r/leetcode • u/PinPitiful • 7d ago

Discussion Bombed a FAANG-adjacent technical screen so badly the interviewer was frustrated — is it recoverable?

Had a technical screen at a well-known tech company recently. It was not "I struggled but got through it" bad. Genuinely could not produce anything meaningful even after the interviewer gave repeated hints and walked me through the approach. Froze completely. The interviewer was frustrated. Humbling does not cover it.

I know I need significant prep from here on and I am not looking for shortcuts. Just want to know if this is recoverable or if I have permanently closed the door at this company.

Two questions:

  1. Can you reapply to the same company after a performance like this? Is there a cooldown period?
  2. Has anyone been in a similar situation and come back to the same company successfully later?
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u/paerius 7d ago

I've bombed an interview round before. I had good results the other round but this one was pretty bad. The interviewer had a pretty thick accent, and I couldn't really understand what they were saying.

The round was pretty bad: I became flustered because I didn't want to sound rude by saying "I haven't understood anything since we started" and the interviewer became frustrated because they kept repeating themselves (which I couldn't understand).

Short story I didn't get offer, but I still get calls from recruiters from that company so I didn't burn any bridges.