Got into FB after having interview phobia for 10 years

Yahoo
mGFs15

Go to company page Yahoo

mGFs15
Jun 10, 2021 36 Comments

Hello fellow blind community,

I wanted to share my experience and hopefully it helps few folks like me who always hesitated to change jobs because of interview phobia.

I have been at Yahoo for 11 years now and while it has been a really great journey at Yahoo there were times throughout these years where I could have applied for interviews but fear of going through that grueling interview process, anxiety around failing interviews held me back.

But I finally started applying and I interviewed at Facebook as my 2nd company after 11 years only because I knew I would never pass but it would be good to get experience for interviewing without much to lose.

And guess what happened to my utter surprise, I get the confirmation that I have cleared the interview :)

And on top of that, I actually was able to reject the FB offer for a better (50% theoretically higher TC) offer in another series F-funded company.

Hence if you are lifers like me, I would highly encourage folks to interview, it will challenge you and open your mind to what is out there if you just try. And who knows you might be able to crack the most unexpected interview.

I studied religiously for 1.5 months on all the topics around DS from youtube, udemy, medium and any source that I can get my hands on including how to answer the DS questions in the interview.

TC:
Both the opportunities were for DS role.
12 YOE.
FB TC: 200K Base/400K RSUs for 4 yr/50K joining bonus
Other Company( Cannot disclose for risk of getting identified): 240KBase/750K worth of options (estimated) for 4 yrs/15k Joining bonus (no annual bonus)

I hope my story encourages at least a few folks to get out of their comfort zone and motivated to start interviewing.

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TOP 36 Comments
  • Congrats! I'm so afraid of interviewing. I have no confidence in myself in an interview environment. I know I can make so much more elsewhere if I just buckle down and do the LC grind and study but as soon as I try to study, my mind wanders and then I feel it's impossible. .
    Jun 10, 2021 3
  • Spotify
    HR-spy

    Go to company page Spotify

    HR-spy
    thanks for sharing. “interview phobia” is a good phrase to describe how i’ve felt for so long now. Even during PhD finishing “job hunt”, I just did 1 interview (beyond an offer from my internship company) and just joined them. Blamed my laziness for not interviewing, but your post makes me hopeful. Good luck with your new role.
    Jun 10, 2021 1
    • Yahoo
      mGFs15

      Go to company page Yahoo

      mGFs15
      OP
      I am glad :) one of my senior colleague who pushed me hard to interview wud say dnt come up with excuses as they are just that excuses :)
      Jun 10, 2021
  • Intel
    NVLC71

    Go to company page Intel

    NVLC71
    Good job 👏
    Congrats 🎊🎉
    Jun 10, 2021 0
  • New
    OverFlow∞

    New

    OverFlow∞
    Another lifer here with 11+ years at a shit tier company with low TC.

    Interview phobia, leetcode grind with a demanding job and family obligations is what's keeping me away from interviewing as well. I'd really like to change companies so I've started to interview knowing the worst that can happen is a reject.

    Thanks for sharing.
    Jun 11, 2021 0
  • I am having the exact same problem. How did you manage to focus and not get distracted?
    Jun 11, 2021 4