I write tail-recursive functions in C using gotos sometimes. I figure why bother with recursion when the function call would be two jmps, register spills, and stack growth?
I'd say you are doing it right, it's just too bad the companies you had these experiences with don't understand you are a solid candidate.
It's really not that bad. I ended up back in academia getting a funded MSc, and at this level I'll be interviewing in summers or at the end of my degree for industrial positions that are more in line with what I want anyway. Why not walk to the door that says, "Research and Development Engineer" rather than "Generic Software Engineer N+1"?
I'd say you are doing it right, it's just too bad the companies you had these experiences with don't understand you are a solid candidate.