The First 200 Attempts

Success stories often leave out the messy parts.

The awkward beginnings.

The moments you think,

"Maybe I’m just not good enough."

In 2008, the world was breaking apart.

The financial crisis had hit.

Jobs were disappearing, and internships were rarer than ever.

Especially for someone like me —

a non-native English speaker,

standing at the edge of an industry in freefall,

with nothing but a newly minted resume in hand.

Cold Calls and Silent Rejections

I wasn’t prepared for how hard it would be.

Cold calling —

in English, over the phone,

without seeing the other person’s face —

was a different kind of battle.

I scripted everything.

Wrote down my introduction.

Prepared for every possible question.

Pasted notes all over my desk.

And made more than ten calls every day.

Silence.

Polite rejections.

And sometimes,

outright dismissals —

"We’re down to 14 people. Do you think we’re hiring interns?"
(Merrill Lynch, if you’re curious.)

One by one, the first 100 companies on my list crossed themselves out.

I thought about giving up.

Adaptation Over Perfection

Instead, I adapted.

I rewrote my cover letter.

This time, I made it brutally clear:

"I don’t need to be paid. I’m here for the experience."

A risk?

Of course.

But experience was the currency I needed,

not a paycheck.

I sent out 100 more resumes.

And finally —

two interviews.

The First Question

The first question they asked was:

"Why are you willing to work for free?"

In their eyes,

this level of "passion" must have seemed strange.

I answered:

"It was hard just to get in front of you. I’m betting on this experience because I believe it’s worth more than a paycheck to me. Of course, if there’s appropriate compensation later, that would be great motivation too."

Honest.

Direct.

A gamble —

but it worked.

I got the internship.

And not just that —

I got paid.

Three months later, I had real experience.

Real skills.

And most importantly —

the first brick in what would become my global career.

Persistence as Strategy

Looking back,

those 200 cold calls taught me more than any university class ever could.

Adapt fast. Stay uncomfortable. Bet on yourself — especially when no one else will.

Even now, whenever I face a challenge,

I ask myself:

"Have I really tried 200 times yet?"

Most of the time,

the answer is no.

And then —

I keep going.

Hop in. Let’s drive — together.

Failure isn’t a stop sign.

It’s just the first turn on a longer road.

Persistence isn’t about being stubborn.

It’s about learning how to change course

without quitting the drive.

Hop in.

Let’s drive — together.