I spend my 20s partying, playing music and traveling the world and didn't really try to enter the workforce until 2008 (great year to try to get a job :-D ). I managed to get work as an analytics/DB consultant for a retailer in the midst of the 2008/09 recession, and spent most of my career jumping from one contract gig to another, but always in the retail domain. At the time, the idea of working for a big tech company seemed as unlikely as me ever recording a platinum rock album. I might be smart, but it seemed like that was one ship that had definitely sailed. Then a few years back, I got a job as an FTE at Nordstrom. Moving to Seattle opened my eyes to the upper echelons of the tech industry, and as part of work I had to deal with people from MSFT, Google and Amazon, and it started to seem like getting into a FAANG wasn't such a farfetched idea after all, especially given my current skill set. I now know a lot of people working for those companies, and I know that I measure up to them technically (In fact some of them are not that good). But now that I'm actively trying to get into a big tech company, it seems like that might have been a pipe dream. Non of the recruiters or hiring managers I've reached out to are even bothering to respond to my emails. Several of my friends with similar skill sets at Nordstrom are being actively courted by recruiters from FB, Google, Amazon, etc... (and 3 or 4 have successfully made the jump), while none of these companies recruiters will even bother to respond to my emails, and my applications on their job websites just sit there forever and ever, even when the job description seems to be literally describing my resume. The only differences I can find between my friends who seem to attract FAANG recruiter attention and myself is: They are either much younger than me (at most early 30s) or they are my age (early 40s) but they already have a major tech company on their resumes (FAANG, MSFT, Oracle, etc...), even though they now work at Nordstrom. Is the combination of my age and my "pure retail" resume an unsurmountable obstacle in this case? Am I chasing a pipe dream? Do you know of anybody who made the jump from retail IT (or insurance, or manufacturing, etc...) to FAANG and Big Tech in their 40s or 50s, and then survived to tell the tale?
Referral will help, but I will recommend getting your resume professionally written. I got in without a referral and when joined Amazon when I was 40 years and 3 months. I don’t believe age matters but believe me, if you get selected the life will be very difficult. A lot of coworkers will look at you differently and you will have to prove yourself everyday till you “Earn Trust”. Unless you get into leadership role which will have its own set of complications
Is FAANG inherently discriminatory
It is not about FAANG. if you are not in a leadership role, you will report into someone 10 years younger than you. And there will be some college graduates in the same team as you. In team meetings and in stand-ups, a lot of time, this will make a complex situation and makes life difficult for 40+ guys. As I have said, I am 41 right now, and even after spending 18 months in Amazon, it is still difficult.
Biggest red flag here is that you’re emailing anyone. Is that still a thing? And applying online? Is *that* still a thing to? Who you know...who knows you. How’s that LinkedIn profile? You good at networking and talking? Gonna guess that’s where you need work. Tech chops are .05% of the game, friend.
Yup. Can "we" work with you 8hrs a day. 44 here. WerkZ for jerks and SkoolZ for fools.
My friend just joined G from MSFT. Mid 40s TPM
I am in my fifties and have gotten a fair bit of FAANG attention.
Yes my floor has a bunch of 40+ yoe folks. Not that it matters but this is Bay Area.
Yes, I just did. Moved from retail to FAANG. Google will definitely be interested, assuming you're good. But you have to be patient and keep applying. It takes time but a lot of (the best) people have been moving from Walmart to Google lately.
Sure you can. What you did in the last few years matter more than how old you are. Don't expect to be levelled very high to begin with, but it is definitely not too late.
DM me for referral if u think of eBay
It can be hard to get your resume seen by the right people, especially if you’re just applying online. This applies to everyone in every industry. Sounds like you should tap some of your friends to ask for a referral and if they can personally get your resume in front of the right recruiters / hiring managers
Agreed, need referrals
And get them to find out why you don't pass screening (if that happens), so you can work to close that gap.