An Indian-origin user experience designer from Seattle explains why he left a promising role at Amazon to join Google after interviewing with five major US tech companies.Ganesh Karthik Sankar, 29, said that even after he started working at Amazon, he continued to interview with other big tech companies because he wanted to see how different employers evaluated candidates and find the best fit for his skills. According to Business Insider, his experience includes interviews with Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, which are often referred to as MAANG companies by job seekers. Sankar will work as a product designer at Amazon starting in April 2025. He was initially “really excited” about the role as it offered the opportunity to work on large-scale projects with a significant increase in pay. Still, even after starting the job, he continued with other interview processes.He decided to leave Google after the company offered him a user experience designer position in February 2026. The new position is closely aligned with his experience and includes better compensation. He started at Google earlier this month.
How his job search process unfolded
Sankar began his job search in late 2024, when he was working as a senior user experience designer at Qualcomm in San Diego. He said he hopes the work will have a wider impact, especially projects that impact millions of users. He also hopes to get a better salary.To prepare, he focused his resume and portfolio on his strengths in complex enterprise software design and technology development tools. Sankar said he received a large number of callbacks for interviews by narrowing applications to positions that matched this niche.His work refining application materials and targeting roles is a key part of his strategy. He focuses on opportunities that align with his experience and avoids generic applications.
The role of networking and recommendations
Sankar used referrals and cold outreach to get interviews. He remains active in the design community, joining organizations, attending events, and interacting with the alumni network. He also participated in professional groups such as the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group, where he made many professional contacts.Through referrals, he landed interviews with Amazon, Google, and Meta. At Amazon, he was promoted to enterprise customer service as a product designer. The process includes an online assessment, followed by a recruiter conversation and hiring manager interview.At Google, he similarly received a recommendation for a user experience designer position, which also started with an online assessment and progressed through recruiters and portfolio discussions.He also got an interview with Meta through a recommendation. He learned that Meta placed great emphasis on visual design during the hiring process.
Cold Applications and Direct Outreach
Not all of his interviews are by recommendation. At Apple, he applied directly without recommendation. A recruiter later contacted him via email, leading to a full interview process.When it comes to Netflix, he also lacks recommendations. After applying through LinkedIn, he emailed the hiring manager, which he said helped get him an interview.Sonka says direct contact with hiring managers can be successful if done strategically and focused on positions that align with one’s experience rather than sending out a flood of messages.
Why he chose Google over Amazon
Even after starting her job at Amazon, Sankar continued to interview with other companies in order to compare opportunities and assess the value of different employers.He explained that Amazon and Google are more open to candidates with relevant but less precise backgrounds than some other companies. At Apple and Netflix, he said, employers seem to be looking for candidates whose experience is a good match for the position.Ultimately, Google’s offer stood out. This matched his specific domain expertise and resulted in meaningful salary increases, prompting him to make the move.Sankar says it’s more important to consciously choose the roles he targets than to rely solely on recommendations. He also encourages job seekers to consider cold outreach when appropriate, especially cold outreach tailored to hiring managers in areas where the candidate has strong expertise.
