Should I give up on Microsoft after getting terminated?

In a vacuum, I'd say the answer is yes. The financial cost of applying to any company is zero, and the marginal time cost of also applying to Microsoft if you're already applying to other companies should be minimal.

Since your Connect reviews were good, I am confident there's is no lasting damage or permanent ban on your employment at Microsoft. But you do need a good narrative about your burnout, what you've been doing, and what you hope to change and learn by going back to Microsoft.

So to summarize my stance:

• If you're applying to many other tech cos (this is the #1 tip to gain leverage for negotiation), then you might as well include Microsoft in the list.
• If you're applying to just one company, Microsoft is not the best choice for 2 reasons:
  • You have baggage there from your prior stint (since it was perf related)
  • You won't expand your network as much by going back to Microsoft. If you're still in the learn phase of your career, there's value in trying out a new environment with different people.

I think you might as well try. 3 years is a long time, and Microsoft is known to have a more relaxed culture in the Nadella era. As long as it was purely for performance reasons and you didn't like assault anybody at the company or anything, I imagine your packet would get a serious look, especially if you were a high performer for 3 years before the slump.

Boomerangs are very valuable, especially at senior levels and above. Given that Big Tech is trying to get more productivity from every employee, there is a huge push to get back boomerangs now. Meta reaches out to me 2-3 times a week, across different recruiters.

Thank you for the reply, it definitely gives me hope