"Unfortunately we’re going with another candidate. You have too many short stints on your resume."
These fifteen words crushed me.
Hearing them hurt so badly not because I was surprised to hear them but because I wasn’t. I wasn’t going to get a shot at my dream job and their mistake was determined by a single piece of paper.
I’m someone who cares very deeply about my work. I became a software engineer because manifesting tangible things out of thin air feels like actual magic. Being able to solve real people’s problems with a few hours of hard work is incredibly rewarding. I cannot imagine doing anything else. My desire to improve my craft lives deep within my bones.
This passion is why those fifteen words had so much power over me.
My career has been driven by that burning desire to grow as an engineer and leave a positive mark on the world. I was never afraid to take a risk that would lead to new lessons or increase my potential for impact. I’ve helped shape startups without product market fit, maintained developer tools used by hundreds of engineers, and improved products essential to companies like Uber and Instacart.
On paper I might look like a flight risk. In reality, I’m someone who has seen a lot of problems from diverse perspectives. The scrappy startups and Big Tech have shaped me into an engineer that thinks deeply about craft, product, technical tradeoffs, and how to iterate in a way that maximally benefits users. I’ve earned my way to being a plus one1 in every role I’ve ever had. If I’ve ever felt a sense of purpose in my life, this is it.
Everything that’s led up to where I am today has helped me carve out clarity I never could’ve reached otherwise. The desire to build beautiful, impactful software is stronger than it’s ever been. I refuse to give up on myself just because of a silly piece of paper.