California Student's Struggle to Land a Cybersecurity Job Despite 600 Applications
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A student from a top California university expresses frustration after applying to over 600 cybersecurity positions, securing only eight interviews and no job offers. Despite having one year of experience as a network engineer at Intel, certifications in Network+ and Splunk, personal projects, and employing various job search strategies (cold emailing, networking, LinkedIn), they have been unable to secure a position. They describe a particularly disappointing experience with HPE, where after being told they would advance to a second interview, they received an automated rejection email without explanation.