The only way I’ve gotten around this is to pursue opportunities at smaller companies run by people with a similar mindset. Tech, like most other industries, can be a bit incestuous when it comes to competitive thinking because so-and-so company does it and therefore we must do it too. Smaller companies tend to have to compete more in the labor market and therefore don’t rely as heavily on these tactics.
And while it is sophomoric and ineffective, at least you’re not explicitly judged by where you went to school, etc. like you see in finance. It’s not like other high-paying industries are more meritocratic than tech. I still think tech is by far the most meritocratic industry to be in, despite the interviewing culture.
The only way we change the interviewing culture across the industry is by no longer making the FAANGs of the world the standard to aspire to, because it’s them pushing this misguided thinking.
And while it is sophomoric and ineffective, at least you’re not explicitly judged by where you went to school, etc. like you see in finance. It’s not like other high-paying industries are more meritocratic than tech. I still think tech is by far the most meritocratic industry to be in, despite the interviewing culture.
The only way we change the interviewing culture across the industry is by no longer making the FAANGs of the world the standard to aspire to, because it’s them pushing this misguided thinking.