It's placement season.
Every day, someone updates their LinkedIn headline.
"Incoming Software Engineer."
"Excited to announce..."
"Thrilled to share..."
And every day, I click the like button.
Not because I'm genuinely excited.
Sometimes because I don't know what else to do.
Most of my classmates are getting placed. Some got offers months ago. Some got multiple offers. Some seem to have everything figured out.
Meanwhile, I'm still here.
Preparing.
Applying.
Waiting.
Repeating.
The strange thing is that I don't feel completely unqualified.
I have built projects.
I have spent countless hours learning.
I have solved problems, fixed bugs, and stayed up late trying to improve myself.
Yet the result is still the same.
No offer.
No congratulatory post.
No certainty.
Just another day.
What makes it harder is realizing how much opportunity depends on things outside pure skill.
Referrals.
Connections.
Networks.
Knowing the right person at the right time.
Some students have seniors helping them. Some have friends sharing opportunities. Some already have a network.
I don't.
And that's a lonely feeling.
People often say, "Just keep applying."
They're not wrong.
But they also don't talk about what happens mentally when rejection becomes routine.
You start questioning everything.
Am I not skilled enough?
Am I learning the wrong things?
Am I falling behind?
Did I waste my time?
The overthinking becomes exhausting.
You compare yourself with everyone.
You compare your projects.
Your resume.
Your progress.
Your future.
And eventually, you stop comparing yourself to where you were yesterday and start comparing yourself to everyone else.
That's when things become dangerous.
Because no matter how much progress you've made, somebody will always be ahead.
Lately, life feels stagnant.
Not because I'm doing nothing.
But because the effort and the results seem disconnected.
Every day looks the same.
Study.
Apply.
Wait.
Sleep.
Repeat.
Sometimes nothing feels exciting anymore.
Not coding.
Not scrolling.
Not watching videos.
Nothing.
It's as if my mind has become stuck in a loading screen.
But maybe that's what this phase is.
A waiting room.
An uncomfortable one.
A frustrating one.
A lonely one.
But still a waiting room.
I don't have a success story to end this post with.
No offer letter.
No breakthrough moment.
No lesson that magically fixes everything.
I'm writing this because I know there are others refreshing their inboxes, checking placement portals, and wondering if they're the only ones feeling this way.
You're probably not.
And neither am I.
For now, all we can do is keep moving.
Even if the progress feels invisible
Top comments (2)
Yes, let's keep moving. We'll get where we're meant to be. Wishing you all the best. :)
Thank you so much, Bhuvi. 🙂 That really means a lot to me. Sometimes a few kind words are enough to make a difficult phase feel a little lighter. Wishing you all the best on your journey too—we'll get there, one step at a time. :)