You’re going to get rejected… a lot…
To give you an idea, with 7 years of experience, it took me 8 months and 49 interviews with real people to finally get a 1 full-time offer. I’m no superhero at interviews but, take it for what you will.
Folks that are just entering the industry via boot camps, online ed, or even master's programs are entering an even more competitive market. The influx of designers seeking entry-level roles has been massive in recent years, and only continues to grow, so be prepared for a difficult grind.
Something that people don’t talk about that much is how mentally taxing the interview process can be. Not only is it emotionally draining, time intensive, and full of disappointment… But if you spend enough time searching, and getting rejected, you start to wonder:
”Am I even good at this?”
”Should I quit, and just go do something else?”
A few things that help are:
Most are full of bias and full of problems. Thus, their results are not a reflection of you and what you are capable of. Further, your value as a human is more than your vocation.
I’d just suggest that you make a note to yourself when you start to get that imposter syndrome feeling, so you can come back to that moment and identify what brought on that feeling. Once you can consistently identify that feeling, you can start to self reflect to discover its source
Discovering the source of that feeling can help you better understand yourself. And when that feeling comes around again, you can feel a greater sense of control through that understanding.
What I mean is, you might do a full loop at an awesome company, kill your interview, and then get rejected. You beat yourself up about all the things you could have done better but the truth is: That company already had decided on another internal candidate, and you never actually had a shot at the job.
Sometimes it’s just pure luck, don’t beat yourself up about every silly little thing.
P.S. You can do this. Much love from a fellow designer.
The dirty secret about success
Talent vs Luck: the role of randomness in success and failure