throwaway269285

> Maybe it's because the economy is so bad that even FAANG employees like yourself can't find work

To be fair, a lot of FAANG engineers aren't actually very good :) It's a mixed bag like anywhere else. I think working at one is most reflective of a willingness to play the game (aka do lots of Leetcode) and having the life circumstances that allow you to invest in interview prep than it is of anything else. I remember talking to some of the people I was hired with, and every single one of us reflected that we had seen all of our interview problems beforehand. Just because we had put the practice in.

Unfortunately working here only helps me get my foot in the door. And quite ironically, at smaller companies, when I describe my experience to them, it almost seems like a detriment. I do ops, write infrastructure as code, write big data ingestion pipelines, and server APIs, and when I tell them this, they're like "yeah, those are 4 different roles here... it sounds like you're a jack of all trades, master of none". I feel to some extent like I need to be deliberately deceptive to convince hiring managers I can excel in their roles.

> Maybe it's because I'm trans. The reason doesn't even really matter.

I'm not LGBTQ, but I would characterize myself as a little different. I've just never really believed in appearances. The rejections have made me put a lot of thought into making my appearance look more conventional. For me, it's simple things like getting a haircut, shaving, or dressing nicer, but I'm definitely feeling pressure to conform, if only so I can get the role.

This is all really helpful and grounding advice. Thank you. I'll check out Bob Firestone's interview course. You're right, it does look scammy lol

> The good news is that most employers aren’t FAANGs. The bad news is that a FAANG history is not going to help you succeed anywhere, see

Fortunately I've only been working at one for a few years, so hopefully I'm not too damaged :)

> Thirdly, practical advice: get some written references or video testimonies from your colleagues and former bosses. These should be made available to the interviewing employer at the beginning of the process - link to them in your resume etc. If you find interviewing and assessments challenging, I think that providing alternative evidence of your capability would be the first thing to do.

This is really good advice. I actually did have my manager write me a recommendation, but I had no idea how to get it in front of people. This is an awesome idea. Thank you

And yeah, I was expecting a pretty big pay cut, and I'm ok with that. I was just hoping to keep the remote situation

Yeah this is something we're now talking about. My wife and I were initially quite resistant to the idea, but the more rejections I get, the more amenable I become to it.

One big thing keeping me from splitting up like this is that I don't really have a job where I can do a job search and do my work at the same time. My job is stupidly demanding. I'm concerned if I do something like this I'll just never be able to move towards a more sustainable situation.

The other alternative we're looking at is moving in with my parents for a while. They live close by and have room. I'm not sure how much it'll impact my job search once I'm officially unemployed