Should I stop job hunting to maintain better relationships?

Question

I got a verbal offer from Applied Intuition and I’m really excited about the opportunity. It’s a good company with strong financials, and the many engineers I’ve talked to have all mentioned being able to attain E4/E5 level scope a year or two into joining the company. While it’s a good company, I know that it’s not as prestigious as the FAANGs or OpenAIs of the world, and I should keep on hunting, but this is where I feel conflicted.

Job hunting as been a major time sink for me. My focus and productivity has reduced significantly, and as a result, it has put quite a big strain on my professional relationships, such as my research advisor, coworkers and more. My grades have also took a hit, but I suppose that’s less important. My time sink and dip in productivity was at least somewhat justified initially - the job market is so tough for new grads, so it’s understandable that you need to put a lot of effort. But now that I have my first offer, it’s a lot harder to justify my loss in focus.

Right now I have final rounds with a quant firm and Meta. I’m planning to take them in early November. My understanding is that companies (FAANG and FAANG-adjacent) will recruit throughout the year, so should I keep applying to places, or should I stop? On one hand, I read the thread on how Applied compares to other tech companies, and the overall sentiment is that it's “good but not great”, but it sucks to feel like I’m settling for something less. On the other hand, my gut feel tells me that I should stop.

Rahul Pandey · Accepted Answer

My understanding is that companies (FAANG and FAANG-adjacent) will recruit throughout the year

I've not found this to be true for new grad/intern roles, which is what I assume you're applying for. There are usually a fixed number of spots for early-career engineers, so once they're filled up, they'll close recruiting for that cycle. e.g. at Meta, I believe they fill up almost all new grad positions by January for the following summer.

You're right that job searching is emotionally exhausting and a big time sink. How long is the verbal offer from Applied Intuition valid for? I am guessing only for a few weeks, in which case I'd recommend just finishing up one or two final interview loops and then making a decision.

Remember, a job is not permanent. Even if you feel like you didn't fully optimize your job search, you'll always be able to hop around after you join the company.

Also, I'm more bullish on Applied Intuition compared to the sentiment in the linked thread. As autonomous vehicles become more prominent, the importance of Applied Intuition will increase.

Should I stop job hunting to maintain better relationships?

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