So I have an unusual background that I believe is hampering me from advancing to where I should be. I have 15 years of experience in various financial firms (big names), but with experience ranging from Strategy to Analytics to Business Development. Since those 3 areas are different, I believe people have a hard time plugging me into a role. In 2018, I left a large bank after our business unit faced a lot of turmoil and joined a fin-tech startup selling data and tech to hedge funds and banks. It’s not working out, and I’m now looking for roles at tech firms customer facing. I’ve interviewed at some hedge funds and banks and most recently had quick phone screens at AWS and Microsoft, but can’t make it through the process (even though I’ve always thought I was a great interviewer). I’m not sure if they are looking for true consultations/architects. I do consider myself highly technical, but not a developer. I also hope I’m not just coming off as overqualified, given I’ve led teams and large scale efforts. Any suggestions? Any referrals? Thanks in advance. NYC based.
Software Engineering Career
Yesterday
2913
28 terrorist worshipping idiots just got themselves fired and I've never been prouder to work at Google.
Tech Industry
4h
1231
Go woke, go broke: Google fires 28 employees involved in pro-Hamas protest
Tech Industry
Yesterday
655
Do I have the dream job?
Tech Industry
Yesterday
1904
What is the appeal to NVIDIA?
Layoffs
Yesterday
11541
Google CFO confirms "large-scale" layoffs today (Apr 17)
I am an SWE with 25 yoe, and it can be difficult to be very experienced yet still a generalist. You end up a needle in a big haystack. It may be worth focusing your career on something more specific, on your own dime. When you don’t specialize — and you’re asked by the recruiter/interviewer “what do you want in your next role” — then you’re forced to answer that with whatever the job description says or whatever it is they want to hear. You wear yourself out on these calls. It’s scary to feel you’ve really narrowed the field by being specialized, but you are now seeing that the field is already doing this to you. I wish I could suggest a great 3rd party recruiter or agency, but I can’t (especially in NYC). Think about the TRUE answer to the question above, study/train to get there (the internet and YouTube make this so much easier now), and promote yourself accordingly. The pain in this is that you may drop your income while doing so, and you may also find yourself with a lower income for a long time. It’s not easy to stay in a field when you don’t have something really deep that you can demonstrate and sell. You may eventually have luck with a big tech firm, but you have got to have a genuine answer to that question which fits their unusual needs. For example, you may be able to parlay this experience into a TPM or PM role at Amazon, or a solution/sales engineer type of role. But you’ll have to have a good reason for why you want it, and explain it. A good analogy is me considering a masters degree in social work. A non-competitive university is likely to take me, but why would a competitive program consider my application when I have good credentials but absolutely nothing indicative of a compelling interest in that field. Meaning that you need to show that you weren’t weeded out of something by lack of fit, rather than asking an employer to give you the opportunity to see if it’s a fit for you.
Thanks for the response, appreciate it