A few years ago, I joined the PMIC located in San Diego with a sense of excitement and optimism. The interview process had gone smoothly, and the role seemed technically aligned with my skills. The recruiter was persistent and enthusiastic, and that consistent follow-up played a big role in my decision to accept the offer.
Early on, things seemed fine. The technical work wasn’t particularly challenging, mostly basic bench testing, but I was eager to contribute and learn. Over time, I noticed signs of favoritism and occasional exclusion, including colleagues using their native language during meetings, which made collaboration difficult at times. However, over time, I began to notice some underlying issues; a subtle subculture that didn’t sit right with me. There was clear favoritism among certain members of the group, and at times, colleagues would speak in their native language during meetings and in the lab, which excluded others from the conversation and undermined collaboration.
Despite these red flags, I stayed professional. I treated everyone with respect, including those who weren’t particularly kind to me. I chose not to engage in office politics and instead kept my focus on work. I participated in discussions and meetings when needed but otherwise kept to myself.
Unfortunately, that approach didn’t go over well with certain individuals who seemed to be on a power trip. Some began bad-mouthing me behind my back to upper management with the intent on undermining me. They started nitpicking my work and creating conflict over petty issues. I maintained my composure, but deep down, I knew this wasn’t a healthy environment for me.
For the past 15 months, I’ve been actively applying for new roles. I’ve had a few interviews, three phone screens and one onsite, but none felt like the right fit. In fact, the onsite interview was with a lower-ranked company where the interviewers seemed unprofessional and insecure because someone who works at Qualcomm is interviewing with their low rank company, one of the interviewers said that to my face! The hiring manager even took personal calls during the interview, which was a clear red flag. I declined the opportunity, I won’t jump from the frying pan into the fire.
Meanwhile, the job market has been rough. Fifteen months of consistent effort hasn’t yielded the right opportunity yet.
More recently, my current manager, who was born and raised in the US for a reason that will be clear later, began pressuring me to engage in small talk with coworkers about personal matters, like the details of what I have done over the weekend. I was surprised when my manager requested that, and I explained that I prefer to keep my personal life private, especially my time with my wife. and I don’t see that as a requirement for professional collaboration. For context, I do attend all team-building events, even though they’re outside work hours and take time away from my personal life. I respect team cohesion, but there are boundaries.
I recognize that in some cultures, people spend the majority of their time at work and see coworkers as family, often placing their personal families second. But that’s not how I was raised, and come on we live in the US.
When my manager told me that failing to engage in more casual conversations could negatively impact my performance review, I felt that line between professional expectations and personal boundaries had been crossed. I feel like manager is just breathing down my neck constantly. It is unbelievable that he sold his soul to those foreigners. He is so weak, useless and I have lost all respect for him. At this point, I’ve chosen not to involve HR, most people know how that typically plays out.
I know I am on my way out forcibly, I am just here to vent and see if others have had similar experience and could give some tips on how to navigate through this tough situation.