Delhi student, who went on to attend Yale, on how he got a World Bank job

Vatsal Nahata graduated from the Sri Ram College of Commerce. (Image credit: LinkedIn)

An Indian student's post about securing a World Bank job is gaining attention on LinkedIn. Vatsal Nahata, who graduated from Delhi's Shri Ram College of Commerce and went on to do a Master's course at Yale University, elaborated on how he persevered in finding a job amid the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Vatsal Nahata wrote in his post that when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, he was just two months away from graduating from Yale. The job market did not look upbeat.

"COVID-19 had just been declared a pandemic and companies were on a spree to fire employees," Nahata wrote. "Every company was preparing for the worst, and it made no sense to hire. A historic recession seemed looming."

Adding to his challenges were visa difficulties. Nahata said many companies told him they could not sponsor his visa.

"(Donald) Trump's stance on immigration made it very uncertain for companies to navigate and predict US immigration policy," he added. "Everybody wanted to play it safe and hire US citizens."

Nahata said he was dejected, but determined to secure a job.

He added he "sent over 1500 connection requests, wrote 600 cold-emails, got on 80 odd cold-calls with all types of people".

"Things became so desperate that I would often cold-call people in my dreams," he wrote.

At last, he made some headway. In May, he received four job offers, one of them being from World Bank. He picked World Bank.

Nahata started off as a consultant with World Bank's Education Global Practice. He is now a research analyst with the International Monetary Fund.

The 23-year-old said his experience in the US taught him valuable lessons -- the impact of networking and how to survive any situation.

LinkedIn users described his post as "inspiring and insightful".

Some comments pointed out that many in India struggled more than him to get jobs or college admissions.  

"I agree," Nahata said in response. "I am extremely privileged. This post is not to compare my struggles with those that others face."