Countless applications. Hundreds of rejection emails. Failed interviews. It was easily one of the worst experiences of my career. Let me tell you how I eventually found my current job.
The Layoff
It was May 2023. I saw a new meeting pop up on my calendar with no description, just an invite.
Instantly, I knew what it was about. Companies were laying off developers left and right. I had already heard rumors about cuts at my company too.
When I joined the call, I saw my HR representative. She told me that I was being laid off along with the rest of my team.
My heart sank.
I didn't know what to think or do. I accepted it quietly, packed up my things, and left the company that same day.
It was a weird feeling, I'd never been laid off before. I'd always left companies on my own terms. This was completely different. The first thought that hit me: "How am I going to pay the bills?"
I needed to find another job. Fast.
The Grind Begins
I brushed up my resume and hit the job boards. LinkedIn and Indeed were my first stops.
I applied to hundreds of jobs. No hits.
Then I found a listing for a part-time teaching position at a coding school called theCoderSchool. I figured it could help me cover some bills and keep me busy while job hunting.
I took the job and honestly, it turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had.
While working there, the owner of the school heard about my situation and recommended a platform I hadn't heard of before: Dice.com.
I gave it a shot. Almost immediately, my phone started ringing. I landed a bunch of interviews but I failed all of them.
Reality Check
Through all these interviews, I realized something hard to admit: I wasn't a strong coder.
At my previous job, coding wasn't the main focus. I mostly worked on cloud infrastructure and basic scripting. Looking back, I was a DevOps Engineer without knowing it.
But now, I was applying for pure software developer roles I wasn't ready for.
I needed to level up. Fast.
I started grinding LeetCode every day. I joined a community called Grammerhub to practice and get feedback. Slowly but surely, I started making progress. I was getting further into the interview process.
But still no offers.
At this point, I had applied to over 400 jobs.
Mindset Shift
Around that time, something shifted in my head: "It's not me that's the problem. These companies would be lucky to have me."
With that mindset, I pushed harder.
I heard about a big Google event happening nearby. This was it. My shot.
I printed 100 copies of my resume, dressed sharp, and treated the event like a mission.
I networked like crazy, handed out resumes left and right. I learned a lot including how tough it is to get referred into Google. Unless you personally know someone well, it's nearly impossible.
Still, I didn't let that stop me.
I kept applying. At this point, I was averaging 10-20 applications a day.
Leveling Up
I built my personal website: branden-hernandez.com. I knocked out 50 LeetCode questions. I kept attending networking events.
At one event, things felt different. Everyone I met was in the same situation as me. Jobless, frustrated, applying to hundreds of roles with no luck.
Talking with them made me realize: I'm not alone. It gave me a second wind to keep fighting.
The Breakthrough
A month into the grind, I finally got an email for a promising opportunity. I scheduled the interview two rounds later, I got an offer.
They liked that I was teaching kids how to code. They liked how I explained complex ideas clearly. They were impressed with the side projects I built while in Grammerhub.
Best of all? There was no LeetCode grind. No "whiteboard coding" or crazy technical interviews.
They were looking for someone to mentor into a Site Reliability Engineer and I fit the mold perfectly.
This was the resume that got me hired:
Final Thoughts
Job hunting is brutal. You can do everything right and still not land anything for months.
But if you're reading this and feeling stuck remember: You're not alone. Keep improving, keep learning, and keep showing up. Someone out there is looking for exactly what you bring to the table.
Keep pushing. Your breakthrough is closer than you think.
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