‘Tried everything, still rejected’: Indian techie gives up on Google dream after 8 attempts

For many in India’s tech industry, landing a job at Google is seen as the ultimate career milestone. But one product manager’s candid confession on Reddit shows just how tough, and exhausting, that journey can be.

Posting on the subreddit r/developersIndia, the anonymous user shared that despite months of relentless effort, he has decided to give up on his Google dream after facing repeated rejections.

“Tried everything… still no success”

The user, who described himself as a product manager in FinTech with 4.5 years of experience, a Tier-1 MBA and a Tier-2 engineering background, said he had applied for at least eight roles at Google India over the past few months.

His efforts went beyond the standard application process. “My CV is ATS-optimised, and I attach a customised cover letter,” he wrote, adding that he even created mockups and strategy documents tailored to specific roles and shared them with hiring managers.

The tech professional also revealed he had reached out over 40 times via email, LinkedIn, and even WhatsApp, in addition to seeking internal referrals from friends already working at Google. But each attempt ended in silence or rejection.

Frustrated, he concluded his post with a note of resignation: “It seems impossible to get into Google. Giving up!”

The bigger picture: How tough is it to crack Google?

Breaking into global tech giants like Google, Meta, or Apple is notoriously competitive. Recruiters often sift through thousands of applications for a single role, while multiple rounds of interviews test not just technical skills but also problem-solving, leadership, and cultural fit.

Even highly qualified candidates with strong resumes — like the Redditor in question — sometimes fail to cut.

Internet reacts

The Reddit post has sparked conversation among young professionals, many of whom sympathised with the poster’s journey. Some suggested exploring other opportunities at growing startups or global firms instead of chasing one “dream company.” Others reminded him that rejection is often not a reflection of capability but of competition.

A user wrote, "As someone once said on Quora (yes, I'm that old) "Companies like Google can afford to hire almost anyone on the planet which means they can also afford to ignore even top tier candidates without even looking at their profiles". So don't take it personally, it's just the enormity or their operations."

Another user wrote, “The ratio of PM to engineer is very skewed now in google. I know a few teams which have 24 engineers but only 1 PM for that team. Some don’t even have PMs, also they are cutting down on middle managers a lot. Also google gets a lot of good resumes from similar companies like Microsoft , Amazon, meta so getting past filters is kinda hard."

“Google requires a bit of technical knowledge backing up your PM role. If you're a pure play PM who doesn't know the underlying tech domains, then you'll have a low chance of getting hired. In my firm also, PMs who have worked hands on in tech before their MBA are given more preference and their careers get accelerated,” the third user wrote.