Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
I spent 11 years climbing to my dream job in tech—an AI Product Marketing role at Google. Then, overnight, I lost it all. Here’s how I survived two years of rejections, toxic workplaces, and H1B “grace” deadlines—and what I wish someone had told me at my lowest.
Losing the Dream – When the Unthinkable Happens
I spent years building towards my career dream – a role at Google, in AI Product Marketing, working on TensorFlow and some of the most exciting technology in the world. It wasn’t always easy, and the journey took more than a decade of learning, career growth, and relentless effort. Finally, I arrived.
Then, on a cold January morning, I received the layoff email. No warning, just a line in my inbox. The dream was over—swept away by a wave of impersonal layoffs that didn’t care how hard I’d worked or what I’d overcome to get there. For anyone who’s ever lost a job, especially one you’ve invested your heart and soul in, you know: it’s not just about a paycheck. It shakes your identity and your sense of purpose.
For those of us on work visas, it’s even worse. In 60 days, I had to find a new role or leave the country I’d called home for over a decade. Grieving wasn’t an option. Survival was.
65 Interviews, Relentless Hustle, and Invisible Scars
I scrambled. I interviewed at 25 companies in less than two months—sometimes three or four rounds a day. By the end, I’d survived 65 interviews, most of them long, grueling, and emotionally draining. Every company wanted something different. I didn’t have the luxury of choosing my next step; I just had to keep my visa alive.
Landing a job at a smaller AI company was a relief, but it wasn’t a new start—it was survival. I was grateful, but my sense of confidence, standing, and self-worth had taken a hit. In those moments, I started to truly see how fragile this industry can be.
A friend had warned me that I’d go through a “hard patch” for two and a half years—and he was right. Opportunities slipped away, and my resume—which once carried the Google name—was now stacked with companies few people recognized. I felt invisible, adrift.
Toxic Cultures and Shattered Confidence
What followed were jobs at companies where the culture was chaotic at best and toxic at worst. At one company, leadership used the “startup” excuse to justify all kinds of behavior: late-night calls, public humiliation, and gaslighting. I’ll never forget being fired by the CEO on Christmas Day, berated for updating my LinkedIn to quietly search for a new role. I was accused of lacking character and gravitas, my frustration at the culture twisted into a pretext for being let go.
Another job brought even more instability—leadership battles, engineers leaving in droves, products in shambles, and zero support for marketing. I was expected to singlehandedly produce miracles with no resources or backup, while also dealing with persistent health issues and no medical insurance. There were days I wondered if I’d ever catch a break.
Through all this, I kept applying, kept interviewing—at least 30 more interviews in 2024 and 2025. Most led nowhere. The feedback ranged from “you’re clearly very knowledgeable but not the right fit” to “we found another candidate.” It was a constant test of resilience.
Immigration, Green Cards, and an Unexpected Lifeline
Amid the chaos, I focused on one major goal: getting my green card. A friend at Google had encouraged me to try the EB-1A route, meant for those with exceptional ability. I doubted myself, but with the help of a great attorney (thank you, Andrew from Boundless), I pulled together years of speaking, publishing, and professional achievements. It took months of paperwork and scraping together savings to pay for it on my own, but I did it. My EB-1A was approved, and soon after, my green card petition was filed.
This gave me legal stability at a time when my work life was anything but stable. It meant that even when a company let me go right after a sick leave, I had a safety net.
But the search continued. I spent months unemployed—four and a half months out of a job, applying relentlessly and fighting self-doubt.
How AI and Real Projects Changed Everything
During this time, I made a decision: if jobs weren’t coming, I would continue to learn and grow. I dove headfirst into learning AI—not just reading about it or watching others, but by doing and sharing.
I followed top voices in the space on LinkedIn and Twitter. But the real leap came from getting my hands dirty:
- I led hands on workshops on prompt engineering.
- I pushed myself to revisit coding, from scratch, using free YouTube tutorials.
- I experimented with new tools—from beyond ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity to Cursor, n8n, Claude Code and more—many I’d never touched before.
- I volunteered on real projects, including building AI agents from the ground up, powering a platform that served over 2,000 users.
- I embedded myself in a community of folks passionate about AI.
There were many days when I questioned my capabilities, but the work itself transformed me. By the end, I didn’t just know more—I believed in myself again.
Four Offers, a Green Card, and a New Beginning
At the end of these two and a half years, things inexplicably shifted. Suddenly, all the effort paid off. I received not one but four job offers. My green card came through. I landed an opportunity I had only dreamed of—and I emerged more confident, skilled, and grateful than I’d ever been.
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me
1. Build Your Inner Spring of Happiness and Resilience
For me, this means meditation. I’ve been meditating for 25 years, and it is the foundation that helped me through the darkest days. I am deeply grateful to my guide, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, for his teachings. Meditation gave me optimism and the lightness to keep going, even when external circumstances and my own doubts threatened to overwhelm me. If you do nothing else, find a practice that lets you recharge, reflect, and return to yourself. It’s your most reliable source of courage.
2. Invest in Relentless, Hands-On Learning—Especially in AI
Don’t just watch or read—do.
- Follow the people who are pushing the field forward.
- Take free online courses.
- Play with the tools.
- Build something—even if it’s small, even if it scares you.
I went from knowing nothing about coding to building a SaaS AI marketing platform from scratch, just by committing to learning every day. The confidence and skills you gain from actually building and experimenting are what employers—and you—will value most.
Finally, If You’re Struggling, You’re Not Alone
Rejection, visa panic, toxic bosses, endless interviews—none of these have the power to define you unless you let them. Keep your inner fire alive. Keep building yourself and your skills. The tide does turn. No storm lasts forever.
Stay strong, keep learning, and don’t lose hope. If you need a word of encouragement, my DMs are always open.
P.S. AI Resources to Help You Get Going
July 14, 2025 – I am grateful for the overwhelming response and support this article received. The conversations I’ve had since this article first published have opened my eyes to the shared journey we’re on.
How to get started and productive with AI was a common theme of these conversations. So I’m sharing some of my favorite resources at the time of writing:
AI Foundations
- An overview of foundation models in 2025 > https://youtu.be/RwaLaDtTqag2.
- How LLMs work with Andrej Karpathy > https://youtu.be/zjkBMFhNj_g
- Get comfortable using ChatGPT, Claude Desktop and Perplexity AI.
Building with AI
- n8n: arguably the most popular low-code platform right now to build AI applications, agents and automations. Highly recommend subscribing to Nate Herkelman‘s free AI Skool community to learn the basics and advanced topics. His YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/gG8sM8SY2.
- Claude Code and Cursor to have AI agents help you build powerful applications – https://lnkd.in/ge7q3w_e3.
- For enterprise concepts and advanced technical understanding of implementing AI, AI engineer is a fantastic channel : https://lnkd.in/ggzeS-Vq
