Programmer struggling through months of failed interviews walks into technical interview convinced he's about to embarrass himself, leaves with a job offer and higher salary: 'I start on Monday'

Author image for Cata Holmes
Cata Holmes • Writer
Jun 20, 2026 4:00 PM EDT

Have job interviews become so brutal that a normal conversation feels surprising?

We can all agree that having a job interview is pretty nerve-racking. Being sat there, waiting for the managers or recruiters to come, it's just unpleasant. There are people out there who know exactly how to handle those moments, whereas others prefer to avoid them as much as possible. When it comes to interviews, I'm pretty chill. I try to be myself and hope for the best.

I'm not going to lie: of course, I get nervous, and more often than not, it's the event of my day. No matter what I'm doing before or after the interview, I won't stop thinking about it, play speeches in my head, and prepare myself for the weirdest and most twisted questions (that no one really ever asks, to be honest). Needless to say, when I read this story, I totally relate.

If you've been unemployed for a while, or maybe just job searching, interviews are everything. You put so much expectation on them, and on yourself, that you forget they are not only meeting you: you are meeting them, too. I read somewhere that one thing that helps calm your nerves before an interview is understanding that you're interviewing them as well. You have to focus on the company, what they have to offer you, the salary expectation, etc. 

I think that, in the end, it's just a normal conversation you're having with a stranger. Nothing crazy. Think about it like small talk. And if everything goes wrong, you just blew the whole thing, you are most likely never going to see them again. So, there's nothing really to lose. 

A piece of advice I have for you is to treat interviews as actual practice. Even if you're happy with your current job and don't feel like changing anything, having one interview every couple of months will be helpful if you're ever in the job market again. And I think that is going to really help you see that they are just a conversation, and there's nothing to be afraid of. 

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