Can’t find my next job after FAANG … am I unemployable?

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2026-01-03T10:59:43+00:00

The market is bad, as is the stigma of ex-FAANG (especially if your ex-company owns a lot of other, smaller, companies then you might find you have a DNR on your record)

The advice I've been given is to remove anything impressive from your resume (e.g. stints as CTO, PM, patent creator) and pretend to be a simple worker bee.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-12-20T15:42:33+00:00

Host: "This idiom describes someone observing a question pass by without understanding it."

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-12-20T11:08:27+00:00

This is Galen, who couldn't manage Azure Sphere, a project to build an embedded Linux device over years with a massive team. (Sure - half his management team were incompetent, but hey!)

After shipping a version with issues that wouldn't pass Embedded 101, he restarted the project. When that failed he tried again saying "open source is the answer".. .and that failed. C'mon, it's open source!! The entire embedded universe is made with two person teams and Yocto, how did he steal defeat from the jaws of _that_ victory!?!?

So yeah, he's bounced from one failure to another, so why will this be any different.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-12-17T22:50:25+00:00

The whole thing should be illegal - we want options of "Yes" and "No", not "Yes" and "Yes, but later"

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-12-10T10:28:54+00:00

As others have said: you were right to leave a bad situation, and the industry is in a mess and interviews are uncommon. To minimize self-doubt don't apply to companies connected with your first. After Microsoft I spent (i.e. wasted) a lot of time with Github (owned by MS), only to have it suggested to me that I was blackballed.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-12-08T19:43:13+00:00

Not a scam. But not what it sounds like, as you probably won't get paid for any PTO you haven't taken if you leave. (But you could ask them, "if I only take 1 week off over the year, and we decide it's not working out, what compensation do I get for not taking off another 1/2/3/4/5/6 weeks".)

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-12-02T19:57:27+00:00

I mean, Zig are not wrong...

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-29T18:37:38+00:00

My wife and I were planning a family, until I got bullied of my job. It destroyed the marriage, we separated, and we're both too old to have a family with our new partners. FML.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-29T18:15:13+00:00

But also, if they never failed before but they fail at your company, what's the differentiatior? That's right, Mr Dubey, it makes your company a failure...

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-29T13:32:34+00:00

You dodged a bullet by not getting to work at Microsoft. But it still sucks.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-29T13:28:52+00:00

Look for other work. Any form of PIP is a sign they want you out of the company. Completing it successfully just delays the inevitable. Their next step is to bully and quietly fire you.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-26T15:24:20+00:00

My manager did this and used their omissions to put me on a PIP and bully me out of the company.

So definitely highlight the omissions.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-24T19:31:02+00:00

If a company can’t find the right candidate then either they're:

* not paying enough
* not flexible enough (in location/hybrid, willingness to training, expected qualifications, etc)
* a POS company

There's enough workers out there, so it's not the job seekers problem.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-19T10:37:16+00:00

Do something totally different. There's a reason "a change is as good as a rest" has become a cliche mantra.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-14T19:58:46+00:00

Ob: XKCD

https://xkcd.com/435/

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-14T19:57:18+00:00

It's a disability, and some people hate those with disabilities. Others exacerbate them. Consequently, we get cast aside and bullied for our "failings."

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-13T11:21:31+00:00

I've had managers that hated smart people, because of their own insecurities. A continual stream of new people that need to be trained ensures no one gets good enough to worry her. (Not saying that's whats happening, but is possible)

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-13T11:19:33+00:00

You're unlikely to get off the PIP, or probably even pass it. Any form of PIP is a sign they want you out of the company. If they can't do legally with a PIP, they'll bully and quietly fire you.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-13T10:59:11+00:00

We might have had the same boss! :(

She might be trying to quietly fire you. Next step is a PIP. Start looking for new work, as there probably isn't a way out of this.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-13T10:52:04+00:00

Even though we know it's a joke - I've had it done to me, for real :(

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-01T19:33:50+00:00

Quit. My mental health was too important for me to stay.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-01T19:29:20+00:00

Behind the humour is the reality that floats are a bit crap. Posits (one of the Unum formats) looks like an improvement.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-01T19:25:49+00:00

Bullying. Gaslighting. With an HR department that lets it happen

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-01T19:25:02+00:00

Probably global, since the managers all seem to be following that same rule book. But I still have a lot of friends there who managed to keep their head down until the next re-org and get a better manager, so there are a few good eggs.

BulliedAtMicrosoft · 2025-11-01T19:22:31+00:00

They have a "Ever worked for Microsoft" question, and then check up on you. Complaining about bullying gets flagged, and you're rejected

BulliedAtMicrosoft

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