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by scarface_74 524 days ago
Referrals do very little as far as BigTech companies that the poster is aiming for. It might get you an interview.

At smaller companies - where he said he wants to move away from - it may help.

1 comments

Well that's the point -- OP said they're having a hard time even getting an interview. In my experience, once you get to the interview stage, most big tech companies care more about your demonstrable skills than the intangibles of your previous experience. For better or worse, that means you can grind leetcode and system design interview prep and get through it.

Anecdotal evidence, but I got a referral from a friend in big tech and skipped past recruiter screen and technical phone screen and went straight to onsite interviews. This was several years ago though, maybe the process has changed.