Best career bounce back stories?

To all the people who have been laid off recently, don’t get disheartened. I have been laid off thrice and every time, I got a better offer and higher salary. If you have given your 100% and still end up getting laid off the fault is not on you. I now have started believing it happens for a greater good. Things to remember is always have a emergency fund, minimum 6 months of survival money, whichever city you are working/living on. This includes everything car emi if any, home loan emi if any, children education expenses if any, sum total of each and every expenses that you incur per month. This will give you financial cushion, you will not join the first company which rolls out an offer, you will have the leverage. If you have skills you will always find the next opportunity. Note: If you fall in the category of ppl who were working in deeply funded companies with exorbitantly insane salaries defying gravity, accept the reality of the market correction settle for less and cut down on lifestyle inflation. 4-5 years experience getting 80-90L in fixed was anyways not sustainable, it would have corrected sooner or later

I recently experienced a layoff, and it’s been... tough. Largely because it came as a surprise and I was not prepared. For those of you who’ve been through this, how did you bounce back? What steps did you take to get back on your feet, both professionally and personally?

During my B.Tech, I balanced my studies with active participation in clubs and committees, and also engaged in sports and exploration. Aspiring for a non-core placement, I didn't participate in hackathons or apply for internships. After graduation, I pursued various paths, including preparing for the CAT exam with only three months of preparation time, but I didn't succeed. I then applied to several companies for data analytics roles but kept making new mistakes in each attempt. In one instance, I was rejected for oversharing my passion for data science in a final interview. To improve my chances, I optimized my resume and completed significant projects, but these efforts haven't yet yielded the desired results. Realizing the challenges of relying on a single target, I also started preparing for the GATE exam. Reflecting on my journey, I recognize that I should have applied for on-campus opportunities, as off-campus job hunting is challenging and unpredictable, regardless of one's preparation. Tell me your story? In order to get some hope that we can make it and it's never too late

I am currently working as a senior engineer at a startup (yoe 6+). Initially things were good , but from the last few months The workplace turned toxic and all the nasty things started happening around me. The burn out was deteriorating mental and physical health, so i lost my patience and resigned. Making this ama , so that I can help someone who is going through the same situation.

Less than 50 days left to end 2023, What did you achieve this year?

Are there any examples of early startup founders who failed in their startup idea and then went back to regular jobs? The point of this question is not to insult rather than to understand a different perspective of a founder’s mindset. We hear all sorts of success stories but we never get to hear the failed stories and what happened to the people who built those companies. Kinda like in “Silicon Valley” TV show how the younger generation quickly forgot about Pied Piper.

I started as a fresher at a big service-based company, faced a lot of politics, and was learning nothing. I realized I needed to leave it ASAP. I left it after 8 months, then was jobless for 2 months. After 2 months joined an early-stage startup, and was satisfied with my learning for a while, but in the backend team, there were only two people me and the CTO. And my dynamics with him didn't go very well. There was no culture as well, weekdays and weekends were the same. I was still fine with it but the guy (CTO) became very toxic and creepy. In 2 months, I started interviewing and I got into a mid-sized series B startup that had a good culture. I had to switch tech stack and it was more overwhelming than I thought initially. I tried to do good but I got laid off after working there for 10 months. All the way along I increased my package to a decent level. Now I feel super demotivated and underconfident and it's been 6 months since and I haven't taken up a job. With an increasing gap, I feel I have fucked up my career. In these 6 months, I have tried exploring different career options but haven't been able to crack any or have been indecisive and I feel I should just take up a job.

Your opinion matters, I want you(Yes, You!) to tell us about your view. Would you choose to work at the top companies for the rest of your life in the same domain and continue to climb up the ranks? Maybe, you switch every 3-4 years to other top companies and have the perfect resume. It looks something like: Google ➡️ Meta ➡️ Amazon ➡️ Microsoft ➡️ Uber ➡️ Netflix etc. Or, Do you go for the unconventional path which shows a life well lived and an interesting story? Maybe, you worked for a few years as an SDE and then joined a smaller company as an MLE. Then, maybe a few years down the line you decided to start your own company in the AI/ML space. You fail but it’s okay. You decide to use this experience to become a consultant at a BigCo. to gather capital. Then, you exit and go run an entire vertical at a Series B+ Tech Company. It may look something like this, but can have any variation: Niche#1(big co.) ➡️ Niche#1(small co.) ➡️ Experimental Bet(running a co.) ➡️ Leverage Experimental bet(if fails) ➡️ Senior Leadership Here’s my question to you, the reader: What do you think? Which approach would you prefer? Do you think it sounds good here but real life is different?

Due to the toxic environment at my current employer(FAANG), I had to resign. I am taking a job which is a step down in pay and role (a refresh basically) and am moving outside tech( no hiring in tech rn :/) In short to long term, how can I save this career mishap? Although the step down is worth it mentally, given the toxicity I am facing in my team at FAANG, I do want to recover professionally. I have applied a lot but I am 100% sure I won’t get a better job in this market.

Just got to know I was laid off, any personal stories or experiences you folks would like to share, - what helped you to find the next job - how to mentally get over it it etc, Thanks!