Hi Blind Community, I wanted to share my long and brutal road from layoff to FAANG company. I hope to give some inspiration to others who are unemployed or getting rejected. When it seems all hope seems lost, remember someone has been there as well. If they can do it, so can you! I have 15 YEO, 5 as developer and 10 as technical marketing role. I have a BS and MS in computer science from a top 10 USA university. My resume is solid and recruiters have told me. I worked for Intel for 10 years and I technical program manager in my last role. I was very good at my job and I loved it! I would have been totally happy if I retired in that Intel job. I loved my team and my manager. The pay was low but I was very happy. See my Intel TC below. Unfortunately, a vengeful senior VP within Intel IAGS cut my entire group in March 2020 and then hired one of his good old boys to do the same job. We got on his shit list because we started reporting some of his unethical spending to finance and it got back to him. This is actually illegal and some encouraged me to sue. But it's not worth my time and the return would be minimal. Also, that evil VP would still be there. We were even given roles on others teams but the VP blacklisted everyone on my team and blocked all transfers. I was forced to take the separation package, which was about 40K after tax. I'm still bitter about this VP, I wish nothing but failure in his life. I left in March 2020, when covid19 was extreme. We even begged to get extended but was rejected!! From March 2020 - August 2020, I applied to near 150 jobs online. I applied to any tech company, big and small. I failed big companies like Amazon, Spacex, Autodesk, Google, Facebook and even Intel again. Rejection was extremely brutal and demoralizing. Covid19 has made competition extreme. I remember applying to a Microsoft job and saw that LinkedIn alone had 2000 applicants. How in the world can I set myself apart when there are thousand of qualified people!?? But I forced myself to apply to a new job every day. Getting excited and then sad from rejection was an exhausting emotional roller coaster. I assumed I would eventually land some low end job. Then one day in August 2020, a random recruiter from FAANG emailed on LinkedIn. It was one of my dream companies and I never truly considered I was good enough. At this point, I thought it was fake. I had been scammed before from fake jobs. But this time, it was real! After going through 5 rounds and interviewing with 10 people, I got a job offer!! I was over the moon. I'm now working on a project that will literally change the world in the coming years. For all those looking for jobs, I send you all the luck and best wishes. No matter how much you fail, please keep trying. Sometimes life test you and you must endure. If you can get through it, you shall be rewarded. Lean on your family for support and be thankful for their good health. Intel base: 115K Intel Bonus: 25K Intel RSU: 10K Intel TC: 150K New FAANG Base: 190K New FAANG RSU: 160K over 4 years New FAANG Sign On: 75K New FAANG TC: 305K #covid #laidoff #intel #faang #covid19 #layoff
Congrats, that's great to hear! However, you should specify which FAANG you are joining, without this the numbers make little sense.
Baller as fuck. Congrats!
How much leetcode you grinded?
No Leetcode, I went for project management job.
Amazing job btw! Congrats š were you already in a project management position at Intel?
Ig you have a GC?
Huh?
Why the assumption? Cant he be American?
Thanks for sharing OP. How did it make you feel to be rejected by Intel considering you were an employee there for so long? Iāve been in a similar spot where I didnāt get the offer due to my manager at the time being pretty evil. Iām concerned whether that will hurt me long term in terms of reputation. Would appreciate any advice!
Being rejected again by Intel after I left was the most painful. After the rejection, the hiring manager called me and gave me good feedback. I was second places, so so close. But looking back, I'm glad I didn't go back to Intel. My company now is 10x better, it's hard to see the rewards when you in the shit.
Thanks
Congratulations! I was laid off in April and have been dealing with rejections since. Itās not the getting laid off that bothers me, I hated where I was, but the constant rejection takes a mental toll. Reading experiences like yours helps a lot more than people may realize. Itās a nice burst of optimism in the midst of all the rejection and ghosting, so thank you!
Thank you OP for this encouraging post!
Wow u were terribly low balled at intel. Good for you op. Godspeed. Good luck on ur new role. Curious to know the VP..
Congratulations and looks like you got into apple. Good luck my friend and tfs
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Thanks for sharing. What city/location and did you interview for local to that city or to all-remote roles as well? I have had a very different experience as an L5, the job market in SF is extremely good. I say this not to make a negative comparison but to let people know - the job market is very good in some places!
I am based on Oregon since I was at Intel. I applied to all jobs on the west coast. All my interviews were virtual. I will eventually have to move down to California bay area for my company but who knows when that will be. Covid19 is going nuts all over the USA.