In need of referrals. Laid off in March. Been leet coding ever since

Capgemini / Consultant vevo26
May 4 20 Comments

Hi guys! So I was laid off in March and currently looking for a new FAANG role or any company that’s reputable, pays well and takes care of its employees . I’ve applied at amazon a few times but they keep saying ‘No longer in consideration’ for the roles I applied for. Not sure if it’s my resume or the roles are being filled up. I specialize in JavaScript front end but I’m full stack capable (react, angular, MEAN). Living in Virginia but able to relocate anywhere. 4 yoe

I really need any advice you can give and a referral will be helpful too. *Please be nice

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  • Microsoft / Eng olaf0911
    If you are keen to work in Bay area then I would suggest moving to this side temporarily while looking for jobs. The address on your resume matters. You may not want to join a startup but a lot of mid level companies prefer to pickup local candidates too for interviews.
    May 4 5
    • Capgemini / Consultant vevo26
      OP
      True. I definitely need to look into mid level positions in my area as well. Moving to the west coast with no job will be a little risky as I’m living in my savings rn
      May 4
    • Microsoft / Eng olaf0911
      You don't have to move permanantly right now. Just temp with a friend for a couple of days. It will help you to know the culture closely and network with the right people. Also the difference in time zone matters.
      May 4
    • Gap / Eng randUser
      How do you afford housing in the bay area if you have no income?
      May 4
    • New / Eng
      errfileno

      New Eng

      PRE
      Microsoft
      BIO
      Senior Software Engineer. 15yoe. Seattle. ~$400k TC
       errfilenomore
      Alrernatively, craft your resume in such a way that your current physical location isn't featured at all.
      May 4
    • Microsoft / Eng olaf0911
      The keyword was 'temp'. Singing a full time lease is obviously expensive.
      I have been in that boat so this is coming from experience. Sometimes companies want to see you within a week. Being closer to them will help you to prepare more for the interview rather than planning travels all the way from east coast.
      Also try signing up for websites like hired.com. They are location agnostic.
      May 4
  • Amazon SupGirl
    “Reputable, pays well, and takes care of its employees” are not words I would use to describe Amazon by the way..
    May 4 2
    • Capgemini / Consultant vevo26
      OP
      Ha! How so?
      May 4
    • Amazon hot 🍞
      Man this guy is REALLY bad at doing his homework lol, no wonder he didn't meet the bar
      May 4
  • The Trade Desk / Eng xqmU32
    The top reason I will reject a resume is because it reads like a job description. E.g. bulletpoints of boilerplate job requirements that are basic tablestakes for the role. What I look for is a sense for what the candidate *contributed*, how they left their team and company better off than when they started.

    TBH, for a candidate who has been out of work for a few months, as a HM I would care more about their GitHub profile than their leetcode score. i.e. I would value a candidate spending their time pursuing their own ideas, solving real problems, and contributing to the world.
    May 4 2
    • Capgemini / Consultant vevo26
      OP
      I agree with you. Bullet points on resume listing every little function on the job is what a lot of us are taught when creating the first resume, then we carry that on for the next few job searches in our careers! I’m currently working to correct this 🙂

      Unfortunately, we live in a world where learning and knowing how to solve algorithms is what will land you a job with the tech giants vs your personal projects (at least from doing research, I know a fantastic side project will make you stand out but your data structure/algorithms/ problem solving skills will play a bigger role in landing that job). That said, I am working on a side project but spending more of my time on leetcode to strengthen my weak areas. I hate it but it’s just the world we live in
      May 4
    • The Trade Desk / Eng xqmU32
      If you find yourself in interviewing where a significant number of the questions aren't some form of "Why?" you should be cautious to join that company. They might pay well today, but their long-term future -- as well as your own satification if you worked there -- is probably in jeopardy. Assuming of course you care about those things... :) If cash is king, FAANG is a sensible goal.
      May 4
  • CenturyLink ml7hsg6
    I’d recommend you to only apply through referrals. No matter how, find someone who you’ve known in the past or someone willing to take a chance on you. With referral, you’ll start getting interviews.
    May 4 0
  • Salesforce Z00FORCE
    Maybe your resume needs some work. Saying your a full stack developer and knowing all these frameworks isn’t going to get you the in the door at FAANG.
    May 4 3
    • Capgemini / Consultant vevo26
      OP
      You are probably right I have a 2.5 page resume. Been working in making it a 1 page resume because I recently found out recruiters prefer shorter resumes. Having a tough time making it short and concise too
      May 4
    • Salesforce Z00FORCE
      For your work experience just put down your most important impacts and what you have accomplished at high level. Technologies/skills shouldn’t be too crazy just put what you really know for ex. Es6, sql, nosql, aws, git/svn etc. anyone who knows JavaScript can adapt to any framework so that stuff isn’t too important...in my opinion
      May 4
    • Capgemini / Consultant vevo26
      OP
      That makes sense. Thank you so much for the advice. I’ll see how I can make it work using what you’ve said.
      May 4
  • Apple DudeItsMe
    Why not start with startups?
    May 4 1
    • Capgemini / Consultant vevo26
      OP
      I’ve never really liked the idea of working at a startup. A cousin of mine was laid off after a week of working for a startup in Seattle. I have friends who worked for startups and the companies went under.
      Stability is important to me or at least knowing that keeping my job will be ‘mostly’ based on my performance... I may be wrong but that’s just how I feel about most startups.
      May 4
  • Apple woodkid
    Your resume should contain the absolute best highlights of your career, not every single thing you ever did.

    Most people spend under 10 seconds glancing a resume. Would you rather prefer the manager to get a look at your absolute highs or your mundane stuff?

    Anything under 8-10 yoe should be in a single pager. Also, please don’t write “objective”
    May 4 0