How I was hired as a Software Engineer in Silicon Valley amidst COVID-19
The odds were stacked against me.
Nobody saw COVID-19 coming.
This lockdown has caused the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and I think it is fair to say that this will not be the last time a crisis of this magnitude happens again. (As I write this, scientists have identified a new strain of swine flu and are warning us that this could be the next pandemic)
Now, let’s set the context about me.
I am an international student who has just graduated from a US college two months ago. Companies were either going through massive layoffs or filing for bankruptcy. The remaining few that are still doing reasonably well are mostly on hiring freeze as the future is highly uncertain. Simply put, it was the most challenging time for me to be employed straight out of school.
Nonetheless, I am fortunate enough to have started my first day as a Software Engineer at Electronic Arts today. How did I do it?
Well, the story is more elaborate than a simple clickbait headliner of
“Do this one thing and get employed TODAY!”
