Post by Gautam Sachdeva

“Ehe Taan Lokan Nu Hi Chaleya Ni Luck Laggeya, Mera Kinni Vaari Dharti Na…” — Karan Aujla 🎵 From countless rejections to joining District by Zomato as an SDE-1 🚀 A little late in sharing this, but I’m incredibly excited and grateful to have started my journey as a Software Development Engineer 1 (SDE-1) at District by Zomato through an off-campus opportunity. ❤️ People often see the offer. What they don’t see are the 2+ years behind it—maintaining a green LeetCode calendar 💚, solving nearly 2,000 problems across LeetCode , CodeForces , and CodeChef , participating in 85+ coding contests, learning system design, and preparing every single day, even when there wasn’t an interview in sight. Being from an Electronics and Computer Engineering (ENC) background, I often wondered if I was already a step behind Computer Science students. Every rejection made that doubt louder. I knew I might not always be the smartest person in the room. But I made a promise to myself that no one would outwork me. On-campus opportunities at Expedia Group, ION, and many others didn’t work out. Off-campus applications and interviews at Uber, Amazon ,Goldman Sachs, Cisco, Visa , Agoda, CRED, HackerRank , and many others also ended in rejection. Two experiences especially stayed with me. Rubrik —probably the hardest online assessment I had ever taken, followed by interviews that made me believe I was finally close. Coursera —clearing every interview round, only to learn that hiring couldn’t proceed because of headcount constraints. Both hurt, but both taught me lessons I’ll carry throughout my career. Somewhere along the way, I realized that pressure is a privilege. It meant I was still chasing something worth fighting for. Then came District by Zomato. That one opportunity changed everything. ✨ If there’s one thing this journey taught me, it’s that consistency beats motivation. Showing up every day mattered far more than any single interview or contest. If you’re preparing for placements or off-campus opportunities—especially if you’re from a non-CS branch—don’t let rejections convince you that you don’t belong. One rejection doesn’t define you. Ten don’t define you. Neither do fifty. Sometimes, all it takes is one opportunity at the right time. Grateful to my family ❤️, friends 🤝, mentors 🌟, and everyone who believed in me along the way. “Saade Nazran Na Laggan Nazaareyan Nu Ni…” — Cheema Y 🧿 #DistrictByZomato #Zomato #SDE1 #SoftwareEngineer #OffCampus #NewGrad #TechCareers #KeepGoing #DSA #LeetCode #Codeforces #CodeChef