u/Pussyshifted32

After a few rounds that this startup that I really wanna work at, the CTO said my python fundamentals are weak and once I make them strong, I can apply again in a month or so, then there will be a small assessment for just that and then we can move forward. I asked him that is a month’s timeline strict as my ts/js is strong and catching up w python will be really quick for me. He said no, whenever you think you’re ready hit me up. He also said in all other areas you’re a fit. Just this thing of fundamentals is the blocker. Mind you, i am struggling financially, have been super disappointed with life lately and I was expecting good news today but this happened. Have been job hunting for a while too.

So I did that, i texted him after 15 days with a screen recording of an agent that I created (same as the assignments they gave me) but he saw the text and hasn’t replied in like 7 hours.

Should I move on or should I follow up?

I am super tired of this and I am being very honest. I just don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

I was contributing at this startup three months back. I was the most regular contributor and most connected to the team. The CEO really liked me and does like me. Then they organized a hackathon. I won and then I was looking for getting employed there, but that couldn't work out, so I stopped contributing and I have been searching for different roles. Just yesterday, the founding marketer who joined after the hackathon happened, texted me saying “hey, another team member mentioned that you won our hackathon. Would you be up for a 15-minute sync? Just wanted to meet you and say hi.” What do you think this is leading to? I want to be super prepared and I don't wanna pass on anything because of me being unprepared.

I had applied to a startup. Initially, they gave me an assignment but did not specify which tech stack I had to use, so I built it using Next.js and TypeScript.

When I presented it, they were impressed with the work, but the stack did not match what they were looking for. Because of that, I created another version of the assignment using Python and Pipecat. That assignment also went well, but during subsequent discussions, it became clear that my Python fundamentals were not as strong as my TypeScript fundamentals.

In the latest call, they (The CTO himself) told me something along the lines of:

"It is unfortunate that the process has taken so long, and we apologise but this is what works for us, but the strongest feedback we have is that your Python fundamentals are weak. We would recommend that you spend some time strengthening your Python fundamentals, and then reach out again. We can have another call focused specifically on assessing your Python fundamentals, and then move forward from there."

Given this context, I want to prepare myself properly for a future Python fundamentals assessment.

My current plan is:

1. Create another project from scratch in Python.
2. Make a few meaningful open-source contributions in Python.
3. Spend dedicated time strengthening my Python fundamentals.

My questions are:

• Based on this interaction, do you think they are likely to genuinely evaluate me again if I reach out after improving?
• How should I approach improving my Python fundamentals in a way that best prepares me for such an assessment?
• Should I build another project and make open-source contributions before reaching out again, so that I can demonstrate that I took the feedback seriously and significantly improved my Python skills?

After a few rounds that this startup that I really wanna work at, the CTO said my python fundamentals are weak and once I make them strong, I can apply again in a month or so, then there will be a small assessment for just that and then we can move forward. I asked him that is a month’s timeline strict as my ts/js is strong and catching up w python will be really quick for me. He said no, whenever you think you’re ready hit me up. He also said in all other areas you’re a fit. Just this thing of fundamentals is the blocker. Mind you, i am struggling financially, have been super disappointed with life lately and I was expecting good news today but this happened. Have been job hunting for a while too. What should I do? Please tell. Is it gonna be worth it to invest more time for the fundamentals and hitting him up again?

Hey everyone, i wanted to work for this company, so i integrated their product into my project to get their attention on X, and I did. The screening call happened and now in 3 days there’s a technical call. I am super insecure about my technical skills though. So first of all they are not gonna ask me DSA. Then what can they? They are a claude max type of company. Cool too. So what will it be about? System design, go thru my projects or what? Pls tell me and tell me how can I get this job regardless of what they ask, please save me, thank u!

I recently went through an interview process at an AI-focused startup. Here’s the full breakdown and I genuinely want honest feedback on what to fix. Background on me: 20yo, third year CS, self-taught through building products and getting clients before I even studied CS formally. I’ve shipped real full-stack AI products, contributed to an open-source LLM orchestration startup, and won a hackathon recently. I use AI heavily in my workflow but I genuinely build and iterate myself.

The process: To get shortlisted I had to build a project assignment and record a demo video. I felt my submission was strong. They shortlisted ~25 people. Then there were two calls: ∙ 1 hour technical call with the CTO ∙ 30 min conversation with the CEO/founder

What I expected vs what happened: I assumed the technical call would cover my assignment, product thinking, architecture, AI workflows. Because in the JD they mentioned providing Claude Code max. Instead the CTO opened with tell me about yourself and then gave me a DSA problem cold, it was an easy one though. I completely blanked. Before starting I told him honestly: “I don’t really do competitive programming, I mostly build products.” He said no problem, let’s focus on the logic. But I still struggled heavily and couldn’t progress independently. He then moved to a system design question. I struggled initially and needed him to re-explain the problem a couple of times before I could start reasoning through it.

Then he asked operational questions like “if something breaks in production and I text you, what do you do first?” — I got closer on those eventually but needed prompting.

He stayed engaged the whole call and didn’t cut it short. At the end I asked him “if you hired me, what would you expect for me to achieve in 3 months” and he said: “Ownership.”

The CEO call afterward felt relaxed and genuine — we talked about life and ambition more than technical stuff. He said they’d get back in about a week and a half. This call was really nice. 9/10.

My honest self-assessment:

My communication, energy, and builder mindset were probably my strongest points. My DSA and structured reasoning under pressure were clearly weak. I know how to ship things. I don’t know how to perform CS fundamentals cold in an interview setting.

Why I’m posting:

1. To know if they will get back?
2. I have another technical interview with a same kind of startup in 15 days. I know I need to fix something but I don’t want to spend 15 days grinding LeetCode and end up mediocre at everything. I’m a product builder by nature and I learn fast when I have a clear target. What’s the most efficient way to go from “completely blanks on DSA” to “can at least reason through basic problems out loud” in 15 days? And how do I get better at system design specifically around scale/concurrency which is where I fell apart?