Struggling to get foot in the door
Applied for around 10 different roles mostly as an Engineering Manager in Google, Netflix, Stripe, Slack, Dropbox, it's been nearly 2 weeks (not sure of turnaround time), but it seems i'm not progressing past pre-screening, mindful it's also a quiet time of year Any advice going forward on getting in the door?, is the only way in through a referral? YOE: 13 with 5 years in Management
Where do you work right now?
Just finished up at Travelport unfortunately not a US based tech company which i'm sure also works against me
2 week is too early. Keep applying. Expand your horizon.
Referrals
A lot of external manager hires typically know other people in management in the company they're joining
Youâre gonna have a hard time without a referral (and I would include referrals from former employees in that; references from people they know and trust in that), frankly. The only other way youâre likely to get traction is by moving down a company tier or two, and/or by taking a substantial demotion. The companies youâre targeting are among the best (and most attractive) in the industry, and can typically fill management roles with referrals and conversions (i.e. moving ICs into management). Referrals are particularly important for managers because they can single-handedly make or break the culture (and subsequent performance) of a team. Personallyâas a fairly senior SDE working in a tech lead capacity of sortsâI wouldnât trust a random manager hired from outside the company with no personal connections to the people on my team, and if I were assigned to one Iâd immediately start looking for a new team or job (and would encourage my junior mentees on the team to do the same).
You need to get referrals
Thanks, thought as much :(