Writing
Reflections on software engineering, job searching, immigration, family, and building in public. These posts were converted from LinkedIn activity text on September 26, 2026.
If you can’t find a job, BUILD YOUR GITHUB PLEASE! We spend hours writing code, debugging, and building projects. But how much attention do we give to the page that introduces all that work? My goal for my GitHub profile is simple: make it easy to und...
50,704 impressions · 189 reactions
Stop Complaining. I’ve been through 60+ coding assessments and interviews. Not applications. Actual interviews. Real loops. Final rounds. Rejections after 5–6 interviews. So when people tell me “the 2026 new grad market is impossible”, here’s my honest take: Y...
It's your own fault you can't find a job. WAYS YOU CAN FIND A JOB: 1️⃣ Apply to 10+ roles every day. Find relevant openings, submit applications, and track everything: the company, position, date, and next step. I spend extra time tailoring my application for...
3,377 impressions · 14 reactions
A résumé tells you where I’ve worked. My website shows you what I’ve been building. 💻 I’m excited to share my personal website! 🌐 https://uiucwangjiajun.com I’m a UIUC Statistics graduate with a Computer Science minor, and I’ve spent my internships at ByteDanc...
2,019 impressions · 8 reactions
I wish I had never needed to write that post. After I shared that my grandmother has cancer, my page suddenly took off. Nearly 250,000 impressions across my posts in seven days. So many of you reached out to comfort me. Thank you. Your kindness has made me fee...
3,397 impressions · 16 reactions · 2 comments
Going Home to See My Grandmother. ❤️ Thank you to everyone who commented, messaged me, and shared your own stories after my last post. I honestly didn’t expect so many people to reach out. Some of you shared immigration experiences. Some shared practical sugge...
33,592 impressions · 154 reactions · 4 comments
I Hate the Phrase “We Don’t Sponsor.” There, I Said It. Another application. Another rejection. Not because of my experience. Not because I failed an interview. Not because someone else was a stronger candidate. Because of one sentence: “We are only able to co...
10,978 impressions · 55 reactions · 3 comments · 1 reposts
My Grandmother Has Late-Stage Cancer, and I Can’t Go Home Because of These Damn Immigration Policies I didn’t expect my last post to resonate with so many people. I received messages from international students, graduates, immigrants, and even people who have...
158,331 impressions · 511 reactions · 54 comments · 2 reposts
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠, 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐃𝐚𝐬𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐇𝐂 I attended the Grace Hopper Celebration in both 2023 and 2025. In 2023, I had an onsite interview with Bank of America. In 2025, I received interviews from Bloomberg, DoorDash, and Cloudflare. Wit...
2,891 impressions · 11 reactions
Every time I do LeetCode, I cry my eyes out. 365 LeetCode problems solved — and new problems still humble me every day. 😅 I’ve now solved 365 problems, but when I see a completely new question, I can still spend a long time figuring out the right approach. And...
2,223 impressions · 8 reactions
I’m looking for Software Engineer and AI Engineer roles, and I’d really appreciate a referral 🙏 A bit about me: • 🎓 B.S. in Statistics + Computer Science minor @ UIUC, graduated May 2026. • 🤖 SWE intern @ ByteDance, building LLM-powered agents, backend service...
16,048 impressions · 40 reactions · 3 comments
I Am an Illegal Immigrant. I Am Guilty. Except I am not an illegal immigrant. I came to the United States legally. I studied, graduated, built projects, and completed internships. But lately, even when I follow the rules, I feel afraid. I am guilty of believin...
43,680 impressions · 200 reactions · 11 comments · 1 reposts
I am leaving ByteDance 😭 Because they hate me. That’s why. Here’s everything I did to deserve it: 𝟭. 𝗜 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 Helping 300+ internal users get answers from their data. Apparently, “let me ask an engineer” needed some competition. 𝟮. 𝗜 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗶...
33,048 impressions · 54 reactions · 1 comments
I survived 3 months at ByteDance 😭 Apparently I enjoy making my life difficult. Here is everything I learned: 𝟭. 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 Recruiter reachout > team connection > referral > cold application. Yes, clicking “Apply” is somehow the hardest m...
40,039 impressions · 87 reactions · 2 comments
64,176 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚. 𝒀𝒆𝒔, 64,176. During the 1,370 days I spent struggling with visas, uncertainty, and endless job applications, I wrote an article about the international student experience. I shared thoughts I had never told anyone before—the fears,...
1,475 impressions · 5 reactions
𝑰 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 100 𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒐𝒃𝒔 This is my pledge. From last September to this May— For nine full months— I was constantly interviewing. I went through over 100 written tests and interviews. I understand the agony of being unable to find a job all too well. The...
8,922 impressions · 35 reactions · 70 comments · 1 reposts
𝐈 𝐀𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭—𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞. Every recruiting season, I notice the same pattern. A recruiter reaches out. They tell me my background is a strong fit. They encourage me to apply. Sometimes we even have a great conversation. Then...
106,235 impressions · 414 reactions · 36 comments · 14 reposts