Got hired for a summer internship position for a tech company here in the Bay Area

cdominic3 · March 8, 2018

I'm a Computer Science and Material Engineering student here in San Jose, CA and I've been applying for summer internships the past two months. The competition here is pretty brutal, given that most if not all, tech company HQ is based here. I've been through multiple interview processes the past few weeks but none seemed to want to offer me the position. Didn't think I'd get in this summer since most of my options are dwindling down, but one company gave me a chance at a 2nd interview.

One of the reasons why I think most companies weren't offering me the position was that I was always flustered during the interview. I would prepare for it very well, but the words just come out wrong. I felt like I needed a good icebreaker, but it seemed unprofessional to do so. But it was earlier today, and they've told me I've beat out thousands of applicants for a Software Engineer intern position because most don't get a 2nd interview. I'm even more nervous than I normally am, potentially botching my only chance to finally put my foot on the door and get real world experience for my career.

And the first question of my interviewer was "How do I keep up to date on technology?", my answer was "I'm frequently reading news articles posted on the LinusTechTips forums." He just had a huge smile on his face and asked, "have you seen their whole room watercooling video?" I said, "yeah." He responded with "wasn't that the dumbest and coolest thing you've seen at once?", I told him "7 gamers, 1 PC was dumber and cooler." It was smooth sailing from there. It was the perfect icebreaker I needed to calm my nerves.

Never expected these stupid videos to be the difference maker for potentially advancing my career. Thanks, Linus! Never change and keep making all the stupid AND cool videos that you always do

Cheers!