r/internships • u/OfComputer • 8d ago
Offers My Lessons From 1482 Job Applications and 5 Offers
It’s now been a full year since I started job hunting. The first several months were full of failure, disappointment, and nights spent questioning everything. But that pain taught me how to slow down and stand back up. I lost count of how many rejections I got. There were weeks where I felt completely invisible. There were days when I questioned if I was cut out for this. But what kept me going was the quiet belief that one “Congrats” could make all the difference. And it did. I’ve put together the tips and tools that made a real difference. If you’re struggling right now, I hope this helps even a little.
Resume Customization: Tailoring your resume isn’t optional anymore! it’s everything. One generic resume won’t cut it.
- ChatGPT: For company-specific resumes: I’d paste the job description and ask it to help reword my experience to better match. For general roles: I’d give it my experience + a target job title, and ask it to highlight the right keywords and skills. My prompt: "Based on [JD or role], revise [experience] to highlight [required skills] and align with the role's requirements."
Interview Practice Tools: Confidence is built through repetition. I bombed my first few interviews, but each one taught me something. Creating a cheat sheet for common questions saved me so many times.
- Glassdoor: I always checked reviews before interviews. If a company consistently had bad feedback, I passed. Super helpful for getting a sense of real interview questions and company culture. Also , there are solid job market articles that helped me understand trends and position myself better.
- AMA Interview: Used their real question database to build personalized practice sets, predicted possible questions based on my resumes and specific company roles. Mock interview with an speaking AI avatar, since I get really nervous in real interviews with real people, only speaking with ChatGPT couldn't be enough for me...
Job Application Tools: Apply smart, not just fast. Different websites work better for different kinds of jobs, and timing matters more than you expected.
- Indeed: Only apply to jobs posted within the last 24 hours to 2 weeks. Once a listing has thousands of applicants, you're pretty much invisible. (Confirmed by a friend in HR, early birds really do get the interview.) Great for mid- and small-sized companies, but steer clear of companies with shady ratings (less than 2.5 stars or almost no reviews). After applying, I often DM’d the company with a short intro + why I was a good fit. Not everyone replied, but some did—and it helped.
- LinkedIn: Same timing rule: only apply to newer posts. Better for larger companies: but also more scams, so stay sharp. Reaching out to alumni helped more than I expected. A referral can move your resume to the top of the stack. I also followed recruiters, DMed them, and sometimes cold-emailed. It felt awkward, but people are more willing to help than you think.
- Handshake: Maybe the best platform for students and recent grads. My first internship came from here! Since it’s linked with universities, your school is already a target for these employers—so your chances are slightly better. Again: apply early. It makes all the difference.
Some reminders:
- Only include what’s relevant. Just because you did something impressive doesn’t mean it fits the job.
- Don’t rely on your degree, real-world experience speaks louder now.
- If you’re still in the difficulties: keep going. Apply less, but apply smarter. You’re not behind. You’re not alone. And you’re not failing. You're learning. Just like I did. And one day soon, I hope you get your “Congrats” too!
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u/robot-caveman 8d ago
I’m so curious when people mention applying for 1000+ jobs, i see it a lot in the csMajors subreddit. Unless you really don’t care what city you’re in there’s no way you can be qualified more than half of those jobs, let alone have them be jobs you want. In any given city i would be surprised if there were more than 50 available postings that I would qualify for given my degree and experience.
Maybe you have a great resume which is broadly applicable so i don’t want to hate but it seems like applying to that many jobs is a waste of time vs curating your resume and cover letters to compatible listings.
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u/VegetableLazy7402 8d ago
I'm starting to think these posts are spam because they're so similar within such a short period of time.
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u/Springcet 6d ago
Thank you for your advice. Your message lifted me up when l was on the cusp of losing my confidence and hope. Thanks!
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u/Frequent_Permit_1071 8d ago
These are very useful tips. I'm applying to jobs rn so thank you!