Member-only story
On paper, it was the dream job. Hell, it would have been the most “adult” job I’d ever had in my life so far. Stocks, bonuses, incredible benefits, prestige and an incredible all-remote team. It would absolutely sky-rocket my career; the name on my resume would open doors, opportunities and a path to further success. I would never have to worry about how to pay my bills again.
It took me six interviews and a take-home project to get this offer. So why did I decline it?
To turn down a role like this was no small decision, especially considering the financial implications. Personal anecdotes from others helped me to make my decision and I wanted to share my story and process too.
How it started
Who am I?
Hi, I’m Annie. I’m an Australian multi-disciplinary designer who graduated from a Canadian front-end development bootcamp in July 2019. I was also an English instructor in Japan, among a variety of other random jobs.
My first developer job out of bootcamp was at a small WordPress VIP agency, where I worked for a little over a year. I then moved to a B2B SaaS startup, Pastel, as their first hire in October 2020. (I’m currently the Front-end Engineering Lead here.) In July 2021, I got an offer from one of the world’s biggest and loved tech firms.
It’s been a wild journey.
That email
It’s May 2021. I’ve just received an email from the manager of a large tech company, asking if I was interested in a developer advocacy position on their growing team.
I instantly think they’ve made a mistake.
Clearly, they didn’t mean to email me. After the initial shock, I realise they’ve taken the time to fill out the form on my website. Slowly it dawned on me that yes, they did mean me.
