For those who know me well, you’ll understand just how much I’ve struggled trying to land this job. For those who only know me a little or have met me recently, it might seem like I’ve always had everything figured out. Some might even envy, thinking: “This guy is well-educated, smart, and has done well in difficult courses and has a bunch of skills—of course, he was going to get a good job!” But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Honestly, it felt like I had incredibly bad luck regarding jobs for a long time. And that’s ironic because, in many other areas of life, I’ve always felt extremely lucky. Maybe it’s my positive outlook—finding good things even after challenges—but in the job market, I couldn’t catch a break.

In my first year of undergrad, nobody told me I needed to apply for internships as early as January. By March or April, when I started applying, every decent internship had long since been filled. I ended up spending that summer in a two-month job helping unemployed people learn computer skills. It wasn’t the worst experience, but it was not quite what I’d dreamed of either.

Summer 2020 was worse, though. COVID hit, and internships were scarce. I started applying early but got rejection after rejection. At first, I thought, “It’s just COVID; everyone’s in the same boat.” But as the next few summers passed, things didn’t improve.

In 2021, I managed a few interviews but ended up working in a position that involved … just … photocopying. Yep. Another summer, another disappointment.

The following year, I came closer to something exciting: a promising interview with a well-known company in econ circles. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that then and didn’t take it seriously enough, so I missed out. I ended up reaching out to my former boss, who got me a job with her mom, the company’s CFO. Sure, it was a step up, but still not a role that excited me.

By this point, I’d gone through four summers without securing a meaningful internship. It felt like every attempt to build my resume had fallen flat.

I stayed in school for a fifth year, as more math classes would strengthen my graduate school applications. I also worked as a research and teaching assistant. I also networked with anyone who would give me the time of day. I thought, With all this effort, I have to get something in this Industry.

But I didn’t. After 50+ networking calls (starting the summer before and over the school year), I still didn’t land a single interview with the firms I targeted. This was my fifth summer of failure. It hit me hard, brought me to tears, and felt personal—like something was fundamentally wrong with me. Yet, that same year, I was accepted into every graduate program I applied to, increasing the contrast: thriving in academia but failing in industry.

That summer before grad school, I decided to take a break. I met new people, hit a bench PR at the gym, and enjoyed having fewer responsibilities for the first time in years. It was the first summer I was “unemployed,” and it felt refreshing as in previous summers, I was doing part-time school, full-time work and some more part-time work.

When my master’s program started, I was determined to finally get my break. My first application went out before classes even began—while I was on vacation in Colombia. I didn’t waste time, applying the same day I saw the posting. Later that year, with two referrals secured through networking, I landed two first-round interviews… and got rejected. Twice.

That hurt, but I was okay with it. At least I’d made it to the interview stage. What frustrated me more was being ghosted or rejected without ever getting an interview. It made me feel like there was some unchangeable flaw in me. The job I applied for that summer? I applied for it four times that year. I finally got an interview and made it all the way to the case study round—my first case study interview ever—and failed. I studied hard, but it just didn’t go my way.

From July to November 2023, I applied to four jobs in the four companies I targeted. But from November to the following July, I sent out 900 more applications. I applied every single day, saving jobs throughout the week for mass applications on weekends. Some Saturdays, I’d spend hours applying to 20 jobs at once. There was even a stretch where I sent out 300 applications without getting a single interview.

It was demoralizing.

Things finally turned around during the summer of 2024. I started getting interviews with some big names. The Deloitte interview (my current job) came with a referral from a friend I’ve known since undergrad. Not surprisingly, when I applied without the referral, I didn’t even pass the initial screening. By this point, I was exhausted. I told myself that if I didn’t land this Deloitte job, I’d take a break from applying altogether. Fortunately, I made it to the final round—a partner interview. And this time, things worked out.

So here I am, writing this blog post with a job I’m genuinely proud of. It was a struggle—a colossal struggle—but I made it. To anyone out there still applying, getting ghosted, or rejected repeatedly, just keep going. There’s no magic solution and there is no other way. It’s hard to say if the difficulty comes from platforms like LinkedIn or Indeed, which make it easy to apply for hundreds of jobs, or if the market itself is just that tough. Maybe it’s a combination of factors. Or maybe, as a professor once told me, your first job is really just about luck. Either way, I’m grateful for where my luck finally brought me.