Forte, needs improvement, when should I take leave to prepare for interview
I am currently not in dev list, but for the forte review, I got NI. I am L4 and has 2 years experience. I am a bit upset because some of the feedbacks were like: you need to write some design documents. But I wasn’t given the opportunity to do so, my manager kept giving me the same tasks, which is well defined and no design is required( only implementation) My team is also super busy, I found it hard to work and prepare interview at the same time. I felt I am very exhausted:(( our team usually works over time so I don’t have much time to practice coding questions) Would really appreciate if I can get some advices here. Thank you.
Take off ASAP. Relax,apply and prepare.Amazon is BS.
Work on your path out of Amazon to a better company. The NI is your red flag, so treat it as such. Management will keep loading you with work and replace you when burnt out. It’s hard to make time for interview prep and interviews but every hour spent doing so is an investment. Don’t leave your career in your managers hands as they typed PIP for the last report who trusted them and just gave you this review, so own your own career and drive it - externally.
Thanks, I have started practicing coding questions this week.
Yet another Amazon victim
I'm sorry to say but I think you are already on a Dev List (aka Focus). The thing is that most managers don't tell an employee when they put them on a dev list. That happened to me actually. So, let's hope for the best but prepare for the worst. I'd suggest working with your manager and demonstrate (or pretend) that you are ready to cooperate and work hard to improve, and are open for their feedback, regardless how you feel in reality. There is a chance to get out of Focus (I made it last year), but many people didn't, and often managers actually put someone on a Dev List and then PIP them out in order to meet the mandatory URA (unregretted attrition) targets for their org. Or, chances are that your skip-level manager might just told your SDM to put you on a Dev List, and there was nothing they could do (my L7 did that). I would also not recommend trying to switch teams. Only switch when you are sure you are out of the dev list. Otherwise it will only becomes worse as your manager won't have a motivation to work with you to get you out of Focus. In parallel, I'd suggest start leetcoding and prepare to look for other opportunities. It's important that your leadership and your team do not know about that. I'd suggest using anonymous job search sites like Mirajobs.com or Gogig.com. LinkedIn is not really secure, as your Open To Work status can be seen by anyone who is subscribed to their Recruiter plan. Hope this helps and good luck!
How was your experience coming out of focus?
Do managers tell you when you are out of focus?
If I completely stop working on a dev plan, can the manager fire me without a severance?
Ask your manager directly if you are on Focus. If yes, start actively interviewing, your chances are 50/50. In any case, consider using anonymous job search platforms like Mirajobs to get stay open for new job opportunities without your SDM and team knowing.
If you’re not in Dev list (and your manager can confirm that) try to switch teams. If you know any manager from other team that you have worked with, talk to them. If you are in focus and trust your manager, try to get a senior developer to help navigate through that. Although I’d suggest to LC rather than take the risk.
Will it be easy to switch teams if my review is NI?
This is the first time they are revealing ratings, so don’t know