They Did It.So Can You.

"I got rejected from my dream company twice before landing an even better offer. The key was treating each rejection as feedback, not failure."

The Full Story

I started applying in August before my senior year, targeting big tech companies exclusively. After getting rejected from Google and Meta in the first round, I felt crushed. But instead of giving up, I analyzed what went wrong. My resume was too generic—I was listing responsibilities instead of impact. I rewrote every bullet point using the formula from this site: 'Accomplished X by doing Y, resulting in Z.' I also started doing mock interviews with friends twice a week. By November, I was getting past phone screens consistently. Stripe reached out after I connected with an engineer at a campus event. That warm introduction made all the difference.

What Worked

• Rewrote resume bullets to focus on quantified impact
• Did 2 mock interviews per week with peers
• Networked at campus tech events to get referrals
• Applied to mid-size companies, not just FAANG

"Coming from a non-target school, I had to work twice as hard to get noticed. But that hustle became my biggest selling point in interviews."

The Full Story

Breaking into investment banking from a non-target school felt impossible at first. I didn't have the same recruiting pipeline as Ivy League students. So I created my own. I reached out to every Howard alum working in finance I could find on LinkedIn—probably 200+ messages over 6 months. Most didn't respond, but about 30 did, and 10 of those turned into phone calls. One alum at Goldman referred me for their diversity program. I spent 3 months preparing for technicals, doing 400+ practice questions. The superday was brutal—6 back-to-back interviews—but I was ready. When they asked why Goldman, I talked about specific deals they'd worked on that I'd researched. That level of preparation stood out.

What Worked

• Sent 200+ LinkedIn messages to alumni in finance
• Completed 400+ technical practice questions
• Researched specific deals for each bank I interviewed with
• Applied to diversity recruiting programs

"I bombed my first case interview so badly that I wanted to quit. Six months later, I had offers from two MBB firms."

The Full Story

My first McKinsey interview was a disaster. I panicked during the case, forgot basic math, and rambled through my recommendation. I was embarrassed. But instead of avoiding consulting, I got obsessed with getting better. I joined a case prep group and did 50+ practice cases over 4 months. I learned that cases aren't about getting the 'right' answer—they're about showing structured thinking. I also worked on my fit stories, making sure I had 8-10 polished examples ready for behavioral questions. When Bain's recruiter reached out (I'd met her at an info session), I was ready. The final round felt almost easy because I'd practiced so much.

What Worked

• Completed 50+ practice cases with a study group
• Prepared 8-10 polished STAR stories for fit interviews
• Attended every consulting info session on campus
• Sent thank-you notes after every interview

"I applied to 120 jobs and heard back from 15. The difference? The 15 were companies where I'd found a connection first."

The Full Story

I wanted to break into product management, but I didn't have a traditional PM background—no CS degree, no prior PM internship. I knew I'd need to stand out somehow. So I built a side project: a Chrome extension that helped students find study groups. It wasn't revolutionary, but it gave me something concrete to talk about. I also started writing about product thinking on Medium, analyzing features from apps I used. When I applied to Airbnb, I included a product teardown of their Experiences feature in my cover letter. The hiring manager later told me that's what got me the interview. The PM interview process is brutal—4 rounds over 6 weeks—but having real examples from my side project made the difference.

What Worked

• Built a side project to demonstrate product thinking
• Wrote product teardowns on Medium to build credibility
• Included custom analysis in cover letters
• Networked with PMs at target companies before applying

"I got my job through an informational interview that wasn't supposed to be about jobs at all. Genuine curiosity opens more doors than aggressive networking."

The Full Story

I'd been applying to data analyst roles for two months with minimal success. Then I tried a different approach: instead of asking for jobs, I started asking for conversations. I reached out to data analysts at companies I admired, genuinely curious about their work. One conversation with a Spotify analyst turned into a coffee chat, which turned into her forwarding my resume to her manager. I wasn't expecting it—we'd just been talking about her projects and what she wished she'd known starting out. Two weeks later, I had an interview. The technical round was tough (SQL, Python, statistics), but I'd been practicing on StrataScratch and LeetCode for months. What sealed the deal was the case study: I presented an analysis of Spotify's podcast strategy using publicly available data. They said no other candidate had done that.

What Worked

• Focused on informational interviews, not job asks
• Practiced SQL and Python on StrataScratch daily
• Created a portfolio of data projects on GitHub
• Prepared a custom case study for the final interview

"I was competing against candidates with agency experience. My secret weapon? A portfolio of campaigns I'd run for student organizations—for free."

The Full Story

Marketing is one of those fields where everyone wants entry-level candidates with 2+ years of experience. I didn't have that, so I created it. I ran social media for three student clubs, treating each one like a real client. I tracked metrics obsessively—engagement rates, follower growth, conversion on event signups. By graduation, I had a portfolio showing I'd grown one club's Instagram from 200 to 2,000 followers and increased event attendance by 40%. In interviews, I talked about these projects like they were professional campaigns, because they were. HubSpot loved that I could speak to real results, not just theory. The hiring manager said most candidates talk about what they'd do; I showed what I'd done.

What Worked

• Built a portfolio from student organization work
• Tracked and documented all marketing metrics
• Got HubSpot certified (free) to show platform knowledge
• Created spec campaigns for companies I was applying to

"My portfolio got me interviews. My design process got me offers. Companies don't just want pretty screens—they want to see how you think."

The Full Story

I switched from pre-med to design in my junior year, which meant I was behind. I spent that summer doing a UX bootcamp and building projects. But my first portfolio was all wrong—just final mockups with no context. After getting rejected from 30+ companies, I rebuilt everything. Each case study now showed my full process: research, personas, wireframes, iterations, user testing, and final designs. I also started including 'what I'd do differently' sections, showing I could be self-critical. The Figma interview was intense—a 4-hour design challenge where I had to redesign a feature live. But because I'd practiced explaining my thinking out loud, I stayed calm. They said my process was clearer than candidates with more experience.

What Worked

• Rebuilt portfolio to show full design process, not just finals
• Included user research and iteration in every case study
• Practiced whiteboard design challenges weekly
• Contributed to open-source design projects for credibility

"I got rejected from JPMorgan's summer internship. A year later, I got a full-time offer. The difference was proving I could do the work, not just talk about it."

The Full Story

After getting rejected from JPMorgan's internship program, I was determined to come back stronger. I spent that summer at a small wealth management firm, learning Excel modeling from scratch. I built DCF models, comp analyses, and LBO models on my own time, following YouTube tutorials and Wall Street Prep courses. When I reapplied for full-time, I could actually talk about financial modeling with confidence. In the superday, they gave me a case study involving a merger analysis. Because I'd practiced so many models, I finished early and caught an error in my assumptions that I corrected before presenting. The interviewer said that attention to detail is what separated me from other candidates.

What Worked

• Completed Wall Street Prep courses on my own
• Built 20+ financial models for practice
• Interned at a small firm to get real experience
• Prepared for case studies with timed practice sessions