Study and job-search rules
A short set of rules for keeping preparation focused and sustainable.
Use these rules to keep the plan practical. The goal is steady progress you can explain, not a perfect streak or a large number of public claims.
Daily habits
- Keep one tracker for DSA, projects, interview practice, applications, and rest.
- Time-box DSA, then review the approach and retry problems you missed.
- Record project decisions and bugs while the details are fresh.
- Use AI tools for review when helpful, but practise solving interview problems independently.
Weekly habits
- Follow the week template, then adjust it for exams and interviews.
- Finish one small, demonstrable project step before starting optional features.
- Practise explaining one technical decision and one behavioral example aloud.
- Apply to roles that match your graduation date, experience, location, and skills.
- Rest. Do not turn every free hour into another task.
Keep the portfolio honest
Publish only work you completed. Label simulations as simulations and separate measured results from targets. A benchmark should include its hardware, workload, and limits. A project should state what it does not support.
Choose projects based on the roles you want. The project catalog includes optional ideas. Do not treat it as a checklist.
If the plan gets too heavy
Cut optional features, extra reading, public posts, and bonus projects first. Keep the work that supports interviews and current applications. If you are sick, in exams, or handling live interviews, use a reduced schedule and resume without trying to repay every missed hour.
One rule to keep
Update your tracker once a week with what you actually did. Use that record to choose the next step.
Do and don't
- Explain trade-offs in plain language
- Keep tests, demo commands, and README claims aligned with the code
- Ask for referrals with a specific role and a concise reason for fit
- Keep sleep and time away from study in the schedule