Grilled by a recruiter today

It was an internal recruiter for a small health insurance company. 30 min phone screen, It started really great, but by the end she told me straight up that I was not a good fit for the company/not wh

It was an internal recruiter for a small health insurance company. 30 min phone screen, It started really great, but by the end she told me straight up that I was not a good fit for the company/not what they were looking for. Oh well at least she didn’t waste my time nor I hers. She said and I quote “we are looking for Google level talent”. Lol….funny enough the title is software engineer 1 and by the description it seemed “entry level”. Idk how I even got the interview because half of the job description was not in my resume.. After the call I felt pretty bad, but whatever I’m using this as motivation and a learning experience. Lately I have been working on a bunch of front end stuff but I lack a lot of skill in back end Of all the things she mentioned, one really stuck with me: I need practical experience. How am I supposd to get this tho if I can’t land even an entry level job? She literally said “you seem like you’d be a better fit for our associate engineer but even for that you’re gonna get rejected.” What should I focus on? How can I get practical experience ? And should I just stop applying all together and sharpen up my skills more ? (I.e learning back end) Thanks for your time EDIT This took off more than I expected it too. Thanks everyone for giving me laughs, excellent advice and making me feel a lot better. I really needed it. Didn’t notice it until my girlfriend pointed it out a while ago but I’m clearly very depressed. So I appreciate your kindness! I was not expecting this from r/cscareerquestions cus I know this place can be pretty toxic sometimes but damn, you guys are the best of the bunch! I wish you all success and I hope your similar or worse experiences have turned out for the best. 😊 EDIT 2 Just finished a technical interview. Killed 2/3 questions, but the recursion one got me. We’ll see! Have a good weekend everyone! I’m glad there’s still conversations going on. Keep the grind on!