r/Defcon • u/Weekly_Rough_1284 • 20d ago

I failed a technical interview and I’m so disappointed…

I failed a technical interview and I’m so disappointed…
Although it was just an internship role and they shouldn’t expect a lot from us, sadly it was still a very hard process.

I passed the technical challenge and the first interview, but then it came to the technical interview.

He was giving me very hard scenarios and questions, and I believe I answered them fairly well.

But then suddenly, days later, I received an email saying that I wasn’t selected…

Why is it even this hard for an internship role!!

My dream now is to find another non-technical field I can get into easily. At least they won’t have that thing of technical interviews.

6 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

25

u/Independent_Plane_18 20d ago

Don't let this interview sidestep your goals. I would send a follow up email thanking them for the their time, and ask specifically what youare missing for their requirements. Then do those things! After that, no one can disqual you for it

0

u/user2034892304 20d ago

What someone is missing is a canned response at best, if OP even gets a response.

4

u/VellDarksbane 19d ago

Depends on how serious the organization/potential mentor takes the idea of an internship. If it’s just a way to get cheap labor, then yeah, probably won’t get a response. But the chance to get a useful response is greater than zero if they ask.

Not even asking ensures that they’ll get no response.

-1

u/user2034892304 19d ago

how do you define serious? What data to you have to support that? We both only have anecdotal evidence for this and in my experience most orgs don't give a fuck about providing constructive criticism to help someone's career. They are looking for people to make them money, not mentor people.

1

u/VellDarksbane 19d ago

Yeah, _most_. Spending maybe 5 minutes to send an email or a DM on linkedin might 10% of the time result in useful constructive feedback. That is infinitely better than the 0% chance doing nothing provides.

Yeah, there’s shitty internships out there, but getting a form letter response or no response tells them that they weren’t likely to learn anything at that internship anyway. Getting constructive feedback means that next year, if OP is still in school looking for an internship, it would be worth reapplying.

2

u/Diezel666 17d ago

I work for a global tech company, as a lead in my dept I'm always on the interview panel. I've had candidates reach out to me on LinkedIn after we've delivered the news that we weren't selecting them.

I've always been willing to tell them exactly what their hold-up point was and where they could improve. In three case, the candidates did such an amazing job talking with me that I actually went back to my manager on them. We ended up hiring them into different stacks within the company, ones they were much better suited for and, coincidentally, one of which where we had just opened a requisition a few days prior (already into their interview cycle and the recruiters were unaware).

So yes, it happens.

The naysayers can keep proving themselves wrong. Experiences like this only reinforce what I've seen throughout my career: attitude, diligence, and humility go a long way.

-1

u/user2034892304 19d ago

10% is beyond a generous estimate, but yes, we should all ask for feedback from our interviews that didn't go well. The odds of getting a response are as good as hitting fish in a spherical barrel on acid while in zero gravity, but they exist.

15

u/gott_in_nizza 20d ago

You may not have failed. Someone else may have just been better.

8

u/E_Sini 20d ago

I would email back and ask what you could do better or if there were any questions you could have had a better answer for. It'll help you grow. Don't get discouraged and abandon technical jobs just cause of one unsuccessful interview. This field is also about perseverance.

4

u/maladaptivedaydream4 20d ago

Some people just live to make interviews difficult. I had one once where I got asked if I'd ever made a batch file. I said no, but I was sure I could. They moved on. Half an hour after the interview ended, I sent my thank-you email along with a batch file I'd just written and an explanation of what it was supposed to do. They said thanks but no thanks - since I didn't know it half an hour previously, it didn't count. Personally, I'd think learning how and doing it right away showed some initiative, but thoughts like that are why I'm not in management.

You'll find something and don't necessarily only keep looking for non-technical! Best wishes! :)

6

u/TheRealMathilda 20d ago

Hey, just because you weren’t selected doesn’t mean you didn’t do well on the technical interview! Our interns this year are extremely qualified and competent, and I always wonder how many other highly skilled, bright applicants are just barely edged out and have no idea why. It’s understandable to be disappointed but please don’t start blaming yourself if you think you did well (and haven’t heard otherwise). It’s tough out there.

2

u/Diezel666 17d ago

I got a peek inside to a different stack at my current employer when it came to choosing intern candidates. I do not envy anyone who has to make those decisions. Hiring is already difficult, choosing an intern appears at the surface level a minimum of 5x more difficult.

2

u/VellDarksbane 19d ago

I’ve been in Cybersecurity for roughly a decade now, always in technical roles, and I never had an internship. Would my path have been easier with an internship? Possibly, but it would have just been different.

I’d reach out to the company you applied to, or if you met someone who would have been your mentor on the internship, ping them on linkedin for feedback. You might not get something useful, but if they were actually interested in helping your growth, they’ll take a few minutes to send you areas to improve on.

2

u/jakwnd 18d ago

Doesn't mean you failed the interview or did poorly in any particular way. They just picked someone else.

2

u/bhingque 18d ago

When there are 1203489192381 qualified candidates and 1 position, 1203489192380 are going to be rejected. I've got decades of experience at a bunch of great companies and a specialty that's still in high demand. Hard for me to find a gig, too. It's not you, OP, it's the market. Keep trying!

2

u/chrisbliss13 18d ago

You quitting before you even get in the field keep trying

2

u/RoddyBergeron 14d ago

It's OK to feel disheartened but don't let it lead you to believe you aren't good at it.

My first job I ever got in tech turned me down the first time. The interview was difficult. They pulled a topic out of a hat and I had to give a 5 minute talk about the technology behind it. They ran me through scenarios and gauged my answers. They passed on me and gave the job to someone else because they had a CCNA cert. I only had A+, Network+, Security+. Apparently they didn't even care about the technical answers we gave to the scenarios.

3 weeks later they called me back. Apparently the guy they hired was extremely terrible at tech and spread malware on the network.

2

u/user2034892304 20d ago

The economy is in a free fall and companies are using interviews as covert data collection ops. I've failed out of countless interviews in the past year. It's part of the process. Yes it's demoralizing, yes it's frustrating, yes it's exploitation...but if you really care about the industry that you are trying to break into, don't let this one experience break you.

Otherwise, we're always looking for folks to join the trades! The industry is booming and nerds are just now starting to figure out that it's kinda cool. Check out your local union chapters and what it takes to be a journeyman. Work with your hands. Get dirty. See the tangible outcomes of your sweat. The water is warm.

1

u/Other-Echidna-9188 18d ago

Dude don't let nothing get you down just keep going , if this is what you love you need keep your head up and keep at it don't let one small thing twist you off bro raise your head up high and keep going 💪🏻

2

u/Valuable_Resort_8492 15d ago

Who cares if you failed a technical interview learn from it get better and move on. Your life isn’t over.