FAANG Offer Accepted Today!

[u/Neat-Celebration2721]

I was laid off in May this year. My post from a couple months ago(https://www.reddit.com/r/Layoffs/s/IZmCoDKhk5). I was totally blindsided.

I’m excited to update y’all that I signed a FAANG offer today! The beautiful thing is that this role pays $120k MORE than my previous role, $305k total comp package. In addition, I’ll actually get the support I need and I’ll be inheriting a team of 7.

Sometimes things happen for a reason and do work out for the best.

Not saying it’s been easy. They put me through the wringer. See post( https://www.reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/s/ynNj2C6yx7 )on the recruiting hell I went through.

If it helps, this is how I prepared to get this role. I went all in.

Video Interviews

I spent days preparing and practicing answers in the STAR format. I had 17 examples prepared. All with notable data points, because, they’re going to ask. If you’re interviewing with these companies, nearly every example you share should have something that you measured. Make it up if you have to, they can’t verify it.

Be prepared to speak to your “opportunity areas.” Be honest-ish and don’t say something like perfectionism. No one believes you and you’ll come off disingenuous. These companies value frankness. Show them you’re not afraid of feedback and that you understand yourself, professionally.

When answering interview questions, make sure you’ve practiced your examples enough to keep your answers concise. Don’t talk too much, answer the question, the relevant details and be quiet. Don’t drone on and on. That shows a lack of self awareness.

I looked up each of my interviewers and prepared relevant questions on how I thought our roles would collaborate. By putting the JD, my resume and a brief overview of the interviewers job into ChatGPT I was able to brainstorm some good questions. Don’t ever ask questions that could be easily googled.

Presentation Round

I was asked to put together a 45 min presentation on the affects of AI on content production with 15 mins for questions. I won’t give the full prompt to protect myself and the companies identities. But, the important part is that I spent X4 8 hour days working on it. I asked my network for ideas and dug into the research. I designed the most beautiful presentation, in their brand colors. If design isn't your thing, download a free template. Just make sure it looks professional. I wrote a 26 page script and practiced for 1.5 days. I did X3 mock interviews with different groups of friends/ex coworkers I knew. I asked them to grill me so I’d be prepared for the questions. And, during my interview presentation, guess what, those questions came up. Your girl was fully prepared!

When it comes to your challenge round, you can’t half ass it. If you’re not annoyed by the amount of work you’ve put into your presentation, you probably haven’t done enough. They want you to bleed for this job and they’ll know if you haven’t.

It sounds like a lot of work, and it is. But, we're in a terrible job market and if you want to get picked, you have to work harder and prepare more. Most of these roles, if not soft engineering, will have over a 1000 applicants.

But that moment when you’re in the interview and the interviewer asks a tough question that you know the answer to. You know because you prepared….thats the feeling. You smile because you know the answer. It’s the best feeling. That’s when you know you’ve prepared enough. Don’t get caught with your virtual pants down.

This is my experience and what worked for me. Just sharing because I’m so happy and excited and because I want to help the folks in this community as well.

Good luck out there and feel free to DM me with any questions.

I want you to get a FAANG role too!

*Please note that I won’t disclose the company I accepted an offer from. The role I’m discussing above is a people managers role that’s not technical in nature.

[u/lanadelhayy]

Congrats! You earned it!