A Gurgaon man has opened up about a difficult nine-month period of unemployment, repeated rejections and self-doubt before eventually securing a job at the very company whose entrance test he had failed more than five times.
(Also read: 'Corporate to dishwashing job’: Laid-off employee details 4-month job hunt struggle)
Taking to Instagram, Krritin Sahu shared his experience of watching former batchmates progress in their careers while he struggled to find work. In the video, he spoke about how prolonged unemployment can gradually affect a person’s confidence and make them question their own abilities.
“The worst part of being jobless isn't being broke, it's slowly starting to believe that you are the problem. I was unemployed for 9 months, watching my batchmates post about promotions, getting new jobs, and there was a quiet voice in my head asking whether actually am I good enough?” he said.
Rejected by the company he eventually joined
Sahu revealed that his eventual breakthrough came only after repeated setbacks. “I got rejected by the exact company which I eventually joined. I failed in the test not once, not twice, but more than 5 times before I finally cleared it,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Sahu revealed that his eventual breakthrough came only after repeated setbacks. “I got rejected by the exact company which I eventually joined. I failed in the test not once, not twice, but more than 5 times before I finally cleared it,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He also recalled writing down certain goals on a whiteboard on the last day of 2023. When he returned to it a year later, he said he was earning exactly the amount he had written down. However, he stressed that not everything on the board materialised, including his relationship goal.
Addressing people going through a similar phase, Sahu added, “If you are in that phase right now—when you have been rejected, when you're jobless, when you're doubting yourself—you, my friend, are not the problem. This was an honest story with no filters.”
Watch the clip here:
‘Cleared it on the sixth’
In a LinkedIn post shared two months ago, Sahu offered more details about the repeated attempts. “I failed the same company's entrance exam five times. Cleared it on the sixth,” he wrote.
According to Sahu, he failed the company’s Decision Analytics cognitive test in September, October and December 2023, followed by February and March 2024. He finally cleared it on his sixth attempt in June 2024.
“By the fifth one, I was close to giving up, taking any job, any salary, and quietly shelving the idea that I could change tracks,” he wrote.
(Also read: ‘I was the only person from India’: Employee laid off from US job over 9 pm call)
Reflecting on the experience, he added, “The first five rejections aren't always about you. Sometimes they're about a system built to filter for pedigree.”
He concluded his LinkedIn post with: “Rejections are redirections. Persistence writes the outcome.”
Take a look here at the post:
Social media users react
Sahu’s story resonated with several social media users. One person wrote, “This hit hard.” Another commented, “Needed to hear this today.”
A third user said, “Inspirational story! Thank you for normalising failure and showing that persistence really pays off.” Another added, “Proof that one rejection means nothing.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)