Bengaluru techie was mocked by interviewer: ‘People like you won’t make it to Google.’ Her clapback has the internet’s attention

A Bengaluru-based techie’s job interview experience is striking a chord across the internet — and not just because of where she ended up. Arpita Das, a Software Engineer currently working at Google, took to X to share a bitter but ultimately satisfying story from her job hunt. In her post, she recalled being grilled by an interviewer from a mid-level startup during a system design round. He pushed her to estimate everything from CPU costs to infrastructure planning — practically everything except, as she joked, physically building the data centre.

But what really stuck with her was what happened when she stumbled. According to Arpita, the interviewer smirked and said, “This is why people like you won’t make it to big companies like Google or Meta.” That sting didn’t last long, though — today, she works at Google.

— Arpitaaa01 (@Arpitaaa01)
“I’m not bragging,” she wrote. “Just wondering why some folks gatekeep based on their own insecurities.” The post quickly gained traction, with people rallying behind her. One user cheekily asked where the interviewer works now. Arpita’s reply? He’s still at the same company.
Internet reactsOthers jumped in to share similar experiences and show support for Arpita. One user called her journey the best form of revenge, encouraging her to keep going strong. Another pointed out that when they conduct interviews, they focus on what they can learn from the other person, rather than trying to break them down. One particularly striking response came from someone who had also faced gender bias in the hiring process. She shared how a former interviewer doubted her ability to handle onsite work simply because she was a woman. Ironically, that interviewer was fired within a year and a half, while she went on to perform not just her own responsibilities, but his as well — and did a better job at it.