I’ve been new grad job hunting-lite this past cycle. I don’t have much energy in the ignition at the moment. But I can speak about the previous cycle’s internship process. And boy was THAT tiring. I began my 2021 software engineering internship hunt in June 2021. Some of the early applications were to Salesforce and Visa. Needless to say, I failed those in dramatic fashion.
But let me backup, the typical interview process was like so:
- Find a job position
- Apply with resume and cover letter(usually optional)
- Receive software coding challenge on any of (Hackerrank, Hirevue, Codesignal)
- If not a coding challenge, or second round, then a meeting with a recruiter or HR
- A technical round which can be split into a technical and non-technical
- Possibly a second technical round
- Receive either an offer or not
The process is pretty long, and for new grads, it can be even longer with a third, fourth, or fifth rounds. Yuck!
The coding challenges can range in difficulty, and depends on the platform. For companies that used Hackerrank, I noticed duplicate questions from the same problem bank. Others like Codesignal can give you 2 easy questions, with a difficult third and fourth or, they can ALL be difficult.
Some are proctored or at least most monitor tab usage. Other do not, or don’t outwardly say so. Even though I started in June, it wasn’t until October or November where I snagged offers. I failed, or the multi-rounds take a long time. I received around 7 offers? It was a really good season, but I was also tired having to practice and do schoolwork + TA + research. It was also difficult to keep blocking time off on my calendar.
Nonetheless, I feel that if you put in the effort to study problems and your algorithms + data structures, you can reap the system. 2023 and 2022 is a whole different beast. Applications have been lost in limbo, and with rescinded offers + slow economy, who knows when it will pick up again. I’m honestly looking for a less “prestigious” position this time, as I haven’t really practiced interviewing in ages.
The irony of being a 325 TA that does not remember algorithms is not lost on me, believe me.😄
Good luck to everyone though! Whether an internship or your full-time. Keep trucking on and don’t let anything bring you down.
