After over 300 applications, 500 cold emails, this Indian Origin man got Job at Tesla

On September 28 (IST), Dhruv Loya, a New York-based professional, shared his hard-won success on LinkedIn, marking the end of a difficult journey. "I finally got a job!" he posted, updating his profile to reflect his new role as a Powerwall Technical Support Specialist at Tesla.

Despite having built a strong resume with three internships, a strong GPA, and active involvement in extracurriculars, Loya faced five tough months of unemployment. He described how his personal and professional life seemed to stall, recounting the strain of losing his lease, health insurance, and the looming uncertainty of his visa status. "Lost my lease, my health insurance, and constantly felt the ticking clock of my visa status, knowing I could be forced to leave the U.S. at any moment," he shared.

Before landing his full-time role as a Technical Support Specialist at Tesla, Dhruv Loya spent months moving between friends’ apartments, sleeping on air mattresses, and carefully spending every dollar. Now that his journey has reached a turning point, he shared his experience on social media, expressing solidarity with others facing similar challenges. “I know the job market is very tough, especially for international students,” he noted.

He also offered some hard-earned advice which emphasized a balanced approach and encouraged job seekers to treat the process like a “9-to-5” job but to also take evenings and weekends for self-care. “My advice to anyone facing this struggle is to treat applying to jobs as your 9-5 but make sure to use your evenings and weekends to unwind and do things you enjoy. I understand how emotionally draining this process can be,” he said.

Loya went on to share a few resources that helped him secure interviews, hoping to guide others in a similar position. For job searches, he relied on platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, Handshake, and Jobright.ai. He also used Hunter.io for sending cold emails and turned to ChatGPT+ for refining his resume and cover letters.

Offering encouragement, Loya advised others to "Just keep manifesting, stay positive, and believe that things will fall into place!" His experience includes roles as a Product Engineer intern at CoreHaptics, a research assistant and senior IT technician at the University at Buffalo, and a quality assurance intern at Boehringer Ingelheim.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Science in May 2024 with a 3.4 GPA. He was also a member of the UB Rowing team and won a trophy in the university’s International Fiesta dance competition.

As per his past posts, Loya shared his unforgettable experience as a Commercial Quality Intern at Boehringer Ingelheim, saying, "During my 3-months tenure, I worked closely with the Commercial Quality team assisting in technical product complaints and returns, helping to foster an environment of Quality Culture throughout BI. I also helped the team automate the extreme Excel files and graphs required for the Trends report by creating a dashboard using Microsoft Power BI."

"Overall, I had a very productive and amazing summer where I got to relocate and explore beautiful Atlanta, experience my first ever baseball game, work a 9-5 job, participate in team meetings, network, and learn a lot from my team and others at BI," he wrote.