The last few months have been nothing short of challenging. I hadn't received my salary for the last four months and after that I was laid off.This was an incredibly tough phase, both financially and emotionally.

I started applying for jobs regularly in early July, and the first company I interviewed at was (BharatX). There were two rounds:

1. Project discussions
2. Machine coding round

Both rounds happened within a span of 7 days, and they went really well. I was hopeful about hearing something positive, but unfortunately, I never got a response. Despite my efforts to follow up via calls and emails, I received no reply.

The Rejections Pile Up

I kept applying to multiple companies, and I got calls from notable ones like Nutanix, Cred, HackerRank, FiMoney, Chalo, Swiggy, Uber, Meesho and Flexport, but couldn't progress past the test/screening stages.

Next, I interviewed at Cloudera (link for exp), my first opportunity with a big company. My first round was perfect — I answered everything about DSA, projects, internal workings of HashMap/Sets, hashing, and Linux. I felt confident when I received a call for the second round.

In the second and final round, which was with the hiring manager, I was expecting a mix of technical and HR questions, but it turned out to be entirely technical. We talked about the team I would potentially be joining.

After such a positive experience, I was eagerly waiting for a selection. However, despite my follow-ups, the HR kept delaying the result.

More Interviews, More Hope, and More Waiting

Around the same time, I received a referral for Razorpay (link for exp.). There were two rounds:

1. Low-Level Design (LLD)
2. Hiring Manager Round

I was hopeful for good news, but after multiple follow-ups, I was informed that I was rejected. This hit me hard. After giving what I felt were great interviews at both Cloudera and Razorpay, I couldn't figure out what went wrong.

I also had a two-hour LLD interview at Allen Digital (link for exp), which didn’t go as well, especially in terms of database design, and I was rejected.

Then I gave 2 interviews at PICE, a fintech startup in Bangalore.
Everything went pretty good in both the rounds, but I still got the rejection without any feedback. I kept asking myself what did I do wrong.

The Turning Point

Despite the rejections, I kept learning and applying. I then received calls from Confluent, Zomato, and Zepto — three amazing opportunities.

I gave:

• 3 technical rounds at Confluent
• 1 interview at Zomato
• 3 technical rounds at Zepto

Finally, after a Culture Fit round at Confluent, I received the call I had been waiting for — I was selected!
After few days, I received an offer from Zepto as well, but I decided to join Confluent. I also chose to withdraw from the process at Zomato, as my mind was already set.

Lessons Learned: Trust the Process

After being approached by more than 20 companies and giving over 22 rounds of interviews, here's my biggest takeaway: Things will happen when they are meant to happen. No matter how hard we try, if something is meant for us, it will come to us at the right time.

That doesn’t mean we stop trying. In fact, the only thing we can control is our effort — giving our best is all we can do from our side. We need to believe in ourselves and our skills.

If you're good enough, good things will come your way. All you need is a little time, persistence, and faith in yourself.

PS - You can find my other posts here - Zomato, Zepto, Confluent