Fresher stories / Arsalan Ansari

Fresher story

From offers that fell through to my first IT job

Arsalan Ansari | Now working in the IT industry
B.Tech Computer Science, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi (2019 to 2023)

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The journey at a glance

1. Starting point
   B.Tech in Computer Science from 2019. Two relaxed years, then career worries in the 3rd year
2. GATE and the accident
   Studied from 4 am to 11 pm. An accident in September 2022 stopped it all
3. Offers that fell through
   Two offer letters in the final year. Neither turned into a job
4. The search
   100+ companies in Noida in 25 days, then 30 to 40 in Lucknow, and a job fair that led nowhere
5. First IT job
   Two walk-in interviews found on Naukri.com. Joined at Rs. 10,000 a month
6. Today
   Switched after about six months to a much better salary

What I would tell my 3rd-year self

1. Do not treat an offer letter as the end of the search. Confirm your joining date with the company before you plan around it.
2. Build your fundamentals. My GATE preparation made my Computer Science basics strong, and that helped me later in coding and technical interviews.
3. Keep a plan for money. A job search can take longer than you expect, and I ran out of money to even travel home.
4. Look for walk-in interviews on job portals like Naukri.com. My first IT job came from one.
5. Take your first job even if the salary is small, and keep learning. My first salary was my starting point, not my destination.
6. Ask seniors for help, but do not make your whole journey depend on them.
7. Do not read a rejection as the final verdict on your ability.
8. When the road is not there, build it yourself, one step at a time.

The full story

Every story is not easy

This is the story of a time when I had dreams, I worked hard, I made mistakes, I faced disappointments, and there was a point when I began to wonder whether I would get a job at all.

Today, when I look back, I understand that a person's real journey begins when he has many reasons to give up and still does not stop trying.

The first three years of B.Tech

I took admission in B.Tech Computer Science at Bundelkhand University, Jhansi in 2019.

The first two years went in enjoying college life and having fun with friends, and slowly understanding that I also had to build a career. Then came the third year, and with it the tension about my career. I did not know what to do next or how to do it.

I started talking to my seniors. Some of them suggested that I prepare for GATE, since it could open the way to a PSU and a good career. It sounded like a good option, so I started preparing.

GATE preparation and the accident

I took a proper course and gave all my time to studying. I woke up at 4 in the morning and studied until 11 at night. My grip on Computer Science fundamentals was getting better and the preparation was moving at a good speed.

Then, in September 2022, something unexpected happened. There was a wedding at home and I had an accident during that time. My studies stopped completely. I recovered only by December, and by then it was not only my studies that had stopped. My confidence had also dropped.

I could not find the courage to restart the same routine. I decided to revise whatever I had already prepared and take the GATE paper. I revised and gave the exam. After the paper I had a feeling that I would probably not get a PSU selection this time. I now had to find another option.

The decision to go into IT

I decided to prepare for a job in the IT industry and started coding. One benefit of the GATE preparation was that my Computer Science fundamentals were quite clear, so it helped me in coding and technical interviews.

Offer letters that fell through

Then came the final year and campus placements. A few companies came to college and I was selected by two of them. I got offer letters from both. I was very happy. I thought the job was done and I could relax.

After college ended, it was time to join. One company had given me a joining date of 1 July. Before that I tried to confirm, and on 25 June I tried to contact them. At first nobody picked up the phone. When we finally spoke, I was told that my joining was on hold.

The second company told me something even more shocking. They asked me for Rs. 25,000 in return for giving me the job. That was when I understood that I had been cheated in the name of a job.

The offer letter that had made me feel my future was secure suddenly felt worthless. In 2020 and 2021, during COVID, my family's financial condition had also become weak. So getting a job was not only a career question for me. I had to think about the responsibilities at home too. I needed a job as soon as possible, and I decided not to sit at home and wait.

1 July: I left for Noida

On 1 July I decided to leave home for Noida. My family tried to stop me, and their worry was fair. They asked what I would do in Noida, where I would stay and how I would get a job. In my mind there was only one thing. I said I would go from company to company and keep knocking on doors, and somebody would give me a job.

A few friends lived in Delhi, so I could stay with them. It was my first time in Noida. I did not know the sectors, and I could not even understand the Red Line and Blue Line of the Metro properly. I only knew that I had to find a job.

I searched for IT companies on Google, LinkedIn, Naukri.com, Instahyre and other job portals. I made a list of the companies in Noida and sorted it by address and sector. Every day I picked one sector and left in the morning to look for a job.

More than 100 companies

My routine was fixed. I left at 9 in the morning and came back at 7 in the evening. I went from one company to the next, asked at reception whether there was any vacancy in IT, gave my resume, and moved on to the next office.

Almost everywhere the answer was the same: "There is no vacancy right now. Leave your resume and we will contact you if something opens."

Walking the whole day left me exhausted, but I went out again the next day. At lunch I had to think before spending on food, and many times I tried to save money even on meals. In the evening I opened my laptop and phone and checked for walk-in interviews. Most of what I found was call centre jobs or other non-IT work.

Twenty-five days passed. I had visited more than 100 companies and I did not have a single IT job. Frustration was building and my family was asking me to come back. I thought that maybe things were not working out in Noida and that I should try Lucknow.

The same story in Lucknow

In Lucknow I made a company list again and went out looking. I got almost the same answer: "No vacancy right now. Leave your resume." Nobody was ready to even take an interview. I visited about 30 to 40 companies there. After all that effort with nothing in hand, I was broken from the inside.

I decided that I had to do something until an IT job came, so I joined an insurance agent job with Aditya Birla. After two days a question kept coming to my mind. I had studied Computer Science for four years, prepared for GATE with so much effort, learned coding and prepared for placements. Was I going to end up as an insurance agent? If that was the plan, I could have done it after 12th, so what was the point of four years of B.Tech?

I do not think any job is small. But I knew my interest was in the IT industry and I wanted to build my career in that field. So I told myself that I would make one more attempt.

The Noida job fair: one more disappointment

Around then I learned that a Physics Wallah job fair was going to be held in Noida. I took two days off and reached Noida. I had heard that about 50 companies would come for IT roles, and I thought something good might finally happen.

But there I was disappointed again. The number of IT companies was far lower than I had hoped for. Many of the opportunities were jobs through a contractor, or call centre and agent-type roles. After two days at the job fair I had nothing in my hands. Now I did not even have enough money left to go back.

Imagine a person who leaves home to find a job, works this hard, goes around Noida and Lucknow, and at the end does not have the money to return. At that time I felt that maybe I could not do it and maybe I would never get an IT job.

But sometimes, when every road looks closed, a small one opens.

The first IT job

I was checking Naukri.com when I found two companies with walk-in interviews. I noted both addresses and went for the interviews the next day.

In the first company I had four rounds, and I cleared them one after another. In the end they gave me an offer. The salary was only Rs. 10,000 a month. In the second company I cleared three rounds, and they offered Rs. 7,000 a month.

I was happy that I finally had a job, but the salary left me confused. Living in Noida on Rs. 10,000 was not easy, with rent, food and travel to pay for, and I might have to take money from home again. But the most important thing for me then was to enter the IT industry. I thought the start could be small, but once I was inside the industry I could build the way forward. So I joined the Rs. 10,000 job.

From the first job to a switch

I worked in that company for about six months. My focus was not only on doing the job. I wanted to keep learning, improve my technical skills and increase my market value. I knew my first salary was not going to be my final salary.

After six months I decided to switch, and I found another opportunity at a much better salary than before. I learned that sometimes the hardest part of a career is not finding the perfect job but getting the first chance. My start was Rs. 10,000, but I did not make it my destination. I made it my starting point.

Help from seniors

During the search I contacted many of my seniors and asked them to tell me if there was a vacancy in their company. Some said, "There is no vacancy right now, but I will talk to someone." After that, there was no response.

I do not blame anyone. Everybody has their own situation and priorities. But I understood that hoping for help from others is not wrong, and yet depending on others for your whole journey is not right either. In the end I had to make my own way.

What I learned

Today, when I look at my journey, I feel that without the accident my GATE preparation might have gone in another direction. Without the offers that fell through I might not have understood the job market so quickly. Without the rejections in Noida and Lucknow I might not have understood what patience and consistency mean.

I am not saying that struggle is good or that everyone must go through so much. I am only saying that when difficulties come, do not take them as your final destination. There was no shortcut in my story. I visited more than 100 companies, tried 30 to 40 in Lucknow, faced disappointment at a job fair, lived with financial pressure and started at Rs. 10,000. But I did not leave my goal.

If you are looking for a job, getting rejected again and again, or feeling that your hard work is not showing any result, I only want to say this: your situation today does not define your whole future. The first job need not be perfect, the first salary need not be great, and not everyone's career moves at the same speed.

What matters is that you do not stop learning, you do not stop trying, and you do not treat a rejection as the final certificate of your ability.

I also started from zero and did not know what would happen next. I built my way one step at a time. I share my story so that if someone is in this phase, he feels he is not alone.

Sometimes you do not find a road already made. You have to make your own.

Difficulties I faced

• An accident in September 2022 that stopped my GATE preparation and shook my confidence
• Two offer letters that fell through, one with a demand for Rs. 25,000
• Family finances weakened by COVID, and pressure to earn quickly
• More than 100 company visits in Noida and 30 to 40 in Lucknow with no interview
• A job fair with few real IT openings, and no money left to go back
• A first salary of Rs. 10,000 a month in an expensive city
• Seniors who did not follow up on their promises

More fresher stories

This is one person's real experience and not a guarantee of any result. Every job search is different.