Sankey

Sankey diagram I'm a May 2020 grad and had my offer rescinded in March/April because the company was very directly impacted. It took over 6 months, but I finally accepted an even better offer with a very stable company.   My job hunt experience: (for context, I went to a top 30 U.S. school and had 2 internships at well-known tech companies) In the beginning, I just kept applying but was mostly met with rejections as new grad cycles were mostly done and almost all companies were reluctant to hire because of uncertainty. I've had several opportunities where I felt like I excelled in the interviews but was met with rejection (those who gave a reason said I lacked experience). After facing rejection after rejection and very few job postings listed, I finally got an offer from Tata around July and was heavily contemplating taking the offer but decided to reject it, going against the advice of this sub (a decision I regretted at the time after another few weeks of stagnation). Around late August, new grad positions started opening and I became hopeful again as I was receiving OAs and phone screens but never final interviews. My guess is recruiters were reluctant once they learned I graduated in May and still couldn't find a job, probably concluding I wasn't qualified. In late October, the company that rescinded my offer reinstated it after making me go through the entire process again (which I didn't understand since I spent 6 months last year with them, but beggars can't be choosers) Around the same time, a different company gave me a chance for a new grad role. I nailed the entire interview process and accepted a great offer (will start in January). From my experience, the new grad job market is extremely rough right now and I feel like I got pretty lucky. I almost gave up at one point and considered going to grad school after my "gap year" (aka almost unsuccessful attempt at finding a job)   Here's my advice (take it as you will) to new grads still searching: * Interviews will be remote for a while. Use this to your advantage. * I had a notebook by my side during interviews where I had information about the company, questions to ask, and possible behavioral questions I might be asked. * For technical questions, I had a sheet that contained a checklist of things to do (e.g. rephrase question back, suggest brute force, say edge cases, explain my thoughts throughout, etc.) so I don't forget anything important. * Ask for referrals!! About half the interviews I got were through referrals, it makes such a big difference. Reach out to alumni on LinkedIn, ask friends, etc. * Make sure you and your recruiter are updating each other * If your recruiter forgot to call or hasn't sent an update in a while, it is your job to reach out ASAP. I've lost 2 opportunities where I decided to wait a bit for them to contact me only to find out the positions have already closed a 1 or 2 weeks later. * Soft skills are just as important as problem-solving * In the beginning of my search, I really only prepared for technical interviews. Make sure to prepare for behavioral questions just as much as technical. Mock interviews are very helpful and so is rehearsing answers by speaking out loud to yourself. * Also, just make sure to sound like you're pleasant to work with. Don't come off as arrogant or a know it all, especially not as a new grad