The Day I Found 30+ Bugs and Lost the Job Opportunity 🐞📩

6 years ago, while desperately seeking my second job, a company sent me an assignment: Find bugs on our website. No guidance. No limits. Just explore and report back.

I remember opening the website late at night with a cup of coffee in hand, thinking this would be a quick task. But the moment I started, something clicked. I turned into a bug-hunting machine. Clicked every button, resized every window, ran console checks, and tried every invalid form submission I could think of. I didn't just look for surface issues—I dove into responsiveness, accessibility, and even tried edge-case user flows. 🔍🕵️‍♂️

By the time I was done, I had a detailed document with 30+ clearly documented bugs. Each entry had a title, description, impact assessment, and suggested fix. It wasn't just a bug list—it was a mini QA audit. I felt proud. This was going to make an impression.

So I wrote a professional email, double-checked everything, and hit send. I even stayed up an extra hour refreshing my inbox, hoping for an acknowledgment.

But what followed was complete silence. No acknowledgment, no feedback, no rejection—just a void. 👻

At first, I was confused. Then hurt. And finally angry. How could they ghost someone who worked so hard? But after the emotions settled, I realized: this was on me too.

I had fallen into a common early-career trap—giving 120% to a 20% request. I didn't ask for clarification. I didn't scope the effort. I just assumed more effort = better outcome. I had over-invested in a test that was likely meant to be a quick filter.

But here's the thing: I don't regret it. That deep dive taught me more than most interviews. It taught me how to audit a website. It taught me how to communicate findings professionally. And it gave me a story that I still tell—to remind myself and others about setting boundaries.

I learned that passion needs direction. That effort should be scoped. And that sometimes, companies use tasks like this to judge initiative—but also to see if you understand limits.

Final thought: Always ask yourself—what's the scope? What's expected? And what am I willing to give without return? The answers will shape not just your response—but your career.

Lesson learned: Overdelivering is admirable. But overextending is unsustainable. Choose wisely. 🌱💡