“It Seems Impossible”: Indian Techie’s Struggle to Crack Google Job Highlights Growing Challenges

Landing a job at Google India is a dream of many professionals. They spend their whole life learning skills that will help them crack the elite hiring process. However, a recent reddit post by an anonymous techie is going viral in which he confessed giving-up on his dream to be a google employee after his 8th rejection. This story has the internet divided.

The viral story of Rejection from Google

The Reddit user, known as @SatejFying, is a specialised FinTech Product Manager who has a work experience of 4.5 years in the business. His credentials are a Tier 1 MBA plus a Tier 2 engineering degree - qualifications that are widely perceived as qualifications to occupy elite tech jobs. Also, he operates a successful YouTube channel where he has more than 100,000 subscribers, which is an indicator of effective communication and personal branding.

Between May and August 2025, he applied to at least eight Google Product Manager positions, each time tailoring his resume to be Applicant Tracking System (ATS) friendly, writing customised cover letters, and even creating role-specific mockups and strategic documents to demonstrate his initiative and suitability. Outside of formal applications, he emailed 40 or so hiring managers and sent direct messages on LinkedIn and WhatsApp and obtained reference appointments through friends working at Google. This tiring technique notwithstanding, he met with silence or refusal everywhere, and it became necessary to vent his impatience in the open air. 

What Went Wrong? The Contribution of Intense Competition and Barriers

Reactions on Reddit and social media have been both favourable and unfavourable, but generally point to the reality of how elite tech hiring works today: 

1. Experience Requirements: Due to many Google PM positions, experience in the field is required of not less than five years, which the applicant almost fails to meet. The industry veterans warn the aspirants that this minimum is frequently specified in the job advertisements and that increasing numbers of applicants only increase the threshold.
2. Excess supply of Talent: Google received a huge amount of applications, many with an FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) backgrounds or graduates of Ivy League universities, which is raising competition significantly.
3. Reputation Sensitivities: There is speculation among commentators that the YouTube presence, however impressive, may have implicitly harmed opportunities, based on an aversion to perceived loyalty, or distracted recruiters by content creators of the day in the lifestyle that they think might be part of big tech.
4. Internal Hiring Dynamics: Teams at google have minimal role of product managers making it economical to divide the work instead of hiring someone new. Additionally, when certain teams have a need for a product manager, there is a surplus of candidates  with better portfolio and skills, influencing hiring unevenness. 

Broader Implications on the Indian Tech Ecosystem 

The story of the techie is indicative of an ever increasing concern in the rapidly developing technology industry in India where competition over high-paying positions is becoming increasingly intense. Tech professionals are facing:

• More and more algorithm-based approaches to hiring which frequently narrow access to candidates in the initial phases.
• The emergence of AI solutions to test applications, requiring almost perfect matching to job descriptions.
• Emotional cost of recurring denials regardless of qualifications and effort.
• Difficulties in finding work-life balance, work and dreaming about marquee firms.

The case has been highly relatable to job seekers in India, and candid discussions about the potential unreliability and the necessary determination to succeed have taken place on sites like Reddit.

What to do with the competitive technology job market?

Analysts recommend some of the strategies that applicants should implement to Google and other firms of its calibre:

• Experience and Skills Alignment: Achieve or surpass minimum experience requirements and develop job-specific skills.
• Networking and Mentorship: Preparing and getting feedback on interviews using trusted referrals and mentorship.
• Continuous Learning: Be familiar with new trends in product management and new technologies.
• Brand Management: Although personal branding (such as YouTube channels) may be a two-sided sword, effective online presence as a sign of professionalism can benefit.
• Resilience: Learn to accept that not every rejection wastes time; it can take years and dozens of attempts to hire a person at Google.

Comments and Reaction 

There have been varied responses to the online discourse on how Google hires its employees. It has been said that it is because of luck, and some claim that it is because the pool of applicants is so rich in talent. A great number of individuals give their personal stories and the difficulties they encountered during the recruitment process, which reinforces the value of persistence and determination.

There were comments about the difficulty of Google interviews, and there are also compliments about their attempts to hire the best candidates. Interestingly, there are others who emphasise the importance of perseverance, who urge others to continue pushing on despite failure.

All in all, the comments and reactions seem to have indicated a diversity of opinion as to what it involves to secure a job at Google. Also, how the job market is changing and making it challenging to secure a job at elite companies. 

Although Google continues to be an icon of high-tech jobs, the story of the applicant highlights the high level of difficulty even in the case of well-qualified candidates. With the transformation of the hiring process to automated and large-scale tools, it starts to be important for transparency, coaching, and encouragement of various aspirants. In the meantime, technologically enthusiastic individuals will be required to navigate aspiration and readiness and feasible plans in order to emerge victorious in this highly competitive ecosystem.