One Year, 300 Applications: A Software Engineer's Path to a Job

Jinyoung Oh, a Seattle-based graduate, began his job hunt while still in college, initially assuming his degree would be enough to secure a position. Reality proved otherwise. By his senior year, he was firing off 300 applications every month, yet he rarely received a response. A near-miss with a Big Tech firm—where he failed to land the role despite a grueling week of preparation—left him questioning his career path as he faced a market defined by silence and stiff competition.

To break the cycle, Oh restructured his daily routine into a disciplined regimen: four hours of problem-solving, four hours of project development, and two hours of applications. He consciously stepped away from over-reliance on AI, choosing instead to code projects like a reminder app manually to ensure his skills met industry standards. This pivot toward deep work paid off during a final, five-hour in-person interview. By trading the anxiety of his early attempts for the confidence gained through thousands of practice hours, Oh finally secured his offer, validating the long, often isolating months spent in the library.