# How to Get Your First Job *By [Ansh Chokshi](https://anshchokshi.com) · Jun 1, 2026 · 4 min read* Canonical: https://anshchokshi.com/write/how-to-get-your-first-job --- Last year I bumped into this 17-year-old about to start at Berkeley and already convinced he was behind. Now he's going to Stanford this summer for an internship. Watching that shift reminded me of something I wish more kids understood: your first opportunity usually doesn't come from having the best resume. It comes from becoming someone people want to bet on. When I first met him, he was curious in a way that's hard to fake. He asked real questions. What should he focus on? What classes mattered? How should he think about internships? Over time, I became one of the people he'd call when he felt stuck. After his first semester, he came back home and said something I've felt myself. Everyone else seemed ahead. His friends had big tech internships. Some people could leetcode better. Some just looked more put together. He thought the problem was skill. I thought it was the story he was telling himself. He was too focused on what looked impressive on paper. I asked him to stop obsessing over the internship for a second and just build things he actually liked. Because building does something to you. It gives you proof, better questions, and something real to talk about. You stop sounding like someone asking for a chance and start sounding like someone already in motion. As he started building more, you could feel the difference. He was less hesitant. He had more energy. I asked a friend to interview him. He didn't know it was a mock. The feedback was exactly what I expected: too nervous, underconfident. I told him, early interviews are not really about knowing everything. They're about whether you seem curious, coachable, and worth taking a chance on. Soon after, I connected him to another founder who was actually hiring. He did better that time. He made it through the technical rounds. He still didn't get it. That rejection really got to him. Early rejection has a way of feeling bigger than it is. I congratulated him. Get the no's out of the way. Increase your surface area. Keep giving luck more chances to find you. He stayed in it, and eventually got himself a summer research internship at Stanford. Fully on his own. That story stayed with me because a lot of young people misunderstand how first opportunities happen. ***Your first job or internship usually doesn't go to the most polished person. It goes to the person who showed real interest, built things before being asked, and stayed in the game long enough to be seen.*** If I had to reduce it to three simple things: - Build things - Show willingness to learn - Keep trying, failing That's usually enough to get the first door open. --- More essays by Ansh Chokshi: https://anshchokshi.com/llms.txt