How I Landed a Tech Job at JP Morgan After Rejections from Google, Meta & Amazon

An honest story for every international Masters student grinding in the U.S.

Breaking into tech as an international Master’s student in the U.S. isn’t just about talent. It’s about navigating visa pressure, hiring freezes, coursework, and self-doubt all while showing up every single day.

This is my story not of instant success, but of resilience, rejection, and a journey that finally led me to JP Morgan.

🎯 The Dream Was FAANG

When I started my MS in US, like many of us, I dreamed big — Google, Meta, Amazon. In May 2023, I made a personal commitment:

📌 4+ hours/day of DSA + system design prep

📌 300+ Leetcode problems

📌 1000+ GitHub commits

📌 Revisited CS fundamentals from scratch — Arrays, Linked Lists, Trees, Graphs, HashMaps, Sorting/Searching, and more

No shortcuts. No magic tricks. Just consistency.

I treated job prep like a course a long-term investment, not a last-minute push.

🚧 Meta Interview: My First Real Test

After about a month of serious prep, I landed my first major interview Meta, scheduled for June 10 2022.

They had excellent prep resources on their portal, including videos by Gayle Laakmann McDowell (author of Cracking the Coding Interview). I followed them religiously and felt reasonably prepared.

During the interview, I was asked two medium-level Leetcode problems. I solved one confidently, but the second question tripped me up. I ran out of time trying to optimize.

Result: Rejection.

Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I discouraged? No. It validated my prep and showed me exactly what I needed to improve.

📚 Summer Semester + Burnout

In Summer 2022, I took 12 credit hours, including a really demanding Data Mining course. My pace slowed, but I never hit pause.

Late August, I got shortlisted for Google SDE-3. The motivation was back, and I doubled down:

• Practiced Google-tagged Leetcode problems
• Revisited SQL, System Design, and Behavioral prep
• Studied common Google interview patterns

But in the phone screen, I misunderstood part of the problem and built an unoptimized solution. Another rejection.

That one hit hard. Not just because it was Google — but because I knew I was this close.

💡 A Pivot: Exploring Product Roles

At this point, I started questioning if pure SDE roles were my best fit. I had a background in Data Engineering and was curious about product thinking.

Interestingly, Google reached out again — this time for an Associate Product Manager (APM) role.

I shifted my prep strategy:

• Watched TryExponent APM interview videos
• Studied product design frameworks, product sense, user empathy
• Watched talks by Sundar Pichai, Nikesh Arora , and MKBHD reviews on Google products

The interview included two product case questions. Looking back, my answers lacked structure and clarity. I tried to improvise instead of applying a solid framework.

Rejected again.

❄️ Amazon, Intel & Hiring Freezes

I got through initial rounds at Amazon, only for the role to be pulled due to a hiring freeze.

Same story with Intel — I cleared seven rounds. Everything looked good.

Then came the dreaded email: “Due to internal changes, this position is on hold.”

At this point, I had faced:

• Rejections from Meta (SDE), Google (SDE & APM), and others
• Interviews halted mid-process due to freezes
• 6 months of daily prep with nothing to show for it — yet

The mental fatigue was real. The visa pressure was real. But I kept pushing.

My GitHub green graph and Leetcode streak were my quiet way of saying: I’m not giving up.

💼 Breakthrough: JP Morgan

In November, I attended a virtual hiring event by JP Morgan. I didn’t expect much, but I showed up anyway — just like I had every day for the past 6 months.

We were rotated through Zoom breakout rooms with hiring managers and recruiters. I made it to 15–16 rooms and made sure to articulate my hybrid skillset in both Data Engineering and Software Development.

They noticed.

🚀 The Final Push: 45 Days Before JP Morgan

When I registered for the JP Morgan event, I made a decision — this one, I’m going all in.

For the next 45 days, I built a focused and disciplined routine:

✅ Solved 3 Leetcode problems every single day — no matter how tired or busy

✅ Watched Gaurav Sen ’s system design & algorithm deep-dives — learned how to think, not just code

✅ Completed 100 out of 160 problems on AlgoExpert — curated for real-world interviews

✅ Practiced explaining my code out loud, mock-interview style — until it became second nature

That consistency rebuilt the confidence I had started to lose. I stopped second-guessing myself in interviews. I felt sharper technically and mentally.

Shortly after, I was shortlisted. Over the next 3 months, I went through:

• Technical Rounds: Java, Python, SQL, AWS, CI/CD, Terraform, ETL/ELT, System Design
• Executive Director Round: Technical depth + behavioral alignment
• Managing Director Round: Vision, leadership, communication
• HR Round: Final offer, compensation, visa discussions

It was thorough but I finally got the offer to be part of JP Morgan’s global tech team in New York, working on real-world problems at scale.

💬 Final Thoughts (Especially for MSCS Students)

To all international students grinding right now I see you. To the ones prepping after classes, stressing over Leetcode ratings, and counting CPT/OPT days I’ve been there.

Here’s what helped me:

✅ Consistency beats intensity. Don’t cram — show up daily.

✅ Rejections are feedback, not failure. Every one made me sharper.

✅ Explore adjacent roles — data, product, infra. Sometimes the best fit isn’t what you expected.

✅ Events matter. Even a virtual session can open unexpected doors.

✅ Your GitHub and Leetcode streak can be a signal of grit, not just skill.

If you’re currently in the middle of this journey and need someone to talk to

I’m here. Happy to connect, share notes, mock interviews, or just listen.

We’re all in this together. Your time is coming. 🙌

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