You Don’t Need a Referral to Get in the FAANG!

With recruiting season underway (~May), some of the things you are probably looking at to get is referrals! As a candidate looking for tech opportunities, we are told that having referrals increase our chances of landing a job, but is that entirely true? While I do agree that referrals are great to have, I also think it is worth discussing that referrals are not an “admit one” ticket to any opportunity.

I was always under the impression that to get an opportunity in the FAANG or MAGNA as some people have been calling it, I had to have a referral, and I was not (and still am) not alone. A lot of candidates seem to think they will get some sort of special treatment if they apply to opportunities with referrals than not. If you think like that, then I am here to burst your bubble, this is not true, at least not always. If you haven’t been able to land a referral for the FAANG opportunity you are eyeing, then I am here to give you some hope!

If you have been following/reading/listening to my work for some time, then you are very aware of how fond I am of networking groups. I love them so much that I highlight some reasons why I think joining the right tech networking group…