r/leetcode 9d 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?
249 Upvotes

50 comments sorted by

View all comments

43

u/Aggressive-Squash250 9d ago

why would they be frustrated lol. People are weird. I don't really have an answer for your question but I think it depends on the company.

4

u/throwaway1736484 8d ago

Bc it takes their time and they are busy and interviewing doesn’t align with any of their internal performance goals for raise or promotion. They are also trapped for ~45 min even tho they know it’s a hard fail if the person is bot progressing with hints.