech:
Nothing in tech is easy, and getting in the door isn’t either.
Remember how I said you’re not alone? Here’s an example of a professional experiencing the painfully extensive tech interview process only to be rejected. This individual also shared his tech industry rejections, some based on a recruiter inexplicably misinterpreting his gender.
The Unexpected Benefits of Tech Job Rejection
1. Expand Your Professional Network:
Each interview is a chance to connect with hiring managers, recruiters, and potential colleagues. Even if you don’t get the job, maintain those relationships. You never know when a connection might lead to a future opportunity or valuable industry insight.
Treat recruiters with the utmost respect, as they are incentivized to help you succeed. If you build strong enough rapport and mutual respect with the recruiter or hiring manager, they’ll keep your name on their shortlist when a similar role becomes available.
You must maintain this connective relationship with recruiters and hiring managers if you are actively seeking new employment. Today may not have worked out in your favor, but it could in three to six months. People leave jobs, switch roles, or a team grows – which equals another opportunity for you.
- Action tip: Send a thank-you email after the rejection, expressing your gratitude for the opportunity and interest in staying connected. Identify 3-5 roles you’d be interested in applying for with your recruiter so you keep your options open and are flexible.
2. Uncover Your Market Value:
The interview process provides valuable insights into your potential salary and compensation package in the tech industry. This information is crucial for negotiating future offers and understanding your worth. While many great sources exist today for anonymous compensation in tech (such as levels.fyi or Glassdoor), you will gain a direct understanding of a role’s compensation structure and your “worth” to that company.
You might discover that you are actually being paid more by your current employer than leaving for a competitor (that’s right: your level of cybersecurity talent may be more than what they can afford to pay you).
Or, you might be drastically underpaid based on current market conditions if it’s been a few years since you switched companies or earned significant certifications. Your current employer may not be giving you a raise in alignment with market expectations if you possess hot-demand certifications or skills, and if that’s the case, you will have learned from this interview process how much money you really should be earning.
- Action tip: Research salary ranges for similar roles and use online resources (like levels.fyi, Glassdoor, or LinkedIn) to get a clearer picture.
3. Gain Real-World Interview Experience:
If you haven’t interviewed in a while, you’re likely pretty rusty. You can practice with mock interviews, but it’s tough to replicate the stress and unknowns of a real interview.
Each interview sharpens your skills. You learn to articulate your strengths, respond to challenging questions, and present yourself confidently. This practice is invaluable for future interviews.
- Action tip: Reflect on each interview, noting what went well and areas for improvement. Practice your responses to common interview questions. What did you feel you were most and least prepared for?
4. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses:
Honest feedback from interviewers can highlight your strengths and areas for development. This self-awareness allows you to focus on building essential skills and increasing your chances of success in future interviews.
Many “big tech” companies like AWS or Google officially have a “no feedback” policy for candidates. But if you build a strong enough rapport with the recruiter, you’ll likely be able to receive some helpful feedback on where you performed best and where you fell short.
An identified weakness may be technical or a soft skill – whatever it is, don’t question the validity of the criticism. Someone from the interview process felt you couldn’t meet their qualification benchmark, and you need to be prepared to better communicate that skill or knowledge in future interviews.
Take the feedback and find a way to improve, whether refining a technical answer to a scenario or expressing more confidence in your responses. Many candidates have technical skills, but soft skills are just as important.
- Action tip: Ask (and insist) for feedback if it isn’t offered. Be open to constructive criticism and create a plan to address any identified weaknesses.
5. The Grass Isn’t Always Greener on the Other Side:
You didn’t get the job at the company you were convinced you were the right fit for.
But then, as you unpack the entire interview process and reflect on the overall experience, you come to a valuable realization: maybe I don’t want to work there after all. Or, similarly, I thought this was the right role for me, but it isn’t.
This is more common than you’d think, and it has happened to me several times in my career.
When the job listing doesn’t match the real-world expectations
The role you read on the job listing can be portrayed very differently than what someone in the role actually does. Or, the expectations outlined in the job listing don’t match the “real world” of people in that role.
“Expected travel is 25-50%,” the job listing said, which you identify as within your acceptable work/life balance.
However, during the interview, you learn that this account coverage requires you to travel more than 75%. If you’re not willing to be on the road for that amount of time, that is immediately a deal-breaker.
Or, maybe you identify a few major complaints with your current employer that, from an outsider’s perspective, this competitor seems to have all figured out. You share with the interviewers your desire to join their company, highlighting how they appear to be better positioned for having that problem solved in the market. But then, they share the bad news: “We have that same problem.”
Suddenly, this job isn’t as exciting as you thought on paper. And maybe this isn’t the right company for you after all.
Don’t compromise out of desperation
When emotions run high in the interview process, it can be tempting to think you’re willing to bend on your “dealbreaker” criteria (e.g., travel percentage, total compensation) just to hear a “yes” and land the role. But that’s short-sighted and can give you “buyer’s remorse.”
Six months from now, accepting a drastic pay cut and traveling more than you’re comfortable will not be worth it.
This is not an ideal outcome, but it is still incredibly valuable to understand. It’s better to come to this realization now instead of accepting a role and realizing you’re in for the same problems that you thought you were leaving behind.
In this case, a rejection is a gift. You didn’t get the role, but it turns out you wouldn’t like it anyway.
Turning Rejection into Resilience
Rejection is never easy, but it doesn’t have to define your career path. Embrace these growth opportunities:
- Stay Positive: Maintain a positive attitude and focus on your long-term goals.
- Learn and Adapt: Seek out new skills and knowledge to make yourself a more competitive candidate.
- Network Actively: Attend industry events, join online communities, and connect with other professionals.
- Don’t Give Up: Persistence is vital in the tech industry. Keep applying and refining your approach. If what you’re doing today isn’t working, be willing to adopt an entirely new strategy.
Adopt a Growth Mindset: it’s not “No” it’s “Not Yet”
Remember, a “no” is not a failure; it’s simply a redirection. By leveraging the lessons learned from job rejection, you can build your network, understand your market value, refine your interview skills, and ultimately secure a fulfilling and rewarding tech career.
It isn’t “no” – it’s “not yet.”
I didn’t get hired by my dream company yet.
I don’t have the Cloud Architect certification they really desire yet.
I haven’t learned Python yet.
This is an empowering, positive approach versus a self-defeating, negative attitude.
Adopt this mindset, and you’ll be sure to stand out amongst your peers in the next interview. And that might get you to finally hear, “You’re hired.”
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