Blind TL;DR, Edition No. 54: Week of Dec. 15, 2025
Stay on top of the biggest tech stories in under 3 minutes. Blind TL;DR brings you fast, insider-driven insights from the people shaping the industry — technologists like you.
Stay on top of the biggest tech stories in under 3 minutes. Blind TL;DR brings you fast, insider-driven insights from the people shaping the industry — technologists like you.
Is FAANG Dead? Why WAGONN (Waymo, Anthropic, OpenAI & More) Is the New Top Tier
FAANG has been replaced with WAGONN: Waymo, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Netflix. The top tier companies are determined on total compensation, company culture, and the hiring bar, meaning the jobs need to pay well, offer an enjoyable working experience, and should be competitive enough to employ high-performing workers.
Read more on the debate about the new top tech companies.
How to Use the STORY Method to Ace Tech Interviews
Meet the STORY method. When answering a question about a time you led a team or a technical project you’ve worked on, explain the stakes, tasks, opportunity, result, and your learnings. Blinders are offering interview advice to help others have success in the job hunt.
Read some more interview tips shared on Blind.
Amazon Layoff Fears Return After WARN Notice and Internal Role Warnings
A senior IC at Amazon shared a story of their skip telling them to go out for a new internal role. Whispers of layoffs at Amazon are back on the radar as a WARN notice was filed and job insecurity is reaching an all time high. Is it a matter of looking out for one another, or as simple as overthinking?
Would you take the new role or stay where you’re at?
Claude Takes the Lead in the AI Race
According to a recent poll on Blind, 31.6% of users are using Claude as their main AI tool. It helps with coding problems and reduces time spent on tasks dramatically. Of course, this comes with the caveat of double checking your results and being thorough in your review of the AI’s solution.
Which AI model do you use day-to-day?
The Negative Effects of RTO
In 2025, we saw a mass RTO as employers began to enforce 3-5 days in office. While some of the positives were in-person camaraderie and coworker relationships, the negatives are starting to show themselves. As employers pick and choose which teams to have in office, some employees are feeling isolated as they have no team members to collaborate with in their city. Traffic has seen a spike as well, with long commute times making the workdays even longer.